Construction companies across Great Britain can now access a new programme focused on suicide prevention and mental health awareness, developed by Barratt and David Wilson Homes in partnership with Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH) and supported by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

SAMH figures indicate that people working in construction are four times more likely to take their own life, underscoring the urgency of tailored support for the sector.

The initiative, called 'Suicide Prevention in Construction Training', has been enabled by £239,000 from CITB's Industry Impact Fund. CITB provided guidance to help shape the successful bid and bring the idea to fruition.

Delivered through SAMH's training platform, the programme equips organisations and individual workers with practical tools to recognise signs of distress, start conversations and direct colleagues to support.

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During development, participating organisations reported stronger understanding of mental health issues and suicide prevention across their teams. Barratt and David Wilson Homes said the work also encouraged more people to speak up and seek help.

Kevin Urquhart, Construction Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes, said: "We can all say that we want to progress things, but without funding and without the support of someone like CITB within the industry, I don't think the project would have got off the ground."

"I've said it always from day one, if we save one life and we save one person, then you can't put a price tag on someone's life. So, we've done what we needed to do, and we are going to change the industry," added Kevin.

Nicole Burke, Workplace Business Development Manager at SAMH, who learned about CITB's Industry Impact Fund through Kevin, said: "For me the most valuable support we had from CITB was the revision of our application.

"There were stages of our application that we had to change to make sure that the funding would be successful and CITB were extremely supportive."

"As it's no longer a project in development, we are really excited to now have it out in the world," Nicole added.

Further details about the Industry Impact Fund and eligibility are available here - www.citb.co.uk/funding-support/funding/industry-impact-fund