In line with Bethell’s commitment to upholding high standards within our fleet operations, we are pleased to announce that we have passed our FORS audit and received a Silver accreditation, following our recent DVSA Earned Recognition award in November.

The FORS Silver accreditation requires operators, such as Bethell, to meet stringent criteria on safety, driver training, vehicle maintenance, record-keeping, fuel efficiency, driver health and wellbeing.

Jacob Jenks, Transport Manager at Bethell, commented on the achievement, saying: “To demonstrate that Bethell has met the criteria set out by FORS, all our HGV drivers underwent a series of training sessions to demonstrate their competency across several key areas, ensuring we all can work safely on the roads and protect the safety of others.”

Obtaining the Silver accreditation required a rigorous audit process, so I would like to thank the transport team who’ve worked so hard to get this result.

Jacob Jenks, Transport Manager, Bethell Group

“All our HGVs have been equipped with 360-degree vision cameras to meet the security standards of the qualification, and the fuel efficiency training delivered with our driver team will help us continue to minimise our impact on the environment and assist Bethell in achieving our carbon net-zero ambitions.”

“Obtaining the Silver accreditation required a rigorous audit process, so I would like to thank the transport team who’ve worked so hard to get this result. Now we’ve reached this level, it’s up to us to not only attain this high standard of compliance but to continue to improve and develop our training.”

As a result of our FORS Silver accreditation, Bethell can demonstrate our compliance with the CLOCS Standard for Construction Logistics and with TfL’s WRRR (Work Related Road Risk).

Bethell Group has invested in 1 no. Hitachi and 4 no. brand-new Takeuchi excavators as we continually update and refresh our fleet to ensure our site teams can complete their work to the highest standard.

The medium-sized excavators are equipped with brand-new and innovative fit from the floor cab guards, developed jointly by Bethell, Parkway Plant Sales and Cabcare Products Limited, to protect our drivers’ safety.

Our health and safety team and drivers identified a concern with the traditional cab guard being used, which required operatives to stand on the tracks of the machine to fit. As this task was working from height, we investigated various solutions to mitigate the potential risk to the health and safety of our drivers and operatives.

Ronan Kilroe, Plant Maintenance Manager for Bethell Group, said: “Thanks to the joint innovation between Bethell, Cabcare Products Limited and Parkway Plant Sales, we’ve delivered a brand-new solution which previously didn’t exist in the sector, and is now being embraced by other construction firms and quickly becoming an industry standard. Bethell was proactive in identifying a risk to our operators’ safety and developing a solution to mitigate risk, alleviate health and safety concerns, make our drivers’ jobs safer and easier when collecting machines from site, and protect the safety of our operatives when fitting cab guards to secure the machine outside of working hours.”

We’ve delivered a brand-new solution which previously didn’t exist in the sector, and is now being embraced by other construction firms and quickly becoming an industry standard.

Ronan Kilroe, Plant Maintenance Manager, Bethell Group

The 5T, 6T and two 9T excavators will play a key role in the delivery of our small to medium-sized civils and utilities projects, whilst the 14T Hitachi excavator will be deployed to our larger projects for clients such as United Utilities and other civils/drainage projects, which we are actively delivering.

All the machines have now been dispatched with the brand-new cab guards, as our on-site activities ramp up on several newly started large capital projects. In addition, we are now actively working to retrofit our existing fleet of excavators to replace the traditional cab guards.

Bethell Group is pleased to announce that all stages of its head office expansion in its Kearsley headquarters have now been completed.

The first phase of Bethell’s office expansion facilitated a refresh of the Dane House headquarters to meet the changing needs and demands of the Group’s growing workforce. This included a visual refresh, with updated Bethell livery adorning the building, a new reception space to welcome visitors and new meeting rooms equipped with high-specification video conferencing facilities. In addition, and in line with Bethell’s green agenda, employees and visitors can now benefit from the installation of dedicated electric vehicle charging bays in the head office car park.

