Gleeds Becomes Accredited Corporate Partner

APM is pleased to announce that Gleeds has become an accredited corporate partner.

Gleeds is a world class independent property and construction consultancy with more than 130 years’ experience, working with some of the world’s best brands.

From advising on more than £2bn worth of defence projects to being pivotal on some of the UK’s most prestigious projects, such as the London 2012 Olympics and Crossrail, Gleeds takes immense pride in its client relationships and the expertise and knowledge it brings to each varied project.

Sustainability and corporate social responsibility are deeply rooted in the organisation’s philosophy, with every area of the business recognising the important role Gleeds plays in the future of the built environment.

“Professional accreditation is really important to us. It demonstrates our commitment to the development of our staff and provides added attractiveness when we are recruiting,” explained Richard Steer, chairman of Gleeds Worldwide and Fellow of the Association for Project Management. This is why we are proud to have received APM corporate accreditation.

Gleeds’ own competencies have been carefully mapped against the APM Competence Framework, and have been further developed to include other core competencies specific to the business. Gleeds’ own competencies have been carefully mapped against the APM Competence Framework, and have been further developed to include other core competencies specific to the business.

Director for Gleeds, Chris Paxford, says: “It’s vital to have a clear defined pathway for people to follow. We have based our competencies on APM’s, but added our own Gleeds ones to construct a holistic framework. As people progress against the APM competencies, they also progress against the Gleeds ones.” 

By aligning formal professional qualifications and affiliations to job roles, members of staff are given a clear view of expectations for progression with the company. Job descriptions clearly demonstrate the APM qualification required for each grade, and the level of complexity for each competence increases with the grade of personnel.

Miranda Hammond, assistant project manager, commented, "APM qualifications are a great way to incentivise and frame career development. It’s also good that there is a programme in place for everyone to measure themselves against, regardless of their history or experience. I am currently working towards the APM Project Management Qualification as the first step in the APM accreditation and I am using the framework to help me improve my whole Gleeds approach. It’s so helpful to have everything mapped out.” 

Gleeds has been a corporate member of APM since 2002 and individual APM membership is widely encouraged, with the fees being reimbursed by the organisation. Figures show Gleeds currently has 48 individual members of all grades, with 36 Full members and two Fellows. Increasing membership levels is a focus for the organisation and as awareness of the benefits of membership spreads, these figures are set to grow further.

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