A CARDIGAN man has scooped a top accolade in the prestigious National House Building Council’s annual awards.

Gerwyn Evans, who is a site manager for construction firm Taylor Wimpey, has won a Pride in the Job award, one of just 450 to have won from 16,000 site managers across the UK.

The award, in its 39th year, sees site managers undergo spot checks on the day-to-day running of their site, with each manager assessed across 44 areas including technical knowledge, consistency in the build process and the quality controls they have in place.

And for 35-year-old Gerwyn, who is currently in charge of a site in Cambridge that includes around 60 houses, blocks of flats and a leisure centre, the award is extra special.

“I am proud to say I am the first Welsh man to win a PIJ award on English soil,” said Gerwyn, whose family still live in Cardigan.

“I came up here as a carpenter about five or six years ago, then got a supervisor’s role and gradually worked my way up to site manager.

“Pride in the Job is the most highly regarded competition in our industry. It’s the one all site managers want to win, and for some, described as the pinnacle of their career.

“All site managers are automatically entered into the competition if they are working on a site registered for NHBC warranty. There are no entry fees or forms.

“House building is always a team effort, but we know that the calibre of the site manager has the greatest influence on the quality of the end product.”

The only downside – the coronavirus pandemic means there can be no big awards night out but organisers are hoping to arrange some sort of virtual event to recognise the winners.