SPECIAL REPORT PART 2: This second part of our special report on social procurement in construction focuses on a lengthy case study discussion to understand key elements of Sydney Metro’s social procurement program and how it achieved its claimed success. The group comprised four leaders in Sydney Metro’s program, University of Technology Sydney Distinguished Professor Martin Loosemore who has formed a community of practice to better understand the opportunities and barriers in such programs, and The Fifth Estate acting mostly as observer, but also the occasional interviewer.
The format of this report is an edited extended case study.
Sydney Metro participants were:
- Olga Krikelis, senior project manager working on the western tunnel package for Sydney Metro, among other packages.
- Carla Calkins is senior manager for social procurement and industry development at Sydney Metro
- Timothy Nolevski, workforce development manager for Sydney Metro West and Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport
- Neville Bereyne, workforce development manager for Sydney Metro City and Southwest
Carla Calkins set the scene. She described how the social procurement initiative has been about 10 years in the making – from when Sydney Metro started constructing its Metro North West Line.
“We wanted to make sure that we were driving social outcomes and adding value to the delivery and construction of our project.”
In designing the initial model they looked at international best practice but gradually developed their own in collaboration with delivery partners and NSW government.
The models were developed to include more than contractual requirements, “We were very conscious that we didn’t want to just set requirements,” she said.
Conversations were “kept open” to tackle social value outcomes and “industry challenges around critical skill shortages”.
“We wanted to be deliberate in terms of driving skills development, but we said we also wanted contractors to focus on particular areas for the benefit of the broader industry.”
What developed was “really strong collaboration with industry around contract requirements.”
Adding to the program were client led and industry led initiatives to support priority areas such as driving local jobs development, diversity of the workforce and supply chain.
Specific opportunities for specific groups
The diversity issue was high on the agenda and on the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport package there was an opportunity to focus on long term unemployed – people with entrenched disadvantage, Aboriginal participation, women in construction, young people, Calkins said.
“We know that the construction industry is a big employer of young people – that’s a nobrainer, but considering our size we needed to also have responsibility about how we’re upskilling industry and leaving that legacy behind – to inspire future talent with apprentices and trainees.”
It meant making sure that teams had the appropriate types of entry level roles on the various sites.
Collaboration was key
Amidst it all was the importance of collaboration.
“We’re very much of the belief that you can’t do it alone. And I don’t like just telling industry what to do.
“I really love that our industry is quite open to giving us their feedback – positive or negative.”
Timothy Nolevski described the collaborative work being undertaken with the NSW Department of Education, Training Services in developing transferable skills.
Among the emerging opportunities, he said, were micro-credentials, which turned out to be ideal in supporting industry needs.
These businesses, he said, “know what they need, and what they should be delivering.”
Sometimes developing a new unit of competency can take a long time, so the challenge for Nolevski’s work was how to continue to support companies with the innovative non-accredited programs they were delivering while at the same time meeting the needs of industry in skills development.
Olga Krikelis
According to Krikelis, there is a lot of interest and enthusiasm to take on these programs and driving them. The participants understand they are placing their stamp on industry change, especially with introducing people to these skills opportunities to people who have come from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“It’s this holistic industry that’s coming together to try and take the bar higher by giving opportunities to individuals, who otherwise wouldn’t have had that.”
Martin Loosemore
Loosemore wanted to further interrogate the collaboration idea.
“I know for a fact that collaboration is an easy word to throw around. There are some people who are great collaborators. There are some people who say they collaborate, and they make a token effort. And there are some people who just can’t collaborate at all. Because of the culture of the industry – it’s competitive – it’s a dog-eat-dog industry.”
So who emerged as the main collaborators that the members of this group worked with? What part of the industry and community did they come from?
And also, how did the team facilitate “meaningful collaboration, where people are really open and willing to share their knowledge and experience and insights and give rather than just take?”
Carla Calkins
In the Sydney Metro skills and employment advisory group, the intent is to drive collaboration between industry and government, Calkins says of the process that her team led by getting the various delivery partners into the same room.
“When we started that it was very awkward, because they’re all competitors. They were quite nervous to talk openly.”
It’s taken a couple of years she says, but things have changed.
“I think, we’ve gotten to a point now where everyone, for the most part, is happy to share lessons learned.”
Timothy Nolevski
Sydney Metro’s Pre-employment programs work well under a collaborative model. Its purpose is to provide entry level skills, and employability training “for long term unemployed and other underrepresented groups to get employment on the project.
“We only run these programs if we have guaranteed jobs from our delivery partners. So, we have to work with our delivery partners to identify roles and such.”
The program is developed on the back of the opportunities that can be delivered.
“When I say collaborative model, it’s because of the number of key stakeholders that are involved.”
As well as the NSW Department of Education, which funds the accredited training components, there is also the federal Department of Employment and Workplace Relations.
This agency supports the Workforce Australia providers in referrals of candidates for funding things like employability training, which are foundational skills.
These are skills such as managing money as some people might be coming off benefits and working for the first time, he says.
Others might be around healthy eating.
These pre-employment programs then might lead to apprenticeships, or traineeships which would require the involvement of registered training organisations and group training organisations. Other specialist and employment providers may also be involved based on the programs intended cohort.
“So, it may be if the program is a targeted Aboriginal program, then we have an Aboriginal employment service provider involved,” Nolevski said.
If it’s a program for participants coming out of corrections, then there might be “NSW Corrections” involved.
“But the outcomes are amazing. You see these participants –just the way they present themselves for information and assessment days to get into the program, to graduation day and the change in confidence and self esteem, knowing that they’ve done this program and now have a job on the Sydney Metro project.
“And that’s fantastic, really amazing to see how everything can change.”
