Homebuilder McTaggart Group has been announced as finalists in two separate awards programmes for its work in the community and with young people.

The Ayrshire Business Awards recognises Ayrshire businesses which have demonstrated excellence in a variety of fields, and the group has been shortlisted in the ‘Business in the Community’ category.

In its 17th year, the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards brings together apprentices, employers and training providers from all over Scotland to celebrate the contribution apprenticeships make to the economy. McTaggart Group is finalists in the ‘Large Employer of the Year’ category alongside Arnold Clark and Capgemini UK.

This recognition follows the group also winning the ‘Community Contribution’ award at the Scottish Home Awards 2018 in June.

McTaggart Group’s managing director, Gary Climson, said: “Our Sustainable Communities Programme has been a significant investment for us therefore we are honoured to be recognised at both a regional and national level for this work. We take the view that we are visitors to the areas in which we are building and making that community better in every way we possibly can is our goal. Getting to know the people in these communities and delivering a programme to help address some of societies inequalities is key to the success of our programme.”

Much of the affordable housing McTaggart builds is within areas that feature on the list of Scotland’s most deprived areas, therefore its apprenticeship programme focuses on raising attainment and removing barriers for this specific group of disadvantaged young people.

Gary Climson added: “Over 80% of our apprentices have come to us from employability programmes and are often from disadvantaged backgrounds. We offer additional support to these young people to maximise their chance of success. Removing barriers such as travel costs can make all the difference to a young person.”

The Education & Employment element of the programme has been structured to identify and support all pathways into construction.

At secondary school stage, McTaggart commits time and resources to a small number of schools, believing this is the most effective way to raise attainment, rather than take a generic approach. The two-year programmes at St Mungo’s Academy and Springburn Academy involve a 100 hour (per school) commitment incorporating classroom learning and site visits to apply that learning. At the end of the programme pupils are supported and funded through their CSCS card by McTaggart.

Many of the 38 school pupils currently on the programme would otherwise leave school without any qualifications.

McTaggart has also delivered five community-based training academies. This has provided 50 young people the opportunity to gain CSCS cards and has achieved a 95% pass rate for young people. The approach has worked with adult learning programmes and supported young people with additional support requirements such as ADHD and dyslexia.