Mental Health Awareness Training @ WHC Hire

During October, several members of the WHC Hire team are undergoing training in first aid for mental health. These level 3 qualifications; will educate staff to recognise a wide range of mental health conditions, enabling them to support and aid their colleagues within the workplace.

Mental health affects many people’s lives every single day at work or home. According to UK statistics, there are currently 526,000 cases of work-related stress, anxiety and depression within the construction industry alone. Mental health has been named the “silent killer”, with evidence supporting that suicide rates for construction workers is over 3 times the national average. Between 2011-2015 1,409 men and 10 women sadly took their own lives. In 2021, these numbers have risen to a record high of 454 lives a year throughout the entire construction industry. 

In addition to these statistics, further studies have discovered that 64% of people in the construction industry would like to see better physical and mental wellbeing support from their employers. 

With this in mind, WHC Hire has invested into a number of its staff becoming trained in first aid support for mental health awareness. Senior members of staff from the company’s depots attended the 12-hour level 3 training course held by Valley Plant Training at WHC Hire headquarters in Tewkesbury. 

MD James Clutterbuck said ” The stigma around mental health in the construction industry is very much a pandemic and needs to change. We want to continue to protect our employees by providing them with all the help and support we can. It all starts with educating our staff in identifying possible mental health issues. We have always offered support to all members of our team, I believe we have created a working environment where people can discuss their problems if they wish to do so. However, this usually relies on them taking the first step. Being able to spot any early signs of mental health issues across all our depots will assist us further in protecting staff hurting themselves or potentially others. Our goal at WHC Hire has always been to create an environment where people can flourish. Therefore, investing in additional mental health education will not only make our workplace safer but allow us to help, manage and also start a support conversations with all our team members”.