Secondly, the growth of Bethell’s Utility Services business required the development of a brand-new dedicated workspace on the same site to future-proof the accommodation requirements for our 10-year growth plan. A modular building solution was chosen due to its cost-effectiveness and only requiring three months to construct. This new annex building features an open office floor plan, toilets, canteens, and modern meeting room facilities. The construction processes allowed a reduced carbon output by reusing steel frames, helping Bethell commit to its carbon reduction targets. The modular annex is also equipped with many CO2-friendly features, such as ceiling-mounted air conditioning, eco-friendly taps, PIR lighting and UPVC double-glazed windows.

The third stage was to improve the detached office building opposite the main reception to accommodate the growth of the Bethell Construction business to create a modern, dedicated workspace. The building exterior was given an updated new look, rich with Bethell’s core values and safety messaging. The new Construction House building is equipped with two brand-new meeting rooms, video conferencing facilities, and two meeting booths for quicker, less formal, catchups. The refurbishment was completed with the installation of vibrant and practical kitchen and dining facilities on the ground floor.

Finally, Bethell acquired 5,000 square feet of office space and 7,500 square feet of workshop space adjacent to its existing premises. Our Unit 3 building has been totally renovated to house Bethell’s internal plant and transport business operations. These works have seen improvements to the works yard, creating a refreshed open layout with a new one-way system for safer travel, and new automatic security gates to ensure the safety of Bethell staff working at the site.

Congratulations to Trainee Quantity Surveyor Rob Madden, who graduated this week after completing his Quantity Surveying Degree at the University of Salford!

Rob works in our commercial team to estimate costs, material quantities and labour, ensuring that we can provide the best value for our utilities clients.

When asked how Bethell made achieving his degree possible, Rob said: “Bethell allowed me to go to university on day release every week, so I could attend lectures and complete assignments during busy periods in working hours. My day-to-day role allows me to apply the fundamentals of quantity surveying, practising the skills learnt in my academic study and applying them to real work-based scenarios.”

My day-to-day role allows me to apply the fundamentals of quantity surveying, practising the skills learnt in my academic study and applying them to real work-based scenarios.

Rob Madden, Trainee Quantity Surveyor, Bethell Utility Services

“The mentorship I’ve received from my senior colleagues has both supported my degree, as I can access guidance and help if I was struggling with my studies and has helped me learn on the job by growing my knowledge of quantity surveying. Initially, I was new to the role when I first joined Bethell, but thanks to their support, I’ve now completed my degree and also manage my own live schemes.”

As a Platinum member of the 5% club, we continually invest in our early careers programmes, as over 10% of our workforce like Rob are currently in an “earn and learn” programme.

Well done to Rob for achieving such an incredible milestone, and we look forward to sharing more success stories like his in the future!

On Friday, at the Construction Apprenticeship Awards, Bethell was honoured to take home the Construction Apprenticeship Medium/Large Employer of the Year award, a testimony to our commitment to growing our own talent and investing in apprenticeships.

As a Platinum member of the 5% Club, over 10% of our workforce is in “earn and learn” schemes and we onboarded 14 apprentices this year as part of our yearly apprentice scheme!

Emma Walker, Head of People & Development at Bethell Group, commented on the award, saying: “We believe that apprenticeships are core to the success of our business and this award is an excellent demonstration of our commitment to growing our own talent and giving opportunities to all.”

We believe that apprenticeships are core to the success of our business and this award is an excellent demonstration of our commitment to growing our own talent and giving opportunities to all.

Emma Walker, Head of People and Development

In addition, Bethell was nominated for the Low Carbon Innovator of the Year award, in recognition of the ongoing action we’ve taken as an organisation in achieving our carbon net zero goals.

Thank you to everyone in our People & Development team for your hard work and efforts when it comes to supporting apprentices at Bethell, as well as everyone who gave their input into our successful award submission!

This week is Green Careers Week, which celebrates the career opportunities that are available in the Green industry! At Bethell, our Green Energy team work across the UK to help businesses achieve their carbon net zero goals, installing EV chargers and delivering greener energy infrastructure.

