Kier Highways has achieved two accolades from the National Centre for Diversity. It has been awarded the Masters in Diversity accreditation and has been placed number two in the National Centre for Diversity’s Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2022.

Only the second company to achieve Masters in Diversity, 16 leaders from Kier Highways were required to undergo a year-long leadership development programme and are now Fellows of the National Centre for Diversity (NCfD).

The Masters in Diversity programme focused on the FREDIE principles of fairness, respect, equality, diversity, inclusion and engagement as well as emotional intelligence, leading a diverse workplace, culture and performance and the neuroscience of leadership. Highways leaders attended six masterclasses over the course of 12 months and developed clarity and understanding around all FREDIE elements. They built knowledge and identified areas for personal development and received their certificates from the annual FREDIE awards earlier this month.

Vicki Glover, HR director for Kier Highways, said: “Achieving this accreditation shows Kier’s continued commitment to creating an inclusive workplace and is another step forward in delivering on the Group’s Diversity & Inclusion roadmap. The masterclasses equipped our leaders with the right tools to enhance their skillset so that they can maintain the right behaviours and lead by example. The programme gave us an opportunity to positively challenge our own thinking and that of others in a safe environment.

“To be named as NCfD’s second most inclusive workplace in the country is also another fantastic accolade that encompasses all the hard work carried out to embrace FREDIE across Kier Highways.”

Solat Chaudhry, Chief Executive at the National Centre for Diversity said: “I send my warmest congratulations to Kier Highways on successfully reaching number two in the Top 100 Most Inclusive Workplaces Index 2022 and for achieving Masters in Diversity. It’s been a challenging year and yet, it has not dented the excellent work that organisations and individuals do in promoting FREDIE best practice.  

“I am particularly proud that we celebrate excellent work across all sectors as these organisations are the future of the workplace in the UK. We celebrate the exceptional work of people and organisations who have EDI running through their DNA. Let’s rejoice at this and build a better society.”

Kier Highways is also accredited against Leaders in Diversity, which assesses the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy and plans, is a Disability Confident Leader, and holds the Social Value Quality Mark Level 2.