Two initiatives that celebrate those leading and inspiring a culture of inclusion and diversity in the construction industry should be of interest to consultancy firms, reports Anil Iyer.

It’s almost a year since I had the privilege to steer the launch of a reverse mentoring initiative through a pilot scheme with ACE’s emerging professionals group.  Whilst participation in the pilot scheme was initially limited to consultancy practices, the feedback from the wider infrastructure and built environment industry on the reverse mentoring report we produced has been very encouraging.

There is evidence that the concept of reverse mentoring is becoming, or in some cases has already become, part of regular business practice. Many businesses see it as a key tool in personal development, recruitment and retention in our industry.

As part of my personal quest to spread the message about reverse mentoring I was pleased to be invited to participate in an event called the Inspire Summit, a conference that looks at improving diversity and inclusivity in the infrastructure and built environment industry and initiatives that businesses are promoting that can help strengthen and future-proof the industry - reverse mentoring being one such initiative. 

The sessions at the Inspire Summit are built around personal development, recruitment and retention themes and the speakers are leaders of organisations that are the forefront of diversity and inclusion initiatives. 

Following the conference which also incorporates an exhibition, the Inspire Awards take place. The awards celebrate those who are leading and inspiring a culture of inclusion and diversity in the infrastructure and built environment industry. Both the Inspire Summit and the Inspire Awards are being held on 5 June 2019 at the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester.

Anil Iyer is a director of Kranial Solutions, a consultancy offering project management, business advice and coaching services. He was formerly chief operating officer at ACE.