MP, Richard Harrington visited KPMG’s offices in Watford to officially open the firm’s new staff restaurant and network with staff and apprentices at the office.
Mr Harrington, was joined by office senior partner Ben McDonald, his successor, Mike Woodward, Suzanne Shenton, Head of KPMG Business Services and Head of Facilities Guy Stallard at the event to cut the ribbon in front hundreds of staff based at the office.
An ambassador for the value and importance of apprenticeships, the MP was joined by some of KPMG’s current apprentices for lunch. There have been over 5000 apprenticeships taking their induction at the Watford office since 2010.
Work on the new facilities at the office started in the summer. They been re-designed to offer the 700 staff based in Watford more healthy food options, encourage teams to take time away from their desks, as well and supporting the firm’s 'Waste in our Time' programme, which will see the firm reduce its waste and increase recycling in a number of ways through 2018.As part of the new facilities all plastic cutlery and cups have been removed after KPMG announced in April this year that they will stop using plastic water cups across its 22 offices in the UK, in a move that will save 3 million cups every year.
Reflecting on the changes in the building, Mike Woodward, who will be taking over the role of senior partner for the office from January 2019 said:
“Seeing the transformation of the office over the past few months has been really exciting. More than a facelift, the changes we’ve made here represent our commitment to environmental responsibility and our desire to be a leader in the marketplace when it comes to plastic reduction. This was a huge investment to the office and demonstrates our continued commitment to the local market.”
Suzanne Shenton, Head of KPMG Business Services added:
“We were delighted that Richard was able to open our new staff restaurant, which we hope will be a great new space for staff to enjoy time together. A great deal of work went into refreshing our staff restaurant to ensure that it would not only meet our strong environmental credentials, but that it was a space that would help with the mental health and wellbeing of our staff. We have managed to create a beautiful, innovative new space that reflects the dynamic, collaborative culture we want to cultivate across all of our offices.”
Richard Harrington, MP added :
“It was a pleasure to visit KPMG today to open their restaurant and meet staff from across different teams. KPMG is a large employer in my constituency, and I welcome the investment they are putting in to the Watford office and support they give to our local community.
“I particularly enjoyed meeting so many apprentices and hearing about their experiences at KPMG. With Watford leading the way with some of the highest take up rates in the country, it is great to see KPMG recognising the benefits of apprenticeships and championing them locally.”