Neville Bereyne
Bereyne agreed with Loosemore that there are quite a few contractors who traditionally keep their cards close to their chests.
“Some of the contractors had amazing programs that they just didn’t want to share yet, because they may still want to win a couple of extra packages (of contract work) down the line. “
Competition kicking in. But a few years later things had evolved he said.
“A few years later, after [moving to Sydney Metro] I noticed a change in how people were willing to share the success of those programs.”
One of these was an offenders program, targeted to people who had been in the prison system to make sure they got the skills to get back into society and workforce and not go back to prison.
“That was quite successful. And, again, once it was completed, it was presented at one of the groups, [with the provider] proud to say they had 10 participants to go through this as our success story,” Nolevski said.
It encouraged others to follow.
“That type of collaboration does eventually lead everyone to start wanting to do things that are successful. So yes, I’ve seen both sides of that work.”
Carla Calkins
“It’s not just the delivery partners, it’s our internal project teams as well, it’s really important to have collaboration with people like our project implementation teams and executive sponsorship.” These are the people supporting the social procurement priorities, and integral to the success.”
Olga Krikelis
With the preemployment program for the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package.
“The contractor had eight participants gaining employment in the project, which is a great sort of outcome, and it was so successful, they ran another two after that.”
The participants were from under represented groups and ended with Certificate Three qualifications in civil construction and “valuable work experience in the WTP (western tunnel package).
“So it’s not just going through a program, but giving them direct training, and accessibility to mentors, like site supervisors with a wealth of knowledge and experience. And getting them to be part of that community,” Krikelis said.
“I like to call us, the construction communicators, it’s a team, it’s a construction community, where it actually provides support for these outcomes”.
“I have seen real cornerstone life changing opportunities for individuals that otherwise may not have had any other avenues.”
“So I can’t stress enough how these programs really do provide that life changing experience to these individuals.”
Timothy Nolevski
Nolevski said that the program includes inviting project directors to graduation day for training participants, “so they see the benefit. We usually get them to talk to the participants”.
He particularly notes Sydney Metro’s then head of projects Tim Parker who would tell participants that he started his career in the industry as an apprentice.
“So for them to look at someone at such a high level…[it signals that] anything’s possible. It’s really inspirational. So it’s cool that those types of people take the time out of their days to come.”
Martin Loosemore
Loosemore wanted to know what support is provided for subcontractors who employ participants, to make sure they all have a good experience – because not all subcontractors are equipped to do this.
Carla Calkins
“It varies from package to package,” Calkins said, “but before they deliver a program, we ask them for a proposal. So we need to approve it before it runs. Because we want to ensure the program is successful and has the appropriate support mechanisms for the candidates.
Organisations such as Workforce Australia provide a lot of post placement support, she adds.
Many delivery partners also engage specialist mentoring organisations to assist. There are also personal check-ins by people such as the delivery partners’ social procurement team.
Peer-to-peer support is needed
“So what we get them to do is to come together as a group, when they’re doing their training apprenticeships … for that peer-to-peer support.
“It’s sometimes hard to adjust to being back into the work environment, and they may be feeling down. But when they come together as a cohort, others kind of lift them up.”
There are programs that have been targeted to groups from the corrections sector. These might require the input of a mental health training provider using an assessor who might have come through the corrections agencies themselves, Nolevski says.
“So they really can connect with those participants and give them real examples of ‘I know what you’ve been through. And this is how we can support you out on site’.”
Carla Calkins
The support is important Calkins said, because doing something for the first time can make people nervous.
“It might fail, but it’s an evolution.
“So every time we’ve completed a package, I always sit down with my team, [and say] for example, this isn’t working. And we will just revise what we’re doing.”
What’s the contract say?
Martin Loosemore
Loosemore wanted to know how the contractual requirements work? For instance in reporting and abatement when things don’t work. And how is this monitored and enforced?
Neville Bereyne
It starts at the bid phase, Bereyne said.
“We have a set mandatory requirements that obviously aligns with government policy. However, the industry gets the chance to tell us what they want to deliver as part of the contract as well.” Once these are agreed, they’re written into the contract.
Reporting elements are “quite robust” especially in the collection of data, Bereyne said, and this is provided every month to see how the contractors are performing against the targets. In terms of meeting targets there’s a dashboard system that shows them how they’re tracking, Bereyne added.
“People engaged in this can also report to their senior management on how well they’re doing in all the areas of social procurement. And there are also key performance indicators, ‘which are the over and above’.
Martin Loosemore
Can this make the difference in winning the tender? Loosemore wanted to know.
Things have changed said Krikelis “Price alone is not the only driver for a successful tender.”
Neville Bereyne
Not so long ago, he said, there would be bid conversations denigrating the social procurement issues – bid leaders would ask for “someone else” to deal with that “fluffy stuff”.
Today it’s taken much more seriously – alongside sustainability and environmental issues.
Loosemore asked what the big take-away lessons were:
Carla Calkins said that among the key lessons was to “go beyond the policy but think about what the project wants to achieve.” Calkins said. “And second is listen to industry and work with them to drive an outcome.”
Timothy Nolevski
Key is to change on the go if needed. In the pre-employment programs, the team realised there would be four weeks that participants do not get any income. “So we thought about how to adjust the program making it a twoweek program and a provision to introduce some of the foundational skills once they start the employment.”
Olga Krikelis
Krikelis said it was critical to think about change and challenge.
And one of the core values that we do have is innovation.
So we try to find ways of innovating different ways of being a game changer in the industry, which is really where we’re heading, I guess, to some level.
Another area is data collection each month together with the micro understanding of the progression and flags areas of importance that need more focus.