At John Sisk & Son we have a strong set of values that underpin how we operate. These values of care, integrity and excellence are at the heart of who we are and how we treat our people. We are committed to providing a safe, engaging and inclusive workplace where everyone is valued equally. This is fundamental to who we are as a company.
Encouraging women to work in construction is one of our sector’s greatest challenges. We are committed to doing everything we can to create a level playing field, where all employees feel supported and able to develop the career they want with Sisk.
Our goal is to create an environment where inclusion is part of the fabric of our business. We recognise that our proposed actions on levelling the playing field will only succeed with the right culture, along with support from our senior leadership, the commitment of our Diversity and Inclusion forum and clearly defined targets.
Forum
We established our Diversity and Inclusion forum with the stated mission of fostering an inclusive environment, to ensure each person can reach their full potential and that everyone is valued for their unique contribution.
We believe in appointing the best candidate to the job, regardless of gender or any other factors. To attract more female applicants, we will ensure our job advertisements use gender neutral language. To ensure equal opportunity for all candidates in the selection process our interviewers will complete unconscious bias training. We will also ensure that we use diverse interview panels as well as robust and transparent selection criteria in all our recruitment campaigns.
We will actively seek out opportunities to attract more females into our sector, and into Sisk, to create an improved gender balance. We aim to have greater female participation in future graduate programmes. This is an ambitious goal, and we will work with local schools and colleges to encourage female participation in Stem subjects and to promote our sector to future students.
We will continue to take an active role in industry wide campaigns such as those led by Considerate Constructors. We were the first Irish construction company to sign up for this scheme in Ireland. We have been active members in the UK for many years and roll it out on all our sites there.
Working to create an inclusive workplace: what our people say
“Sisk has given me the opportunity to work flexibly, allowing me to spend more time with my family whilst still maintaining a senior position within the company – that support has been invaluable to me.”
Christina Wilson, financial controller
“Having completed 20 years’ service with Sisk, I can honestly say Sisk have supported both myself and my family tremendously – most recently with flexible working hours.”
Peter Bailey, senior estimator
“The encouragement, guidance and professional development that I have received on Sisk’s graduate programme has far exceeded my expectations. I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my career in construction.”
Anna Hogan, graduate quantity surveyor
One size does not fit all
As we attract more women to work in Sisk, we now offer specifically selected women's personal protective equipment ranges. Mitigating the health and safety implications brought from wearing ill-fitting attire, this offers a greater protection to women entering the site.
Mental health a key focus for Sisk
Mental health is firmly on the agenda as the biggest challenge facing our industry in Ireland, the UK and beyond.
As part of our ongoing commitment to our people, we work very hard to encourage people to talk about stress and work life balance. Mental health in construction is a big issue and we have been very active in trying to help and encourage our people to look for help if they need it.
We are delighted to co-sponsor the Mental Health & Wellbeing Summit again this year on October 11th in the Aviva Stadium, Dublin.
The event was a huge success last year and provided a wealth of insights on mental health through informative speakers, workshops and exhibitors, on how both companies and individuals alike can tackle this difficult challenge.
For more on the event, visit
[ mentalhealthandwellbeingsummit.ieOpens in new window ]
About John Sisk & Son
Based on a strong financial platform, Sisk’s strategy is to create value for its customers, partners and people through technical knowledge, ability and experience to:
- Collaborate with customers and its supply chain to provide technical and delivery solutions in an open and can-do way to meet aligned objectives.
- Offer a full range of solutions where safety, innovation, quality, efficiency and value are integral to everything Sisk does.
- Deliver projects and programmes in key sectors such as data and technology, pharmaceutical and life sciences, infrastructure, transportation, healthcare, commercial, residential, retail, industrial, leisure, education, water and energy.