Our People
Objective
Be an employer of choice
Goals
Build an inclusive and diverse workforce
Champion social mobility through structured work and graduate and apprenticeship opportunities
Upskill all employees to provide opportunity and meet future business needs
“Our apprentice and graduate onboarding at Tarmac forms a key part of supporting the UK’s construction and infrastructure ambitions. We’re dedicated to investing in a range of professional development and training initiatives to create a highly skilled and diverse workforce.”
Harriet Slatter, HR director, UK Materials
Our objective is to be an employer of choice and be an organisation with a truly inclusive culture. Our employees underpin the long-term success of our business and our customers, so it is vital that we continue to build an inclusive business that attracts and retains a talented, motivated, and diverse workforce.
Highlights
Early careers
Tarmac welcomed over 30 apprentices and graduates to the business in 2023, as we strive to upskill and grow talent within the construction industry. Our apprentice and graduate onboarding is just one of a range of professional development and training initiatives in place to create a highly skilled and diverse workforce. We take pride in providing people of all ages with real prospects and the chance to grow quickly, with numerous examples of employees at both ends of the career ladder demonstrating our policy of developing home-grown talent from the ground up.
Colleague mentoring
We’re proud to have continued our mentoring programme for all early career employees, as a way to learn and connect with colleagues. This is a great opportunity to make best use of the skills, experience, and talents of those already in our business. Mentoring is one of many ways we encourage individuals to learn, develop, and increase their knowledge at work.
The 5% club
The 5% Club is a dynamic movement of employers who are inspired to take positive action for increased, inclusive, and accessible workplace training for all. With a membership which now exceeds 900 companies, the employer audit is a unique scheme which validates employers’ activities, explores their future and commitments, and examines their approaches to quality, social mobility, diversity, and inclusion.
For two years running, Tarmac has been awarded Gold accredited membership via The 5% Club’s 2023-24 Employer Audit Scheme. The award recognises our significant contribution to the continued development of all our employees through ‘earn and learn’ schemes such as apprenticeships, graduate schemes, and sponsored student course placements.
Upskilling our Colleagues
The Professional Operator Development Programme (PODP) for apprentices, delivered at the park, received an Outstanding rating from Ofsted in September following its first full inspection.
The PODP is designed around three apprenticeship standards: mineral processing mobile and static plant operator; mineral and construction product sampling and testing operations; and road surfacing operative. All are delivered through a series of workshops, e-learning modules, and practical on-the-job training. The Park is also used for other workplace training, including early careers graduate programmes.
2023 also saw another successful year for our Employee Development Programme (EDP). The EDP is a development programme which runs across CRH businesses in UK and Ireland between June and December each year. Over the course of the programme, colleagues have the chance to connect with each other and leaders from across the business. Teams are then guided by a mentor to work on a business project, tackling an issue that is important to our business. The programme provides colleagues with the opportunity to learn, enhance their knowledge and skills, build confidence, learn more about our business, and develop an amazing network of people.
Sustainability Upskilling
Through a range of initiatives and projects, our sustainability team has been driving forward with our goal of reaching net zero before 2050, plus wider sustainability targets, by upskilling colleagues across the business on the topic of sustainability. The launch of our sustainability strategy ‘Act’, action plans, sustainability training, and a dedicated toolkit have all been part of our efforts to achieve our sustainability goals.
In 2023, we developed our online sustainability training module as a way for even more employees across the business to receive sustainability training. The module covers global sustainability issues and our sustainability strategy. By keeping sustainability at the forefront through awareness and training, we're moving one step closer to reaching our sustainability ambitions.
Inclusion and Diversity Training
As a business, we care about building a supportive workplace where everyone can reach their full potential. Following the roll out of our in-person and online Inclusion & Diversity (I&D) training in 2023, we upskilled employee champions across the business and our HR teams to enable them to deliver the I&D training to more colleagues.
Inclusive policies
Tarmac is committed to fostering and celebrating a fair and supportive culture that promotes opportunities for all – where everyone feels proud to be themselves. In 2023, we launched our Enhanced Adoption Policy which provides guidance on adoption leave within the company.
We also updated our Inclusion and Diversity Policy, which is founded on respect for individuals, allowing our people to be given an equal opportunity to develop their full potential and recognising their ability, effort and contribution to the company.
In 2023, Tarmac set up a new partnership that provides organic, plastic-free period care products to employees across the business free of charge. As part of a new agreement with Organic Mondays, a female-led premium feminine care provider, Tarmac has made sustainably sourced cotton pads, tampons, and panty liners available to employees and visitors at all its UK sites.
Clear Assured
In 2023, Tarmac successfully achieved the Clear Assured Gold Standard for its commitment to inclusion and diversity in the workplace.
The Clear Assured Gold Standard, from assessment body the Clear Company, is a globally recognised accreditation which is awarded to organisations that can evidence integration of inclusion and diversity (I&D) measures across all areas. This includes policies, practices, and strategies.
Marking a step up from the Silver Standard that Tarmac achieved in 2022, the improved Gold accreditation was secured following continued efforts to embed and enhance I&D practices across the business. This accomplishment positions Tarmac in the 16 per cent of Clear Assured accredited companies to have secured Gold.
Employee Communities
Throughout 2023 our communities have continued to grow. The communities we currently have available for our employees to join are:
- Female voice
- Menopause support (closed group for our female employees going through the menopause)
- Health and Well-Being (covering physical and mental health topics)
- LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer/questioning and other identities)
- REACH (religion, ethnic and cultural heritage)
- Parents and carers
- Ability (physical and non-physical disabilities including neurodiversity)
- Inclusion and Diversity Champions
- Sustainability
- Early Careers
- Ex-armed forces and emergency services
We’re proud to celebrate what matters to our colleagues and help everyone feel comfortable to bring their whole self to work by creating an inclusive workplace. Our employee communities are there for our colleagues to find like-minded people, to share advice and knowledge, provide support, or simply connect with colleagues. Our communities now have over 2,000 members and their intranet pages have been viewed over 9,000 times.
Gender pay report
At Tarmac, we want everyone who works with us to experience a sense of belonging, while always feeling able to be themselves. We’re committed to nurturing a culture which embraces and supports difference. Acknowledging that construction is primarily a male-dominated industry, we are committed to accelerating positive change that makes our workforce more reflective of society, to futureproof our industry and ensure maximum opportunities for all employees.
To track and be transparent in our progress towards this goal, Tarmac publishes an annual Gender Pay Gap Report. In addition to discussing our gender pay differences in more detail, this report also highlights what actions we are taking to further close the pay gap and to ensure Tarmac is an inclusive, welcoming place to work.
< 19
1
20 - 24
4.5
25 - 29
8.6
30 - 39
22.9
40 - 49
21.7
50 - 59
27.7
60 +
13.7
Looking forward
Our people are our priority to ensure the long-term success of our business. Throughout 2024 we will further develop and update our I&D policies. We will continue to provide and encourage training opportunities for all employees and ensure staff continue to complete our online I&D and sustainability training.
