The Greater Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Annual Dinner and Awards ceremony is one of the most prestigious events in the regions ‘Business Calendar’. Taking place at the ICC, Birmingham on the 11th of April, with an expected 1,200 guests to be in attendance.
This year they have received a record-breaking number of applications to the 10 sector award categories, with 79 businesses having now been announced for the shortlist.
With the high volume of submissions, RSS Infrastructure Ltd (RSSI), a leading supplier of infrastructure services are proud to announce they have been shortlisted for the ‘Excellence in Technology & Innovation’ Award sponsored by Millennium Point. As well as this, both RSS Infrastructure and INFRA Skills Ltd, the UK’s premier safety critical and non-safety critical training provider, have also been shortlisted for the ‘Excellence in People Development’ sponsored by Wesleyan.
RSSI have been shortlisted for the ‘Excellence in Technology & Innovation’ Award for their focus on leading technological innovations, delivering increased levels of safety and productivity. These fundamental principles have led the way for a series of initiatives; including the Semi-Automatic Track Warning System – increasing safety by removing the risk of human error from the announcement of trains, and their rostering and fatigue monitoring system where the in-house CRM is used to calculate the travel time to and from the site, shift duration and work type. Their award application also included their Safe Driver Control Methods, with RSSI being the first company in the rail sector to utilise a specialist Driver Awareness Warning System (DAWS) for the transportation of its workforce to site.
The submission for RSSI and INFRA Skills in the ‘Excellence in People Development’ category was based around how both companies are using their resources to invest in the future of the sector trying to tackle; the aging workforce, skills shortage, lack of diversity and resources being underutilised. The Group has a long-standing history of working in partnership with local agencies, charities, colleges and government departments. As part of this partnership, INFRA Skills is supporting black minority ethnic groups, women, ex-offenders, ex-armed forces, young people, those with disabilities and individuals struggling to find employment by reducing the number of barriers facing them whilst trying to gain employment
INFRA Skills also offer a fully funded training programme, which has so far helped over 300 jobseekers find employment within the rail sector. This course offers them to opportunity to build their careers, by gaining valuable skills, qualifications and hand-on experience to make them desirable candidates. The success of these courses is shown through the figures, with a large number of learners gaining work with RSS Infrastructure. Expanding their workforce with trainees from INFRA Skills is one of the ways RSSI are diversifying their workforce; having an average worker age of 37 compared to the national statistic of 47, and a staggering 28% of their workforce are female compared to 9% within the UK.
As well as this, INFRA Skills have also partnered with Colas Rail to launch the Level 3 Rail Apprenticeship Standard. This programme meets the industry needs and demand, helping to ensure that the sector can remain sustainable and grow whilst inspiring a new generation of industry leaders.
Being shortlisted for not one, but two categories at this year’s Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce Awards is fantastic news for both companies, especially after RSSI’s recent win at the Rail Business Awards. We wish them, and all the other companies shortlisted, the best of luck for the upcoming award ceremony.
