B&CE’s Charitable Trust and RI Beck Trust have announced the creation of an annual scholarship award, which will be used to support the training and retraining of workers in the construction industry.
Sir Edgar Charles Beck (CBE) was a British civil engineer who was the Managing Director, Chairman and subsequently President of Mowlem, one of the largest construction and civil engineering companies in the United Kingdom.
During Sir Edgar's chairmanship of Mowlem, the company reconstructed the 18th-century building at 10 Downing Street (1963) and built the new London Bridge (1967) as well as the NatWest Tower (1979, now known as Tower 42) and subsequently many London landmarks.
Eileen Etty Beck created the RI Beck Trust in 1983 in memory of her husband Robert Ivan Beck, brother of Sir Edgar. The Trust was established to help support former and current employees of Mowlem through times of financial hardship. Over the last 30 years it has made grants of over £160,000 to help those in need.
Following the sale of Mowlem in 2006, and in order to continue their work, the RI Beck Trust would like to partner with another charity which shares its overall objectives. With this in mind, the Trustees of the RI Beck Trust have transferred the remaining assets of the Trust, representing £500,000, to B&CE’s Charitable Trust.
From these funds, the Trustees of the B&CE Charitable Trust, in addition to its other charitable activities, will sponsor an annual Mowlem Award for Training. This award will promote training and retraining in the construction industry reflecting the importance that Mowlem placed upon it.
Founded in construction, B&CE is a not-for-profit organisation which is dedicated to improving the financial wellbeing of its members. In 1991, B&CE set up the B&CE Charitable Trust, to offer financial support and assistance to construction workers and their families.
The B&CE Charitable Trust also helps with the education, training and retraining of young people and workers (past and present) in the construction industry. Since its creation, the B&CE Charitable Trust has paid out £1.9m for the benefit of the industry.
