Member Article

Jones Bros shortlisted for top training award

The award-winning training department at Ruthin civil engineering company Jones Bros has been nominated for another top industry prize.

Jones Bros has been named on the shortlist in the Training Excellence category for the Construction News Specialists Awards 2015.

The nomination recognises the family firm’s long-standing commitment to training, which in 2014 alone has included:

• Delivering specialist training including heavy plant and health and safety to 186 employees – more than half of the company’s workforce
• Recruiting, training and employing 12 apprentices on various sites across the UK
• Enabling seven trainee engineers to attend various colleges on day release around the UK whilst working on Jones Bros’ sites
• Selecting a former apprentice to develop into a future trainer for the centre

Jones Bros training centre was established during the 1980’s to ensure the company’s workforce was trained to a high standard. Since that time it has developed into a facility that employs two full time plant trainers and a training co-ordinator, with access to a range of specialist training providers.

Managing director Huw Jones, said: “I have long been passionate about providing job opportunities for young people and to provide ongoing training and professional development to our existing staff.

“This commitment has continued down the years and even during times of recession we have continued to recruit apprentices and continue with our training programmes. This has paid off as we now have an ‘army’ of highly trained, loyal workers, with a significant number having been with us for many years.”

Jones Bros has also continued to develop its plant training ground including:

Creating a dedicated excavation area by importing 3,000 tonnes of selected aggregate Erecting a designed scaffold tower to enable all categories of telehandler (a cross between a crane and a forklift truck) tests Building a blind lifting wall for training on lifting operations

In 2014 Jones Bros won the CITB (Construction Industry Training Board) ‘Outstanding Training Partner Award’ at the Pride of Construction Awards and the CITB “Large Apprentice Employer of The Year Award (Wales)” at the Apprenticeship Awards.

The Construction News awards, which are in their 11th year, celebrate the outstanding achievements of the very best specialist contractors in the UK, and take place on March 18 at the London Hilton on Park Lane.

Founded in the 1950s, Jones Bros employs approximately 300 people. It operates across the UK in sectors including construction of waste management facilities, highways and renewable energy projects such as wind farms.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Sam Harris .