Rivals snap up Ocon leavers
Many of the staff made redundant following the collapse of Ocon in early March quickly found new employment at other large construction companies.
Andrew Barker, managing director of Ocon, has joined Morgan Sindall, part of the publicly listed group of the same name, in a senior operational position.
Two senior managers and several site staff joined Watkin Jones as it strengthens its position in the student housing. Dave Ledwidge, who was operations manager at Ocon, becomes construction director of Watkin Jones, based in Wigan. Nigel Athorn, commercial manager at Ocon, is now regional commercial director at Watkin Jones, based out of its Sheffield office.
A team of 18 staff, headed by Steve Jerams, transferred to Liverpool University to complete a £50m accommodation project in the city centre.
Nick Williamson-Corbett, formerly business development manager of Ocon, joined Graham Construction in Manchester to source new business in the North of England in public and private sectors. Also now at Grahams is Ian Welford, senior estimator, who spent five years at Ocon as estimating manager.
Around 80 staff were made redundant at Ocon on 7 March. Whilst many found new work quickly, a search on LinkedIn showed office managers and human resources staff among those still searching for a fresh start.
