What is Building People?
A technology platform that brings together supply and demand across the Built Environment (architecture, engineering and construction)
DIVERSITY
Improving diversity and inclusion
SKILLS IMBALANCES
Driving a supply of competent workers
SOCIAL VALUE
Maximising and evidencing social value
Building People has a simple plan: Create one place where the many disparate skills and employment initiatives across the Built Environment are brought together. Drive traffic to what already exists. Add value. Connect people to jobs, mentors, learning and to work opportunities via existing providers. No duplication nor reinvention. Measure and report on the social value these activities generate. Join the dots.
We are developing a technology platform to enable an ecosystem of employment and skills providers (supply) to more efficiently and effectively connect people to relevant industry learning, mentoring and work opportunities (demand).
Who is Building People?
A social enterprise collaborating with all across the Built Environment
Three Founding Partners:
Core Team
REBECCA LOVELACE
With twenty years’ experience in industry, Rebecca brings expertise in maximising the social impact of construction projects through enabling collaboration between multiple stakeholders and individuals from diverse and disadvantaged local communities, with a particular focus on employment and skills. Rebecca is passionate about creating a diverse and inclusive industry and ‘joining the dots’ to add value. She is a co-founder of Be Onsite and BuildForce, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and has an MSc in Urban Regeneration.
ASHLEY WHEATON
Ashley has held senior roles as Director of Global Learning Services for Microsoft, CEO of InfoBasis Ld – a global talent management software company – and now as Principal of the leading provider of supported online education for the built environment, University College of Estate Management. Ashley is firmly committed to furthering the widening participation agenda within the built environment. This commitment underpinned the decision for UCEM to acquire Building People and support the platform, both financially and strategically.
Are you Building People?
Phase One
Phase One of Building People was the search portal (register to see 'Search Organisations', launched in March 2019 and funded by the Institution of Civil Engineers Research and Development Enabling Fund). It is designed to be a simple aggregation of providers and activity in one place, signposting individuals to organisations and initiatives that can help access work, learning and support opportunities. Join in by adding organisations and initiatives via a simple and very quick form.
Phase Two
Phase Two is where Building People gets really exciting. Our proof of concept platform was launched at UK Construction Week in October 2019 and is a partnership with the Chartered Surveyors Training Trust (CSTT). Together we have aggregated 44 different pieces of content from 28 providers, evidencing how users (students) can access fragmented resource focused on one profession (surveying) in one place. This activity has been made possible by collaboration with others, and with the support of our founding partners: CSTT, The Chartered Surveyors' Company and University College of Estate Management. You can see what we have developed by visiting the My Resources page on the CSTT website.
Phase Three
Phase Three sees us building on the development of the CSTT website as we expand the functionality to meet the requirements of our next cohort of providers. This means developing the connections that the website enables ('powered by Building People') to new audiences, trades, professions and regions, and sharing this functionality with new providers. We also will be integrating an intelligent and dynamic competency-driven approach, plus enabling reporting on social value measurement, into subsequent iterations of the platform. The aim of Building People remains the same: To enable the websites of existing providers, sharing content to enrich the user's journey and facilitating connections between supply and demand.
We will be adopting a crowdfunding approach in early 2020 as we continue conversations with industry leaders, demonstrating what we have achieved and evidencing how a joined-up and truly collaborative approach can enable more people to access opportunities across the built environment.
Building People: One single place that brings together opportunities for work, learning and support across the built environment. A platform, an ecosystem, a movement.
Contact us to find out more. We'd love to hear from you.