Tonight we will be welcoming almost 600 of the Welsh construction community to the Celtic Manor for the eleventh CEW Awards. That’s some achievement in terms of event management but also by any measurable standards of engagement set by marketing teams and management consultants. The night itself is all about the awards - a celebration of the best and a recognition of the commitment of everyone connected to the construction best practice movement in Wales – but it is far more than that. It is a wonderful opportunity to meet colleagues, friends and come together and celebrate how good Welsh construction is as a whole – not just the projects and organisations that made the shortlist – and applaud each other for the great work done each and every year.
The CEW Awards are a barometer for the success of what you do in your organisations and what the CEW team advocates every day. What’s more, we know it works.
The awards prove it. Since 2006, when the first awards event took place, projects and organisations taking part have delivered community benefits ranging from support for more than 300 charities, to 1,500 school placements and coordinating around 10,000 hours of volunteering. Of all the projects delivered, around 70% of all spend has remained inside Wales and £1bn spent within 20 miles of CEW projects. We have heaps more data and all of it is tangible, measured, verified value.
The awards offer clear evidence that the rethinking agenda works. It shows beyond doubt that collaboration, honesty and a focus on value deliver community benefits, creates jobs, improves the leadership and development of people and helps build a legacy for our future generations.
But more still needs to be done. CEW’s work is unfinished. To build a Wales for future generations construction needs an objective champion. Wales needs the sector level expertise and credibility provided by CEW, its team and its stakeholders. With your support, we will be back in 2018 and will maintain our work. Because if we don’t, then Welsh construction will return to adversarial working, price driven tenders and low quality, over budget, delayed projects and we will have nothing to celebrate.
