Why Bovis Is Backing Deaf Awareness in Construction
Hearing loss and tinnitus affect hundreds of thousands of people working across construction, yet awareness of the condition remains limited.
Bovis has joined forces with the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID), Unseen Aware, Safety in Design and Heathrow to develop a dedicated deaf awareness and hearing loss training programme for the sector.
Backed by CITB's Industry Impact Fund, the collaboration brings together lived experience, behavioural science and health and safety expertise to help construction organisations better understand, communicate with and support deaf and hard-of-hearing colleagues.
"Too many people across our sector are living with hearing loss, tinnitus or other hearing-related conditions,” says Mark Ainsworth, Executive Director of Operations at Bovis.
“By supporting this training initiative, we are helping to raise awareness of the risks associated with excessive noise exposure and equipping people with the knowledge needed to better protect themselves and their colleagues."
A hidden industry health challenge
Noise is an unavoidable part of construction, but its long-term impact on hearing is rarely discussed with the same urgency as other on-site risks.
An estimated 328,000 construction workers out of a UK workforce of roughly 2 million live with hearing impairment or tinnitus, and roughly three in four are exposed to hazardous noise levels over the course of their careers.
Left unaddressed, hearing loss can affect communication on site, increase the risk of accidents and create barriers to progression for people already working in the sector.
"This is about more than prevention. It is also about encouraging our industry to adapt workplaces and behaviours to better support those affected by hearing loss, creating a more inclusive and psychologically safe environment for people already working in construction and for those considering a career in the sector," adds Mark.
His comment reflects a wider recognition across the industry that hearing health deserves the same attention as physical safety, and that protecting it starts with better understanding at every level of a business.
Designing practical accessible training
The programme is designed to combine lived experience with behavioural science and construction-specific safety expertise, translating that insight into training that site teams can put into practice.
Eight specialist modules will be available free of charge, featuring interactive e-learning and subtitled videos supported by British Sign Language, alongside knowledge checks designed to keep learners engaged.
A pilot phase will train at least 500 people from participating organisations, including Bovis, with training rolled out on site and cascaded through supply chains rather than confined to head-office teams.
- Understand the impact of hearing loss within construction environments
- Recognise the challenges faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing colleagues
- Improve communication and site safety
- Create more inclusive and psychologically safe workplaces
- Support the recruitment, onboarding and retention of deaf talent
Building an inclusive construction sector
Matt Burgess, Project Director at Bovis, is leading the company's involvement in the programme, working alongside partner organisations to help shape content that reflects real workplace experience rather than generic guidance.
The initiative points to a broader shift in construction toward embedding accessibility and inclusion into everyday site practice, rather than treating it as a separate or optional consideration.
Other companies taking part in the programme include: Sir Robert McAlpine, Graham, Kier, Wates, Ferrovial Construction, VolkerFitzpatrick, Mace and Costain.
Bovis’ key business partners:
CITB
The statutory training body for construction in England, Scotland and Wales, funding and shaping skills development across the sector. Through its Industry Impact Fund, CITB is backing the deaf awareness programme financially and will host the eight training modules, making them freely accessible to employers and their supply chains once the pilot launches.
RNID
A UK charity supporting the millions of people affected by hearing loss, tinnitus and deafness. It contributes lived experience and specialist knowledge of hearing health to the deaf awareness programme, helping ensure the training reflects the real communication and workplace barriers faced by deaf and hard-of-hearing employees across construction.
Unseen Aware
A movement focused on making hidden disabilities visible within organisations. It equips staff to recognise and respond to unseen conditions, including deafness, and brings this inclusion-first approach to the construction sector through the new training programme.
Safety in Design
An organisation that brings health and safety expertise focused on identifying and managing risk throughout a project's lifecycle to the deaf awareness programme. Its involvement helps ensure the training connects hearing loss prevention with established site safety practice, embedding awareness of noise-related risk into wider design and construction safety thinking.
Heathrow
One of the UK's largest infrastructure operators and a major client of construction activity. Its participation brings large-scale, live construction environments into the new training programme's development, helping ensure the training is grounded in the realities of major projects and their extensive supply chains.
