Four young Willmott Dixon employees from Birmingham have taken part in a once in a lifetime debate in the House of Commons.

The team, who all work with the company on its contract with Birmingham City Council, were invited by former shadow housing minister, Jack Dromey, MP for Erdington to debate and bring attention to the issues faced by 16-25 year olds.

Matt Daykin, Kerri Stanley, Nathan Reuter and Taylor Robins were chosen by Willmott Dixon to represent the views of other young people within their peer group. Along with other representatives from schools, youth organisations and companies across the area, the group heard from John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, whilst also providing input into a workshop covering debt, education and youth homelessness.

Matt Daykin, assistant customer and community partner for Willmott Dixon’s contract in the south of the city, was one of the chosen participants. He said: “We had such a fantastic experience visiting the House of Commons and it was good to contribute to the debates on issues that affect us, as young people living and working in the Birmingham area.”

“Young people are the future and it is so important that they have input to help shape that future. As a company we were delighted to have been invited to share our views.

“We appreciate the impact that young people have on our business and always seek to involve them in initiatives and activities. We have a strong and established Opening Doors programme, which provides young people with training and apprenticeship opportunities and so, we realise how vital young people are for the future of our business and the UK as a whole.

”Worklessness is one of the banners under our 4Cornerstones initiative which runs through our community legacy programme. It demonstrates a structured approach to our contribution to community projects and Opening Doors is one such programme that provides a stepping stone into employment for many young people across the UK.”

Pauline Chatt, operations director

This activity comes after the community actions of Willmott Dixon staff received a Royal seal of approval, with the company achieving a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. One of the areas highlighted by judges in making the award was the £1 million worth of community investment made by the company and staff each year to local good causes. The company has also received recognition after scooping gold in the ‘Excellence in Social Responsibility’ category of the prestigious Investors in People awards, whilst also recently receiving Business in the Community’s CommunityMark with commendation for its societal benefit programme.

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Young employees take debate to the Commons

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