To learn more about the opportunities available in the green industry for those starting their career journey, we sat down with two Bethell apprentice electricians, Harry Brown and Bradley Bowers, to chat about what a career in Green Energy at Bethell is like and how those new to the industry can get started.

Interested in pursuing a Green career? Want to learn more about the opportunities available in our Green Energy team at Bethell? Speak with our recruitment lead James Lacey or visit our careers page to learn more.

Bethell Group is delighted to announce that we have been awarded Platinum accredited membership via The 5% Club’s 2023-24 Employer Audit Scheme!

This award recognises our significant contribution to the continued development of all our Employees through “earn & learn” schemes such as Apprenticeships, Graduate Schemes and Sponsored Students Course Placements.

Launched to mark The 5% Club’s 10th Anniversary this year,  The Club introduced the new “top” tier of Platinum Membership that can be achieved through the Employer Audit Scheme. Platinum members are participants who have achieved Gold Membership in three consecutive years, and who in their third year have 10% or more staff members “earning and learning”.

From an impressive list of 180 audit participants, we were one of only 30 Employers who met the Platinum Standard, meaning Bethell Group is in the top 3 percent of members of The 5% Club achieving this prestigious top level.

We are proud of our investment in our staff members, which is why we joined The 5% Club. The 5% Club is a dynamic movement of employers all of whom are inspired to take positive action for increased, inclusive, and accessible workplace training for all. With a membership which now exceeds 900 companies, The 5% Club represents over 1.6 million employees, 101,000 of whom are in “earn and learn” schemes. The Employer Audit is a unique scheme which validates the employers’ activities, explores their future plans and commitments, as well as examining their approaches to quality, social mobility, diversity and inclusion.

People are the key to our success and by expanding our earn and learn offering across the business, this enables us to grow and develop the future of our business.

Emma Walker, Head of People and Development

Mark Cameron OBE, Chief Executive at The 5% Club said, “Our Employer Audit scheme recognises the efforts of all those Employers who invest in their workforce through a broad range of workplace learning schemes. It is fantastic that in these challenging times, so many are able to commit to the Employer Audit and to gain credit for their efforts, and that the majority are striving to expand their schemes over the coming years. Their efforts and achievements are to be applauded. Even more impressive is the 3 percent who have achieved Platinum level membership – they represent the very best of our movement and of employers offering ‘earn and learn’ opportunities.”

Even more impressive is the 3 percent who have achieved Platinum level membership – they represent the very best of our movement and of employers offering ‘earn and learn’ opportunities.

Mark Cameron OBE, Chief Executive, The 5% Club

Gill Cronin, Director of Operations at The 5% Club added: “Having seen The Club grow to more than 900 members, I am always impressed at the commitment, drive and energy our members channel into offering “earn and learn” skills opportunities. To now see 20 percent of these members gain Bronze, Silver, Gold and Platinum accredited membership of The Club is inspiring and demonstrates how these companies are all contributing to the future of skills in our economy.”

As one of the most prestigious awards evenings in the construction industry calendar, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association’s (CECA) North West Awards Dinner brings together the region’s talent, recognising those who go above and beyond. Bethell Group, one of the leading civil engineering contractors in the North West, was proud to be an event sponsor for the night.

To kick off the evening, Bethell’s own Vinny O’Dowd took home the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award, in recognition of his 45 years of dedicated and influential service in the region’s civil engineering industry.

Vinny began his career as a Site Engineer, then moved to the Kilroe Group and, in 1991, joined a newly acquired Bethell. Moving through the ranks, he became Managing Director in 2010 and played a pivotal role in developing Bethell’s reputation as a leading civils provider, implementing transformational employee wellbeing policies and apprenticeship programmes, and providing over 200 employment opportunities to date. Transitioning to a semi-retired role in 2022, Vinny continues to provide key support to Bethell’s estimating function, with an aspiration to fully retire in 2024.

Bethell itself was presented with a Highly Commended Project of the Year (>£5m category) award for its project at INEOS Inovyn, constructing additional wellheads for the extraction of brine and a series of new haul roads to increase capacity and accessibility across the site using over 400m3 of structural concrete and 10,000 tonnes of aggregate.

