Webinar - Improving diversity in the construction sector – Panel session
Date: Monday 31 January 2022
This was an on-line event.
Topic: Diversity
About the Event
Chaired by APS CEO Lesley McLeod, this panel session will set the scene for the webinar series “Building a broad church"
Joining us on the panel are four industry experts, Nattasha Freeman, Turner & Townsend, Amos Simbo, Founder, Black Professionals in Construction, Mark Harrison, CIOB and Teri Okoro, Association of Project Managers
Each of our four panellists will give a short five-minute presentation to begin with and then the session will be opened up to discussion.
About our speakers - Nattasha Freeman, Amos Simbo, Mark Harrison and Teri Okoro
Nattasha Freeman
Nattasha is a SHEQ Director at Turner & Townsend and is currently driving their CDM21 Strategy which is focussing on the impact of the Building Safety Bill on property and project management, following proposed implementation of the Hackitt Report recommendations. She has nearly 30 years' experience delivering health, safety, fire and wellbeing services across multiple sectors, including construction, aviation, rail, education, healthcare and property management: some of which provided the skillset needed to support Local Authorities applying for the BEIS Social Housing Retrofit Accelerator Scheme grant funding. She is a qualified trainer and also a trained MHFA.
Nattasha is an IOSH Fellow and her experience both as IOSH past president and chair of the Board of Trustees has placed her ideally to move from acting as APS Midland Regional Chair and Council Member to the Governance Working Party and Board member. As a CDM Subject Matter Expert, she sits on the New London Architecture Expert Panel’s technical competency programme and is also a member of the Property Managers Risk Forum.
Amos Simbo
Amos, is the founder of BPIC Network (Black Professionals in Construction) and MD of Winway Services a Mechanical and Electrical services specialist contractor. BPIC Network is an independent organisation dedicated to providing guidance, training and networking events tailored to those currently working in the industry, as well as curating an aspirational platform for the youth and those seeking to join the extremely exciting world of construction.
The vision is to facilitate careers in construction as well as work with organisations looking to improve their diverse representation including advancement of black and ethnic minority professionals.
He oversees all aspects of BPIC from chairing meetings, and underwriting leadership for the network. Since the launch, BPIC Network has gathered over 5000 network members as well as over 40 corporate partners.
After graduating from Loughborough University with a Mechanical Engineering BEng (Hons), he started a trainee position with Imtech Aqua as a Projects Engineer. He has since moved on within the industry ranks to companies such as Junior Project Manager and Technical Services Manager. Amos is passionate about maintaining professional standards and delivering service excellence.
Without a doubt, it is his hard work and desire to excel that got Amos off to a great start with BPIC Network. It is his vision and courage that put him on the mission to increase the participation of ethnic minorities in the construction industry whilst also empowering and educating individuals along the way. His warmth and passion is what makes him such a valuable resource to BPIC Network and to all those around him.
Mark Harrison
Mark is the Head of EDI Transformation for the CIOB, a new role for the organisation that he took on in January 2021. He reports directly to the CEO, Caroline Gumble. Since starting, Mark has developed the CIOB’s first internal Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) action plan and its sector-wide D&I Charter – encouraging employers in the sector to adopt 5 key commitments to a more inclusive approach. Mark has over a decade’s experience in lead EDI roles in the housing, charity, and higher education sectors. His previous roles include working with the Alan Turing Institute to deliver a strategic approach to EDI and as Head of Inclusion at the University of London where he launched a new approach to promoting race equality for staff and embedding inclusive services for the institution’s 50,000 international students. Mark has previous experience of the built environment sector having worked with Metropolitan Housing Partnership, achieving 5th place in Stonewall’s highly competitive Workplace Equality Index.
Cost
Members: free
Non-members: £10.00