Community

As a company, North is committed not only to our employees, clients and subcontractors, but also to the local community and environment around us. The aim is to use our own resources and the commitment of our team  to develop partnerships with local communities that will bring long-term benefits and opportunities to those communities.

This approach is supported by a dividend policy that directs a portion of company profits each year to fund these initiatives including our aid and leadership program.

Whilst some of our corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives have been simple aid or philanthropic pursuits, we prefer to commit to areas where the benefits can be amplified to achieve longer term sustainability. Partnering with select organisations is a strategy we often use to create value for both the business and society simultaneously. Partnering in this fashion focuses on key areas of impact between the business and society or community and develops creative solutions that draw on the complementary capabilities of both to address major challenges that affect each partner and their community. Examples of this approach can be seen in many of our initiatives below:

The North Challenge

Alongside providing valuable skills and hands-on experience for students through work placements and our immersion programs, and developing new and existing employees through our apprentice, trainee or cadet programs, we implemented our latest student program, ‘The North Challenge’, in 2022 in collaboration with local head teachers and representatives from Regional Industry Education Partnerships (REIP) and Industry Training Hubs.

The challenge set to several teams of Year 10 students from multiple schools across the Central Coast region is to use their entrepreneurial interests and business minds to develop business cases to address the growing population on the Central Coast and the increasing housing shortage crisis. The students are provided ongoing support from a North mentor throughout the challenge to help them from a construction business perspective to be included in their own group work. The program was expanded to include a further eight schools in 2023 allowing more students to be a part of The North Challenge.

The North Challenge

Immersion Programs

Looking for future leaders in our industry moves to another level with this new immersion program we are extremely proud to be offering in partnership with Training Services NSW and Regional Industry Education Partnerships (REIP). The aim here is to encourage female, male and Indigenous students to choose a career in construction through greater knowledge of the many and varied pathways available in the industry.

Our successful pilot immersion program was launched in 2020 as an inclusion in our corporate Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy.

On our two past immersion programs at The Glen Centre for Women Rehabilitation Centre at Wyong Creek, and St Philip’s Christian Education Foundation in Waratah, our team approached the delivery of these project a bit differently – seeing a unique opportunity here for role-modelling training and promoting student and Indigenous participation in construction.  

Immersion Programs

Women in Construction

For many years now, North has been working with numerous schools, Regional Industry Education Partnerships (REIP), Educational Pathways Program (EPP) and the University of Newcastle promoting to students, parents, teachers, and career advisors, the opportunities that exist for women in the construction.  For those women already in the industry, North has been actively involved with Women in Building and Associated Services (WIBAS) for nearly 10 years and more recently has been actively involved in the Women Building Australia mentoring program.

Women in construction

VET Ambassador

After being awarded the Australian Employer of the Year at the 2018 Australian Training Awards North joined the national community dedicated to sharing their vocational education and training (VET) journey with Australians to encourage greater participation in VET. Many of our past Apprentice of the Year winners willingly donate their time to give back to the community and speak to students about their career pathways and what a typical day looks like for them as an apprentice and in their current roles as site supervisors.

VET Ambassador

P-TECH Central Coast

In 2020, North joined the Central Coast P-TECH Program partnering with IBM. This program provides Year 9 and 10 students with industry experience, group mentoring and project based workshops to better prepare them for STEM related careers and, ultimately, supports the skills shortages experienced in this area.

P-TECH Central Coast

Coast Shelter

In 2012, North was commissioned to deliver refurbishment works for Coast Shelter, a not-for-profit charity that provides accommodation and support for people who are homeless, at risk of homelessness or escaping domestic and family violence. Upon completion of the construction project, many of our employees stayed involved with the charity and began volunteering at the shelter once a month.  During these volunteer evenings, our staff prepare, cook and serve free meals to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Post COVID, this has pivoted with Coast Shelter creating The Corporate Community Engagement Program. Twice a year, a team from North spends 4.5 hours of their workday preparing and serving meals to the disadvantaged in our community and then complete their visit with a sit-down lunch with the Coast Shelter team and a tour of the Coast Community Centre.

Visit the Coast Shelter website

Coast Shelter

Charitable Aid

North is a proud long-term supporter of organisations such as Rotary, The Glen Centre, Red Shield Appeal, Brothers 4 Recovery, Mates in Construction, Tradies In-sight; along with our projects teams actively participate in fundraising events such as Movember, RUOK Day?, The Push-Up Challenge, Oxfam walk…and many more.  

Charitable Aid

Papua New Guinea

North employees and subcontractors completed construction works on the Yegeli Early Childhood Development Centre in Papua New Guinea. Working with New Hope International, an established Australian aid group working in Africa and the Pacific region, our Yegeli project involved working with the Duna (Yuna) people of the Pori area in the Hela Region of the Southern Highlands Province. The Pori community-based development group CIEDA (Community Integrated Educational Development Agency), nurtured the idea of an Early Childhood Development Centre at Yegeli as a model for a centre caring for the needs of the local children from prenatal to Elementary School level. 

View the project here.

Papua New Guinea

“North Construction is such a valued stakeholder for us and the VET sector more broadly.  A heart felt thank you to you and your team for always being there for us - to genuinely promote career pathways in construction.”

Quote from Amber Biddy – Regional Manager Training Service NSW – Central Coast & Hunter

“Thank you to those that have been supportive of our College throughout the year and we are very grateful to you and all of the people at North who have taken the time this year to make a difference in our student's lives. Thank you again for your investment in our female students as they explore a career in Construction. They have found the sessions enormously valuable.”

Quote from Shana Kuziow – Leader of Community {Partnerships & Pathways St Brigid’s Catholic College

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