CHARITY
Vital have always been dedicated to giving back to local communities and we championing charitable activity. As a Group, Morson have raised over £2 million for charity over the last 12 years and we were awarded Corporate Social Responsibility of the Year Award by APSCo in 2017 and operate an engaging and inclusive CSR programme which has created a stable and value-adding business for our employees, candidates and clients alike.
To honour the Group’s 50th birthday, we felt it was fitting to launch ‘50 Weeks of Giving’ and truly mark this milestone year. Gaining the buy-in from our offices across the globe, we pledged our support to numerous causes that were each nominated by members within the team, with such organisations and causes being close to their hearts.
Social value is of huge importance to the Group and our charity committee, which comprises of employees from across the Group and is led by its chairman David Robinson, continues to drive forward our charitable agenda and ensure we live and breathe our values to deliver positive impact throughout the communities in which we operate.
50 Weeks of Giving was a landmark programme of events for the Group and it celebrated ordinary people doing extraordinary things in the support of those less fortunate.
The Morson Charity Committee was founded in 2007, and each year our employees vote to select two charitable organisations to raise vital funds for - one local organisation and one national. The nomination of a local charity often stems from the personal experience of an employee and Morson is proud to support and promote awareness of a worthwhile cause in our region.
Our 2020 employee-chosen charities are Kidscan and Acorns. In the last 12 years, we've raised over £2million for worthy causes throughout the UK such as Salford University, the Seashell Trust, Destination Florida and Alzheimer's Society.
COMMUNITY
As a business, we actively encourage community engagement. Past engagements have included;
Careers On Track Event - A group of Year 10 and 12 girls from a high school and sixth form in Manchester, took to the track to get a taste of what a career in rail engineering can offer them. The #CareersOnTrack event was aimed to address the skills shortage and lack of diversity in the rail industry by shining a spotlight on the exciting diversity of careers and pathways into engineering, whilst breaking down the stereotypes that prevent females from entering the
sector.
Brew Monday - 'Blue Monday' (the third Monday in January) is known as one of the most difficult days of the year. Each year, VHRL teams up with Samaritans and visit locations across Britain interacting with members of the public with an approach “we are here if you want to talk”. Our 3 safety units, safety advisers and Trespass and Vandalism patrollers supported British Transport Police join the Samaritans Brew Monday campaign at prominent locations throughout the UK. Engaging with and bringing people together for a cuppa, a chat and to banish any winter blues. Passengers and members of the public are offered refreshments in the form of hot and cold drinks and snacks that can be comfortably enjoyed in the warmth of the safety units.
Donations to Children and Families Wellbeing Service -Christmas can be one of the most challenging times for families who have very little. Directors, John Smith and Gary Hardaker wanted the company's generosity to be
used wisely and with long established links with the Burnley area they decided donating toys and food would be a much needed helping hand.
As with previous years, Vital staff donated to the Burnley branch of the Children and Families Wellbeing service of Lancashire County Council. The service has a mission to support a wide range of families to ensure positive outcomes for the children they are tasked to support. These families access services across Burnley and the staff are well placed to target any outside support exactly where the benefit will be most effective. It was all hands on deck when we landed in Burnley. Staff at the South West Burnley Centre were genuinely moved by the generosity.
Careers Days at Schools - We attend local high schools that hold world of work days. The purpose of the day is to give the pupils an insight in to all different places of work and the kinds of opportunities available to them when they leave school. Our HSE advisors attend along with their safety units. The safety advisors speak to the pupils about our organisation and available roles within the company, discussing how they got to be in their current positions. The pupils were then given the chance to ask questions about careers in the rail and construction industry.
Ex offenders & ex-military - Vital works with ex offenders and ex military staff to encourage and support work placements. Ex-offenders - we have engaged with offender’s institutions to offer rehabilitation programmes with day-release for training to gain practical skills to give opportunity for work undertaking track maintenance. We have filled a variety of roles across the Rail and Civils industry. Our Group has been awarded ‘Gold Award’ status for supporting the Armed Forces Covenant, which includes employing over 1500 Ex-military personnel across our projects.
We also work with the Career Transition Partnership.
We recruit ex-forces candidates into a variety of roles across each of our key verticals. Key to our work is CV and interview coaching, in-house ex-forces personnel and vocational training courses.
1,220 ex-forces personnel recruited by Morson in the last 12 months.
553 employed ex-forces personnel working on our projects.
As a reflection of this commitment to armed forces leavers, Morson Forces are the proud owner of the Gold Award from the Employment Recognition Scheme (ERS), which is the MOD’s most prestigious badge of honour awarded to employers that deliver outstanding support for those who serve and have served and set a precedent for industry standards.
Morson Forces also works closely with the Careers Transition Partnership (CTP) and British Forces Resettlement Services (BFRS) to ensure smooth recruitment journeys, attending numerous annual events to build an invaluable network.
