COYO recognised for delivering gold-standard, long-term outreach that builds a future-ready construction workforce
Class Of Your Own is proud to announce that the Design Engineer Construct! Learning Programme has been Highly Commended in the Outreach Initiative of the Year category at the Construction News Workforce Awards 2025.
The recognition places DEC alongside some of the sector’s most innovative organisations working to inspire the next generation of construction professionals.
A Highly Commended achievement in a competitive field
The Construction News Workforce Awards celebrate organisations that “go the extra mile to inspire people to consider a career in construction.”
This year’s category featured exceptional finalists, and COYO extends warm congratulations to category winners Galloway Construction and to fellow shortlisted organisations: ADEPT Built Environment Schools Trust, Constructionarium Ltd, Design ID, GRAHAM Group, Mott MacDonald Bentley (MMB), and William Hare Group.
Receiving a Highly Commended award in such strong company acknowledges the deep, sustained impact of DEC’s outreach work – work that judges described as:
“[A] Great educational programme… demonstrated real passion. A gold standard of what long-term systemic outreach could look like, aimed at building a future-ready workforce.”
Impact that speaks for itself
As part of the judging process, entrants were invited to bring a “service user” to share first-hand experiences of programme impact.
COYO was proudly represented by Claire McHugh, a former Cardinal Wiseman Catholic School DEC student and now an award-winning Mace apprentice.
Claire articulated how her journey into construction began at school, reflecting the transformative outcomes DEC continues to deliver.
Recognition of a team effort
This award reflects the hard work of COYO’s small but dedicated VCSE team, who have continued to push forward despite a demanding year.
Alongside delivering DEC internationally, CEO Alison Watson also fulfilled her concurrent responsibilities as President of the Chartered Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (CICES) throughout 2024/25.
COYO extends heartfelt gratitude to the entire team – Daniel McDonagh, Angela Whitwell, Vicki Irving, Alli Adamson, Sayyam Rabbani, Rob Lloyd and Yvonne Cox – and to the many students, teachers, industry partners, academics, and supporters who make DEC possible.
This includes our valued partners at Bentley Systems and awarding organisation Training Qualifications UK, whose collaboration continues to strengthen DEC’s impact worldwide.
A special thank you also goes to Nicole Tickle, whose timely message shared the award news with the team.
A gold standard of long-term outreach
In 2025, the Design Engineer Construct! Learning Programme stands proudly as a Highly Commended Outreach Initiative of the Year, recognised as a model for long-term, systemic education and workforce development within the construction sector.
As COYO looks ahead to 2026, we invite more schools and organisations to join us in supporting real-world learning and teaching that builds the future of construction.
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