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With just over a week to go before the doors open on UK Construction Week Birmingham, many leading industry names are preparing to come together to challenge, discuss and address two core issues affecting the sector - mental health and culture change within the built environment.
Returning to the NEC from October 3rd-5th, the three-day construction show will welcome over 25,000 visitors, with key focuses on sustainability, culture change, building safety, digital construction, robotics and mental health, and feature over 6,000 products and services.
In the Sustainability Hub, Anita Malster, Owner of Blossom Training and Kate Walker, CEO of Diabetes Safety Organisation will host Good or Ill: Mental & Physical Health in the industry. The built environment sector has the highest suicide rate of any industry; plus Kier Highlways’ new approach to diabetes safety on site.
Within the Offsite Alliance Hub, Danny Clare, Commercial Director - National Federation of Builders hosts a seminar on The Silent Pandemic. Construction shapes our world, yet it grapples with mental health challenges more profoundly than many other industries. In a field predominantly represented by men, an underlying culture has developed that stigmatises discussions about mental health and undermines its significance.
Anita Malster will host another seminar on the second day of UKCW within the CPD Hub - Are we talking about mental health or are we talking about life? The construction sector is undertaking a shift. While physical health and workplace safety takes priority, it’s essential to provide the same level of care and support for construction workers' mental health.
The Culture Change Hub - in partnership with NFB and supported by Building People, will focus on improving employee wellbeing, better inclusivity within the built environment and tackling work-life balance and diversity.
Keynote on Inclusive Behaviours is a unique opportunity to hear form Marsha Ramroop, the former Director of Inclusion at the Royal Institute of British Architects and the Executive Director for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at Building People, who will give a keynote on cultural intelligence and inclusive behaviours within the construction and built environment sector.
There will also be a recruitment panel comprising Marsha Ramroop, Sarah Chilcott - Managing Director of Planning Portal, Clare Addy - Head of Partnerships - Causeway Education and Mary Suphi - Deputy Director of Bounce Back. The panel will discuss the meaning of what it is to develop inclusive behaviours that can change the recruitment processes and frameworks that can be adopted to ensure fair and equitable recruitment.
Nathan Garnett, UKCW event director, commented: “This year's fantastic line-up of speakers really sets the stage for what the show has in store for in 2023. As the UK’s largest event bringing all parts of the industry together, is the place to learn from those shaping this rapidly-changing industry. We’ll tackle key issues head on and with the strong and innovative seminar and speakers programme this year, and we are proud of the diverse subjects on the agenda.”
To register for UKCW Birmingham for free, go to UKCW Birmingham Registrations
Follow us on social media @uk_cw #UKCW2023
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Unfortunately, there is a stigma that seeking support is strange and bad, which is why such problems arise; just as you mentioned, the suicide rate among people in the environmental sector (the sector that investigates the safety of diabetes) is high because sometimes people care about their physical wellbeing and forget about their mental wellbeing. Also, the construction sector, or in other words, the Silent Pandemic sector, touched the great mental aspect of the post-covid period. In the sector of Building People, the mental health issue was also on top.
So, these different sectors started underlining mental well-being as the top priority because sometimes this issue is underestimated. Also, it is cool that due to technological advances, people can get professional help regarding mental health by simply accessing the Internet. In terms of Calmerry, you can visit here - https://calmerry.com/online-therapy/ I can recommend this service cause I tried it on my own. I had difficult times; burnout at work and regular anxiety were my chasers. I also did not care much about my mental well-being, but later understood that it was not okay; after I tried Calmerry, my life changed a lot for the better. Now I understand that our precious value is our inner calmness, and sometimes you should try the professional help of licensed therapists to come on the road of healing.