Suicide prevention work wins Extra Mile Award as CIOB names five Scotland Awards winners

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has named five winners at its 2026 Scotland Awards, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton in central Glasgow on Friday 9 October, with the Extra Mile Award going to Kevin Urquhart of Barratt/SAMH for his work on suicide prevention training.

CIOB said Urquhart used his experience in the sector to represent the industry in developing and delivering a suicide prevention training initiative. The awards recognise both CIOB members and non-members, and the institute said roughly half of entries come from outside its membership.

The other winners were David McMillan of Allied Surveyors as Graduate of the Year, Alison Hill of SP Energy Networks as Rising Star, the Ardgowan Distillery team from Muir Group as Team of the Year, and Andy Chan, who received the Sustainability Award for his University of St Andrews project. The full list is below.

Dr Victoria Hills, Chief Executive of CIOB, said: "Their achievements deserve to be celebrated, and I hope they inspire even more people to see the opportunities that a career in construction can offer."

The suicide prevention course

The training behind Urquhart's award is delivered by SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health) in partnership with Barratt Homes North Scotland, according to SAMH. The charity said construction workers are four times more likely to die by suicide.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) said the Suicide Prevention in Construction Training programme was made possible by £239,000 from its Industry Impact Fund. SAMH said the funding runs until October 2026.

In May 2026 CITB said construction firms across Great Britain could now access the training and resources. It said organisations that took part in the development phase reported increased awareness of mental health issues and suicide prevention.

CITB described Urquhart as Construction Director at Barratt and David Wilson Homes. He said the aim from day one had been that the programme would be worthwhile if it saved one life.

SAMH said the course is available as a virtual interactive workshop of 2.5 hours for six to 12 participants, or in a classroom over 3.5 hours for six to 16 participants.

The other categories

According to CIOB's published award criteria, the Extra Mile Award recognises people who have gone above and beyond in the past year, while the Rising Star category is for those who have been in construction for five years or less. CIOB said Hill moved from Trainee Site Manager to Site Manager in six months.

The Team Award is open to groups of three or more people working within a single organisation, under the same published criteria. The Muir Group team's project, Ardgowan Distillery, sits on the Ardgowan Estate near Inverkip, about 30 miles west of Glasgow, according to the distillery, which describes itself as the first new distillery to operate in Inverclyde for more than a century and says its roof is made from 97% recycled aluminium.

The Sustainability Award, CIOB said, celebrates those who have made their mark on sustainability within the built environment.

Last year's winners

The 2025 ceremony was held at the same Glasgow venue on Friday 10 October 2025. Morgan Sindall took three of the individual categories that year: Rachael Topping won Rising Star, Paul Dabrera the Extra Mile Award and Elizabeth Halliday the Sustainability Award, while Tom Lacey of Tilbury Douglas took the Graduate Award.

CIOB, established in 1834, said the Scotland Awards are an annual event. SAMH said CITB funding for the suicide prevention training runs until October 2026.