We’re proud to announce that 8build has been shortlisted for ‘Employer of the Year’ at the 10th Annual BCO NextGen Awards – a milestone year celebrating a decade of emerging leaders shaping the future of offices, people, and place.
The awards ceremony will take place on Thursday, 13 November 2025 in London, recognising the organisations and individuals driving innovation across the built environment. The Employer of the Year category honours companies that invest in the development, wellbeing, and success of their NextGen employees.
At 8build, we believe the future of our business is built on the success of our people. This year, we proudly launched our NextGen Programme, a dedicated platform designed to empower emerging leaders with the tools, confidence, and exposure to help shape the construction industry of tomorrow.
Our commitment to talent development is tangible: in 2024/25, we invested over £77,000 into NextGen training and experiences. This includes site tours of landmark projects, thought-leadership workshops with senior leaders, six external day courses chosen by participants, branding and presentation training, and industry networking events. Each cohort also receives one-to-one mentoring and is encouraged to challenge convention in areas such as sustainability, digitalisation, and diversity.
NextGen members are given early leadership responsibility, representing 8build at client and consultant engagements, industry events, and CSR initiatives. They contribute to health & safety, ISO development, and mentor graduates and apprentices – building leadership skills long before formal managerial roles.
The programme is the third stage of our five-stage Employee Development Framework, guiding individuals from apprenticeship through to leadership. Many NextGen participants are former graduates or apprentices who have benefited from structured mentoring, professional support, and hands-on experience from day one.
With 38% of our workforce under 35, and strong representation of female and BAME employees within the NextGen cohort, we are committed to fostering an inclusive, stimulating environment where learning never stops.
Being shortlisted for Employer of the Year is a proud moment for our team – a reflection of the creativity, dedication, and ambition that drives everything we do. We look forward to celebrating with the BCO community in November and continuing our journey of nurturing the next generation of leaders across the construction industry.