Bouygues UK, the lead contractor for Llanelli’s Canolfan Pentre Awel, has overdelivered on its social value commitments and targets during the build – including more than 400 extra weeks’ work for trainees or new entrants into the industry.

The Canolfan Pentre Awel team has made it a priority during the nearly two years on site, to enhance the lives of the people in Carmarthenshire, providing career opportunities, improving education and skills, engaging with the local community and supporting local businesses.

Bouygues UK’s project team has delivered over £35 million in social value through their employment, education, supply chain and community engagement (Social Value Portal 2025). When it comes to career and skills development, Bouygues UK partnered with the local supply chain to create 76 new entrant jobs and provide 62 apprenticeship opportunities in mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) roles. Through collaboration with Whitehead Building Services, 10 mechanical and plumbing apprentices also joined Cyfle’s Shared Apprenticeship Scheme.

In partnership with Acorn by Synergie, an on-site employment hub was established, helping match candidates with career opportunities. The hub facilitated 15 sessions, resulting in 36 people securing employment – 32 at Canolfan Pentre Awel and four at other sites run by supply chain partners across Carmarthenshire.

Bouygues UK also engaged with local schools and colleges. Led by Nina Williams, social value advisor on the project, the team delivered more than 100 hours of educational activities, and directly engaged with more than 2,000 primary and secondary school students.

A standout initiative was the Pentre Awel design challenge, funded by the Regional Learning and Skills Partnership’s Skills and Talent Fund and shortlisted at the Welsh STEM Awards 2024. This programme connected 50 learners with Bouygues UK mentors, who dedicated over 70 hours to mentoring pupils on a real work problem through a 10-week project to design a fit out for a vacant floor at Pentre Awel.

Additionally, art students from Coleg Sir Gâr collaborated with Bouygues UK to create seven hoarding board designs, celebrating the project’s positive impact.

Community initiatives also flourished throughout the project, with Bouygues UK, alongside its supply chain, organising a street football festival raising £5,000 for homelessness. At Llanelli’s Foodbank, Bouygues UK’s Wellbeing initiative delivered eight sessions focused on healthy eating education, building confidence in preparing nutritious meals.

From the outset, Bouygues UK prioritised community inclusion, including regular resident surgeries, newsletters, and the involvement of Community Ambassadors to ensure that local people were informed and actively shaping the project’s success.

Canolfan Pentre Awel is an innovative, multi-million-pound development which will bring together life science and business innovation, community healthcare and modern leisure facilities at the 83-acre Delta Lakes site on the Llanelli coastline. It is part-funded by the Swansea Bay City Deal (£40million) and is the largest regeneration scheme in south-west Wales.

Nina Williams, Social Value advisor at Pentre Awel, said of the success of the social value strategy at Pentre Awel: “Canolfan Pentre Awel has been a shining example of how construction projects can create lasting social value for the communities they are working within. From supporting local businesses to fostering educational opportunities and providing career pathways, this development has positively transformed lives and, we hope, strengthened the local community. We’re proud to have played a role in making this vision a reality.”

Project manager Peter Sharpe said: “Working on Canolfan Pentre Awel has been an incredibly rewarding experience. Seeing the tangible difference we’ve made — whether it’s helping people secure jobs, inspiring students through education initiatives, or engaging with the community, has been truly humbling. This project isn’t just about construction, it’s about building brighter futures for the people of Carmarthenshire and we’re thrilled to have played a small part in achieving that.”

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism, Cllr Hazel Evans said of the achievement: “Canolfan Pentre Awel is driving forward health and wellbeing in Carmarthenshire, by encouraging its residents to lead active and healthy lives. This pioneering project has taken its first steps in recruitment, come and be part of something truly innovative and exciting and apply to work at Canolfan Pentre Awel today”.