Siobhan Logue at the inaugural Herald Diversity Conference in May last year with City Building making great strides in attracting women into the industry and helping them to progress, SCN catches up with four of its brightest employees who are each taking their opportunities to blaze their own trail in the sector.
Historically, craft trades have been male-dominated but Glasgow construction firm City Building has made strong progress in attracting more women as part of plans to improve diversity across the business.

The company employs 20% of all female craft apprentices in Scotland and 55% of its senior management are women.
Among the success stories is contracts manager Natalie McPherson, 34, who joined City Building over 16 years ago as an apprentice painter and decorator. Natalie, who now manages multiple projects on behalf of client Glasgow City Council, entered the industry after undertaking a six-week City Building ‘taster’ course at school.

Glasgow-based City Building is ending the year on a high following a flurry of award wins recognising the construction firm’s unique approach to corporate responsibility and diversity.

The company gained a total of seven accolades throughout 2017, including Diversity Star Performer and Recruitment of Talents and Youth at The Herald’s Diversity Awards, HR NETWORK’s Corporate Responsibility of the Year and Best Employer of the Year, and Glasgow’s Fairest Employer by the Glasgow Guarantee.

City Building has welcomed a flurry of new recruits, as more than 60 modern apprentices join the award-winning construction firm.

The diverse group, which includes four women, care leavers and a number of people from surrounding BME communities, were greeted by City Building’s boards of directors following an induction at Queenslie Training Centre on Wednesday 15 November.

There has been a hive of activity at City Building as it marks National Honey Week (23-29 October 2017), by adopting three beehives.

The Glasgow-based firm is creating a buzz by teaming up with Scotland’s leading beekeepers, Plan Bee, to build and maintain habitats for the local honeybee population, which is under threat of extinction due to rising pesticide use, pollution and climate change.

City Building LLP has been recognised for its achievements in environmental innovation at this year’s Glasgow Business Awards.
The Environmental Team won the 2017 Green Champion Award, which is sponsored by ScottishPower, after impressing the panel with their unique green credentials for a business in the construction sector.

Construction firm apprentices build volunteering skills at Glasgow Hospice

City Building apprentices have contributed to a major refurbishment project at the Marie Curie Hospice in Glasgow which aims to provide patients with a more modern and comfortable environment.