Supporting Black people in the construction industry: an insight into alumnus Amos Simbo’s company, network, and passion for engineering

Amos BPIC Network 2022

Alumnus Amos Simbo has a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering, having studied at the University from 2008-2011. Amos travelled to the UK from Zimbabwe in 2005, chasing his passion for engineering and entering the University through clearing.

Following graduation, he set out to build his career in construction. In 2017 he became the Managing Director and Founder of a consultancy and a few short years later he launched the BPIC Network to support black people in construction.

Here we share an insight into Amos’s business and the network, which has recently seen an exciting and impressive expansion.

Winway Services: Construction Mechanic and Electrical Services

A few years following graduation, Amos became MD and Founder at Winway Consultants, originally a construction, mechanical, and electrical services consultancy. Winway UK has since developed to become Winway Services, with Amos at the helm.

The organisation is a multi-discipline engineering services provider specialising in design and build solutions for commercial and industrial buildings. They cover mechanical, electrical, HVAC, and plumbing services – ranging from design and installation through to maintenance.

In 2017 the team saw a need to advance construction and provide client transparency – an issue they are passionate about improving so that reliability and visibility of project progress can improve.

With a mission to raise standards in construction quality, Amos and his team at Winway aim to become market leaders.

BPIC Network: supporting minorities in the construction industry

A passionate advocate for inclusion in the built environment, Amos founded the BPIC Network in 2019, championing careers in construction for minorities and connecting people with industry.

Launched shortly before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, BPIC has grown exponentially within less than three years.

BPIC aims to make the build environment more inclusive. Initially building an opportunity for networking, the organisation has seen high demand for support. Parliamentary groups have engaged, funding opportunities are being looked into, and a second office is being considered in Birmingham. Moving away from being London-centric, Amos is keen to broaden the reach of BPIC.

We asked Amos: what is the reason for expansion to Birmingham? What will this mean for the BPIC Network?    

“Our vision is to be able to fulfil our mission not only in London but across the UK. As a start-up, we have encountered several growth issues and are now in a phase of raising more funds to cope with the demand we are having across the industry. Expanding our reach across the country means we can better serve our network and the industry and ensure no one is being left behind in our conversations.

“We launched our London Offices on 20th June in London. This is an exciting time for us as it means we now have much needed space for our team to grow into and increase our delivery capacity. This will be our first ever physical office and hope to build on this gradually.”

What’s next? We asked Amos how he sees the BPIC Network expanding:

“We would like to continue our engagement with the industry in a sustainable way. The fact is our industry can do more to be diverse; people are there and it's only a case of us collaborating effectively and joining up conversations. We can create an inclusive environment as our industry is a champion of innovation. Diversity is innovation and we should all embrace it and see it as an opportunity not a distraction.”

Check out BPIC Network and Winway Services.