UCEM incubated social enterprise, Building People, becomes a fully-fledged success story
Building
People, whose mission is to improve equality, diversity and inclusion in the built environment,
is now an independent entity.
Since
its inception in 2018, University College of Estate Management (UCEM) has
provided the enterprise with office space, founder job security and donations
totalling £150,000. This gave
Building People the perfect platform to deliver its collaborative ‘dot-joining’
activity, connecting
people to opportunities across the built environment and enabling employers to engage with a more diverse range of talent.
With
strong levels of support coming in from across the sector, both parties are in
agreement that now is the time for Building People to fledge the nest and
become a separate entity.
Significant
names recently joining in to support Building People’s vision
of a better
connected and more diverse and inclusive sector include
the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Savills, the Royal Town
Planning Institute (RTPI) and CBRE. Building People will continue to benefit
from considerable ongoing commitment and support provided by UCEM, including
£150,000 pledged over the next three years and UCEM’s Principal, Ashley Wheaton,
continuing in his role as chair of the board.
Building
People will also continue to be supported by its other founding partners, the
Chartered Surveyors’ Company and the Chartered Surveyors Training Trust (CSTT).
It
is an exciting time for the social enterprise as it announces its three-year
plan, which focuses on five key areas:
1.
Profile: Positioning Building People as the go-to source for equality,
diversity and inclusion best practice and activities, and thought leadership in
the built environment
2.
Partnerships: Delivering maximum joined-up impact through the growth and
development of Building People’s supply and demand networks
3.
People: Enabling equality of opportunity through the provision of a simpler and
more supported user experience in a fragmented careers landscape
4.
Policy: Aligning with and supporting the achievement and enhancement of
relevant national sector policy and activity
5.
Planning: Establishing a secure future for Building People as a sector-backed
movement for collaborative change across the built environment.
Rebecca
Lovelace, Building People’s chief dot-joiner, explains: “UCEM has been
fundamental to the growth and success of Building People. The leadership and
commitment from UCEM has enabled us to develop and launch our aggregating and
connecting platform, providing individuals with a simplified user journey to
access the multitude of career opportunities across the built environment -
from work experience to events, knowledge, mentors, networks and jobs.
“We
are incredibly grateful for all that Ashley and his team have done and are very
much looking forward to continuing and developing this brilliantly
collaborative relationship over the coming years.”