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Strategic report
OCU Group | Annual report and financial statements 2025
Governance
Financial statements
Creating benefits through our social activities Social
At OCU, our people are our greatest asset. We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone can grow, take pride in their work, and most importantly, return home safely every day. Given the growing skills gap in our sector, it is crucial that we attract and retain a diverse workforce to continue delivering high‑quality services to our clients. Over the past financial year, we have made significant investments in enhancing our safety culture, expanding our Training Academies, developing our early careers program, and improving our employee benefits. We are also dedicated to becoming a more equitable, diverse, and inclusive organisation where everyone feels a sense of belonging. A safe and proud place to work – leading in talent development
Armed Forces: We have received the Gold Award with the Armed Forces Covenant in recognition of the work we do supporting individuals and their families leaving the armed forces as well as those still serving as Reservists. We have set up our own Military Transition Program which dovetails with the Armed Forces Civilian Transition Program, supporting their transition into civilian life and providing us with access to a highly skilled, resilient pool of labour. Care Leaver Covenant: We have become signatories of the Care Leaver Covenant, providing opportunities for young people who have spent time in the care system and have little or no support as they enter adulthood. We advertise all our relevant vacancies, with the covenant offering guaranteed interviews with those who are care leavers and meet the minimum requirements for the role. We offer CV writing guidance, mock interviews and other employability skills training, helping care leavers get the vital support they need to start their careers. Disability Confident: We have continued our commitment under the Disability Confident scheme and are looking at different ways of removing barriers for disabled people and those with long-term health conditions, ensuring they can reach their full potential.
Quarterly standdowns: Our quarterly standdowns have continued to mature with consistent safety messaging and interactive sessions across all our sites. We have had great engagement with our most recent standdown with over 80% of attendees providing positive feedback. Mental Health First Aiders (MHFAs): Through our partnership with Mates in Mind and Construction Lighthouse, we have grown our network of MHFAs to 95, meaning that all our people have access to someone at their site or office if they need support. Talent for tomorrow We recognise that attracting top talent and fostering a diverse workforce with a wide range of skills and experiences requires us to reach as many different groups as possible. Early careers: We launched our new early careers program, welcoming 24 apprentices and graduates into our business across various disciplines such as electrical engineering, quantity surveying, and human resources. This program is designed to support our early career professionals through a comprehensive two-year plan that includes monthly continued professional development and mentoring sessions, clear personal development plans, a supportive early careers network, and a buddy system. Notably, our September 2024 intake saw 34% of new starters being female and 66% from minority ethnic backgrounds. Industrial placements: We have recently taken five students into full-time early careers programs work experience. This gives the students vital experience to obtain work once they complete their education and allows us to identify future talent for our early careers opportunities.
EDI&B training: To help our company become more diverse, we are ensuring all our employees are equipped with the skills needed to create an inclusive workplace that encourages people to work with us and, more importantly, stay with us. In 2024 our Group Senior Leadership Team took part in an equity, diversity, inclusion and belonging (EDI&B) training program consisting of virtual interactive group sessions. This is now being rolled out across the business. 5% Club: We have been awarded gold accredited membership as part of the 5% Club’s Employer Audit Scheme, with more than 7% of our employees in ‘earn and learn’ positions, recognising our commitment to empowering our employees through ‘earn and learn’ initiatives. Improved benefits: We have continued to enhance our benefits with all employees having 24/7 GP access, further enhancements to our annual leave schemes, improved Employee Assistance Program, and enhanced family‑friendly policies. Womens Utilities Network (WUN): We have continued to partner with WUN, providing opportunities for our female employees to grow their careers through mentoring, networking and workshops as well as encouraging other women into the sector. Goals for the next financial year • Reviewing our current occupational health processes. • Expand our early careers program and take on more people across more disciplines. • Formalised internal development pathways for each discipline. • Implementation of a new learning management system.
Key achievements Our safety culture
Launched in early 2024, we have spent the last financial year embedding our safety culture mindset across the business of if we ‘Think Safe’ and ‘Work Safe’, then everyone gets ‘Home Safe’. This is helping to drive down our AFR (Accident Frequency Rate) and TRIR (Total Recordable Incident Rate), keeping us well below the industry averages whilst engaging and learning from colleagues. Positive interventions: As our team becomes more empowered to voice safety concerns, we've observed a significant rise in positive interventions. Over the past year, 7,290 concerns have been raised, along with 182 recognitions from colleagues reporting safety-critical events.
Employee engagement and development
Female leadership: To make sure we grow diversity at all levels, we have launched our Women in Leadership level 5 apprenticeship through Instep, with our first cohort starting in September 2024. Our OCU colleagues are undertaking the 15-month, nine-module program, designed for both current leaders and aspiring female leaders, giving them the strategic skills, confidence and tools to thrive in these roles.
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