On Wednesday 6^th October, CCP’s Cordell Ray MBE attended the Gloucestershire Inclusivity Works award ceremony – and came away with official recognition of the work we have been doing to ensure a forward-thinking and inclusive workplace at CCP.

Unique to Gloucestershire, Inclusivity Works aims to make the county a beacon for inclusivity in the workplace.  It intends to inspire and support employers considering the benefits of an inclusive workplace to their business.

CCP has been involved with the organisers, the GEM Project (‘Going the Extra Mile’), for almost a decade, working together to support individuals return to the workplace following personal difficulties, breaking down the barriers to employment and enabling individuals to create the future they truly deserve. In fact, by working closely together, Sam Henson, our CCP GEM Navigator, has recently placed his 100^th candidate in a successful role.

And while we support individuals return to work outside of CCP, internally we have also been investing in diversity and inclusion, a key focus on our business plan. We have also taken the steps to adapt our recruitment process to be more inclusive. Previously, like many other employers, we relied on too many forms to fill in, before we even spoke to an applicant. Now, we have removed many of the barriers and engage in human-to-human conversations at the start of the process.

As part of our internal diversity and inclusion work, we have appointed a full-time Employee Welfare Officer, who offers confidential support counselling for all staff at CCP, no matter whether they are front line or engine room, and weekly mindfulness sessions have also been introduced, with every member of the team invited to participate.

And why do we do this? Because we know that happiness within a team is based on respect, acceptance of different personalities, fresh ideas and cultural differences, which all work in harmony to support the individuals that need us most in the communities we support.

We were invited to take part in this wonderful event, alongside twelve other businesses and community organisations in the Gloucestershire region, and would like to take the opportunity to congratulate all the winners on the day. The more of us championing genuine inclusion in the workplace, the stronger our community will be for it.

Tony Solomon from the GEM Project explains: “CCP are among the first employers in Gloucestershire to receive this recognition. The judges were impressed by CCP’s significant investment in equality, inclusion and diversity in terms of the leaderships vision and strategy, commitment of staff time, training and financial resources. We were impressed by their commitment to eliminating and tackling prejudice, intolerance and discrimination at all levels."

If you are interested in a career with CCP, click here to view our latest vacancies across all regions. 

To find out more about GEM: https://glosgem.org

For more information about Inclusivity Works: https://www.inclusivityworks.org/