Due to the complex and challenging nature of the works, a collaborative approach with multiple subcontractor partners was required.

Bethell hit a treble with another Highly Commended award given to Graduate Quantity Surveyor Connah Evans who joined Bethell in 2016 as an apprentice groundworker.

Connah worked on several projects, including the University of Central Lancashire Campus, Eastway Retail Hub and various United Utilities schemes, building a wealth of operational knowledge. Later, he chose to progress his career by obtaining an HNC in Construction and a degree in Quantity Surveying at Salford University, advancing to become a Trainee Quantity Surveyor within Bethell’s Commercial Department.

The third phase of Bethell Group’s £1.5m investment programme for the extension and refurbishment of its headquarters in Kearsley, Greater Manchester is now complete!

The refurbishment included a total revamp of the existing Construction House building, creating a sleek and modern workspace to facilitate the planned future growth of Bethell’s civil engineering business, where major improvements have created a great working environment for valued staff.

These include an adapted layout for flexible working areas, high-tech meeting and video conferencing rooms, informal meeting pods for smaller groups, relaxing breakout areas, hot desks, and an expanded kitchen & dining area.

Further works were carried out to accommodate the increased demands for the Group’s procurement department with a new 2,500 sq. ft. modular building. This dedicated space houses the newly centralised procurement team led by Bethell Group’s Procurement Manager Jack Vongeyer. In addition, an enlarged central stores facility has been created with 4,000 sq. ft. of mezzanine storage space to service the growing number of utility contracts.

Jack said: “Our new workspace brings all teams under one roof, creating a cohesive environment of knowledge, experience and best practice; further supporting our young talent to develop and thrive whilst driving the competitive advantage of the group. The addition of the purpose-built mezzanine storage allows us to develop our inventory across the utility and green energy sectors, increasing our service capability to clients and driving end-to-end operational efficiency”.

Our new workspace brings all teams under one roof, creating a cohesive environment of knowledge, experience and best practice; further supporting our young talent to develop and thrive whilst driving the competitive advantage of the group.

Jack Vongeyer, Procurement Manager, Bethell Group

As part of its “green agenda” Bethell also expanded its head office Electric Vehicle (EV) charging offering with two additional charging hubs, bringing the total number of EV chargers on site to 18. The investment will allow guests to easily charge during their visit and encourage more Bethell staff to switch to EVs, reducing carbon emissions and assisting Bethell in achieving its goal of becoming a carbon net-zero organisation by 2050.

Since 2013, National Highways has cared for over 3,000 former railway structures throughout England, Wales, and Scotland, forming a modest, but important part of the UK’s wider heritage railways estate.

Collectively known as Historical Railways Estate (HRE), they are important reminders of our country’s industrial past, with some structures dating back to the 19th Century.

As one of National Highways key delivery partners, our work with the HRE team ensures that future generations can enjoy their many local railway structures, bridges and green spaces for years to come. In line with National Highways’ safety values, at Bethell, our “Work Safe Home Safe” ethos ensures not only the safety of our site team and colleagues but also the public who come in contact with structures – a top priority for us.

Bethell was first appointed to the HRE framework in January 2020, where we have worked to repair and preserve bridges, tunnels and viaducts across the North of England since. Together with National Highways, we have worked on over 50 structures so far.

George Brockbank, Contracts Manager at Bethell Construction, commented on the success of the partnership, saying: “The team support us to deliver repair and maintenance schemes safely, while always minimising impact to the surrounding environment. The work is rewarding when you uncover and restore some of these structures to their former glory!”

The work is rewarding when you uncover and restore some of these structures to their former glory!

George Brockbank, Contracts Manager, Bethell Construction

Recently, Bethell has finished works at Mosedale Beck Viaduct, one of the Lake District’s most visually stunning historic railway assets, undertaking de-vegetation and fencing works to preserve the viaduct and ensure it can continue serving the needs of the local community for years to come.

Congratulations to the Historic Railways Estate team on 10 years of service to the community, and we look forward to continuing to partner with HRE in the near future.