Local site manager James Blackie has won a Seal of Excellence in the second round of the NHBC Pride in the Job Awards 2015. These awards are known as ‘the Oscars of the House Building Industry’, and for 35 years have been rewarding the best site managers delivering the high quality homes the country so desperately needs.

James Blackie has been selected by the National House Building Council from around 15,000 UK site managers to win the Seal of Excellence award.

The award was presented to him at a ceremony held last week at Newbury Racecourse for the Gleneagles Manor site, in Harpenden.

“This was my first nomination for the NHBC Pride in the Job awards,” said Mr Blackie, site manager for Jarvis Homes. “Winning the initial Quality award was fantastic. Achieving the Seal of Excellence was totally unexpected and such a great pleasure to be honoured by the NHBC. All of the Jarvis team involved in The Gleneagle development were delighted with this award.”

NHBC is the UK’s leading new-home warranty provider and their Pride in the Job awards are the house-building industry’s most prestigious honours. Now in its 35th year, Pride in the Job is dedicated to recognising site managers who achieve the highest standards in house-building. All independent builders as well as the medium, large and specialist high-rise developers are recognised and automatically entered into the competition.

Winners always have one thing in common - meticulous and consistent attention to detail. To win, they must score highly for the quality of workmanship on their site at every stage of the build. They must also demonstrate excellent leadership, technical expertise, robust health and safety processes and a certain ‘X’ factor!

Nick Cunningham, NHBC Regional Director, congratulated Mr Blackie on his win: “By adding a competitive element to house building, recognising exceptional site managers like James, Pride in the Job promotes continuous improvement in the quality of new homes, year on year, for homeowners and their families to enjoy. I have visited hundreds of sites, and to reach this level of the competition means without question you have to be the elite of this industry. James is building homes of a very high standard...bringing high quality homes to consumers, creating homes we are proud to live in.”