Education and employment 2018
Ken Harris, transport manager, Euromix
Supporting education and the development of young people and increasing employment opportunities is one of the ways our volunteering helps provide a net positive contribution to our local communities. Here are just a few examples of the way Tarmac employees have been supporting education and employment in their local communities in 2018.
Improving road safety
The logistics team worked with Nottingham Trent University’s School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment to host the Cycle Safety in Urban Environments events, which was supported by Nottingham based cycling charity RideWise. The event saw drivers and cyclists switch roles, to help them understand safety from each other’s perspectives.
As part of the Tarmac Vulnerable Road Users initiative, our transport team have been working with schools to promote and encourage road safety awareness and spending time talking to local children about vehicle blind spots, road awareness and distractions, as well as vehicle safety equipment demonstrations of safety features in and outside our vehicle’s cabs.
The Euromix team has been supporting Essex County Council drive forward their safer roads partnership by actively participating in the bikeability scheme, which aims to educate local school pupils on road safety, especially around HGVs. As well providing our time and knowledge we have been able to visit schools with our own truck and to let the children see first-hand the size and scale and learn about the ‘blind spots’. To date the team has covered three schools with over seven visits to date and plan to continue support into 2019.
Inverness youngsters impressed with Daviot Quarry
School children from an Inverness school were left in amazement following a tour of a crushed rock quarry. The Daviot Primary School pupils visited Daviot Quarry to get a feel for the working environment, the importance of health and safety, how our products are used and the work the team does in the local community. Arlene Beattie, principal teacher at the school, said: “The nature of our trip was to give the pupils an insight into what happens at the quarry and to make them aware of the dangers. The visit was fantastic and we are extremely grateful to Chris and the team for giving up their time to show us around.”
Promoting engineering as a positive career choice for girls
Colleagues at Barnstone also highlighted how rewarding a career in engineering is for girls at a special workshop at Bingham. Students at Toot Hill School and College took part in a practical workshop, led by Josie, to mark International Women in Engineering Day. The 27 Year 8 pupils were put through their paces in two 30-minute exercises. Using giant Meccano as the main engineering tool, they had to build a wheelbarrow to transport water; and they had to construct a self-supporting swing to hold a toy.
Birtley and Coxhoe welcome MPA students
Students from Newcastle University were given an insight into our business, from rock to road, with a tour of two sites. The 90 students, on an asphalt materials and pavements course, visited our Birtley laboratory and Coxhoe asphalt plant as part of their course. At Birtley the delegates were shown six key areas in the manufacturing of a pavement and the quality assurance process: rock quality; physical testing; chemical testing; asphalt design; asphalt testing; and site testing. The students then visited Coxhoe to see an asphalt plant in action.
“We believe that educating the children now will help safeguard the next generation of cyclists and vulnerable road users on the roads, so is something we are all proud to support.”
Ken Harris, transport manager, Euromix