2 October 2012

Costain has officially opened its Supply Chain Academy, a new initiative that aims to support and develop small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Company welcomed 15 suppliers on September 3rd to attend the first of 20 modules covering business administration, commercial and financial best practice, insurance, health & safety, behavioural safety and quality.

The Academy has been launched to align the Company’s supply chain partners with the high standard of training and development adopted across the Group. The initiative is also in line with Costain Cares, the Company’s vision to build a longer-term sustainable business that creates economic, environmental and social value.

The Company plans to hold two intakes per year, with the first intake due to finish in mid-December and the second intake expected to arrive in January 2013.

“We take supply chain management relationships with our suppliers very seriously and this is a great opportunity for us to be able to give the organisations that we work with the benefit of our award winning training programmes. Over a three-month period the suppliers will pass through a structured programme of learning and development. The training will be provided free of charge and will hopefully allow them to emerge stronger, better equipped and a more robust organisation,” said Richard Howell, Costain’s Head of Supply Chain.

Three of the modules will be delivered by Costain’s supply chain partners NG Bailey, the UK’s leading independent engineering, IT and facilities services business, and KPMG, the professional services firm.

The response so far has been positive. Rowland Kendrick-Thomas, Director at Anglewest Ltd, a commercial scaffolding contractor, said: “We want to be part of this programme because we see it as part of a continual improvement in our policies and procedures and the professional development of our staff.”

Will Hart, Director of Taylor Hart Ltd, a specialist ceiling and partitions contractor, said: “We are always looking to increase our competency levels in all areas of our business. We are pleased to be part of an initiative that helps us align ourselves more closely to our customers and their working cultures. This can only be beneficial to the customer and our supply chain partners.”

Jason Smith, Framework Director for Cema Ltd, an electrical engineering company based in Nottingham, said: “We at Cema Ltd strongly believe in the continued personal development of our staff. Costain’s ‘Supply Chain Academy’ aligns perfectly with our drive for continuous improvement in all areas of our business.”

For more information about Costain’s Supply Chain Academy, please contact Richard Howell at [email protected]

 

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