The aim of this framework is to set out the ways in which employers in the construction sector can contribute to social value and skills and employment outcomes within the communities they are working in, including various organisations and opportunities that already exist in the area and how to engage with them.This is also beneficial to you – in helping to address your skills gaps, recruitment requirements, ageing workforce and sourcing new talent.Being able to demonstrate that you are committed to social value activity better positions you as a contractor/company to secure public funded contracts as part of the supply chain. Projects funded by Government may include work on schools, hospitals, roads, railways and utility infrastructure.  Social value contributions are also sought as part of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106 agreements for housing and property developments.We’ve set out the various ways you can get involved and access support to deliver social value outcomes, including information to support and inspire you.For prime and tier 1 contractors, this provides you with up-to-date information, guidance and resources for considering what social value commitments might be set for a particular project, and for SMEs, this enables you to get involved and be supported in helping to deliver these as part of the supply chain.Together we can make a big difference.

Everyone!  Everyone should get involved in delivering social value, however this framework has primarily been designed for prime and tier 1 contractors to help them not only set social value targets within a locality, but also to support and guide their supply chains, making it easy to engage and to ensure a consistent approach. This will help to ensure that the supply chain is engaged in a meaningful way and that information and resources are readily available.The information contained in the checklist will also be helpful for construction employers of any size seeking to deliver more skills, employment and social value outcomes. As well as addressing skills gaps, this will help with delivering and winning work and staying competitive.We will be adding more guides and resources in the coming months so watch this space!

Social value is a term for describing the non-financial impact an organisation can have on society including aspects such as job creation, apprenticeships and supporting local charities and community groups. This can cover areas such as social, economic and environmental wellbeing.It is our aim that taking action and being proactive through this framework becomes an integral part of all businesses. All employment should be good employment; new opportunities should be offered locally wherever possible and considering community benefits should always be at the forefront. There are also incentives to help you to recruit young people and those from particular cohorts which are outlined here.Social value is also a legal requirement for public funded contracts in the UK. The Public Services (Social Value) Act mandates that public bodies should think about how the services they procure might improve the economic, social and environmental wellbeing of the relevant area. As a supplier you would therefore need to embed social value into proposals and operations.

Make setting and delivering meaningful social value outcomes easy by using this framework to consider what social value outcomes your project can deliver and then engage with existing initiatives and organisations to achieve and track progress.To help ensure the best outcomes, this framework guides and supports you to create social value, skills and economic benefits in all your activities.Our calculator also helps you to quantify your contribution.You can use this framework in a range of ways:To assist with corporate and business planningAs a checklist to ensure you are considering the full range of contributions you can make and what a project can realistically supportAs a guide to support the development of your procurement strategies and social value policiesTo generate ideasTo support your social impact reportingMost importantly – to take action If all businesses take at least one action against one of these areas, together we will make a significant difference for the south east.To make this as easy as possible, we have developed a checklist (link to checklist below) and calculator (link to calculator when finalised) to help you plan how you can maximise social value and skills outcomes. Our employer guide (link to employer section when added) also explains how you can engage with existing programmes and initiatives and how they are benefiting other employers through information and case studies. This also helps to ensure consistency and will help to maximise the benefits to your business.

We have produced a checklist (link to checklist below) to help you plan. You could view this with the employer guide and employer section (link to employer guide / section when published) as this sets out how local employers are already benefiting from their engagement.Before completing the checklist, it is also useful to consider some key questions and who will own the actions committed to:What are we already doing?What else could we do?How feasible is it for us to commit to these actions and who will own and monitor progress (use the calculator below for this)?What are we going to commit to and who needs to sign this off? Some initial things you could get involved in:Creating skills and employment opportunitiesOffer an apprenticeship/sOffer a T Level work placementOffer an internshipOffer a Construction Industry PlacementProvide careers support / work experience in a school or collegeCommit your employees to supporting specialist learning within further education (e.g. through Teacher Industry Exchange programme, supporting curriculum design)Provide strategic careers support to a school or college by becoming an Enterprise AdviserSupport your employees to become a mentor to a young personGet involved in the Skills Bootcamps programme to upskill existing staff or to bring in new staffOffer an 18-24 year old an opportunity through the Youth GuaranteeEmbed green principles into supply chain contracting to support the drive for green skills development As well as information set out in the employer guide, you can also get support for the above via your local Careers Hub, Apprentice recruitment support, local Skills Bootcamps providers guide to the Youth Jobs GrantCreating inclusive employment opportunitiesOffer an opportunity via the Connect to Work ProgrammeOffer an opportunity via a Sector based work academy programmeBecome a disability confident employer You can get support to engage with these via Connect to Work (find your local service), Disability Confident employer scheme - GOV.UKGet involved in the local community (social value outcomes)Enable staff to volunteer with local projectsUse your procurement practices to maximise social value – buy local, sustainable and ethical servicesOpen up your buildings and facilities for VCSE use You can get support and locate local projects to engage with via local initiatives such as Match my project, https://sekgroup.org.uk/support/support-for-organisations/social-impact-gateway/ . Tier 1 and primary contractors can also offer opportunities via Match my project.

In order to ensure we have collective impact, to monitor progress and to inspire others, it’s important that we track and measure the work that is happening.To help get you started, we have developed a simple reporting tool and calculator (link to calculator) for you to start quantifying and recording progress (link to table below).To help you illustrate the commitments you’ve made and the difference you’re making, it could also be beneficial to publish the things that you’ve signed up to on your website and in documents such as Annual reports.If you want to go further with commitments and tracking, examples of tools to help you to do this include: https://www.socialvalueportal.com/measurementhttps://hact.org.uk/tools-services/social-value-insight/

In order to ensure you deliver against your commitments; we have created a simple reporting tool below (link to reporting tool) that you can record and regularly review where you are. You could also use this information in reporting, bids and promotion. We would welcome a copy of your reporting tool or headline numbers, so that we can build up a picture across the south east and help promote the great work you’re doing.  Contact us at info@sectechub.co.uk

This guidance gets you started with social value, skills and employment outcomes. Developers will also often be required to complete an Employment and Skills Plan (ESP) by the relevant local authority for projects of a certain size. This will include the sorts of commitments covered in this framework. You can see examples at Building Plymouth and Gloucester City Council. Many local authorities/ developers also use the CITB National Skills Academy approach which provides support to develop an ESP through established benchmarks.   If you have questions or require support with any aspect of this framework, you can contact us at info@sectechub.co.uk