Soldier at 16. Health and safety leader for more than 30 years. Now the industry’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Champion of the Year.
PTSG’s Group Health and Wellbeing Director, Terry Wilcock, took the title at the Construction News Workforce Awards last night [3rd November 2026] at the Hilton London Bankside. The award recognises the support network he has built for more than 4,000 PTSG colleagues, making it safe to speak up in an industry long known for staying silent.
Terry joined the British Army at 16 and served as an engineer for 14 years, including in Germany and Northern Ireland. He then spent two decades in health and safety across construction and other physically demanding industries.
He joined PTSG 16 years ago, when it employed 65 people, and built its safety systems from the ground up. Three years ago he became Group Health and Wellbeing Director. He now focuses full-time on the wellbeing of more than 4,000 colleagues across five divisions and over 50 locations.
Under Terry’s leadership, PTSG has introduced:
- a network of around 100 trained Mental Health First Aiders across every division
- a Health and Wellbeing Hub covering more than 20 areas, from stress and grief to financial pressure and menopause, which colleagues can use anonymously
- an Employee Assistance Programme that connects colleagues with a qualified professional within hours
- a Zurich Group Life Assurance programme, introduced in 2026, which extends support to colleagues’ immediate families
- an Occupational Health and Wellbeing Service designed for physically demanding work
Terry is also a qualified instructor. He delivers the two-day Mental Health First Aid qualification in-house, training colleagues to handle difficult conversations, including crisis response. In 2025, PTSG also pledged to adopt BS 30480, the world’s first standard on suicide and the workplace, which covers prevention, crisis response and support for people affected. But the real measure of Terry’s work is the people who come forward.
One colleague was going through an extremely difficult period and could no longer see a way forward. He picked up the phone to a colleague and was put in touch with Terry. “He listened to what was going on in my head and helped me put things into perspective,” they said. “It wasn’t a case of, ‘You’re having a crisis, so we’ll send you to the professionals.’ He genuinely wanted to support me.”
Another colleague, facing stress at home, was put in touch with Terry by their manager who called him the same day. “I felt like a weight had been lifted because of the support he showed me,” they said.
Terry said: “Five years ago, there was a stigma around even asking for welfare support. We’ve put that in the past. You listen. You don’t listen waiting to give a smart response. You listen to what people are saying. More importantly, you listen to what’s not being said.”
Greg Ward, Chief Executive Officer of PTSG, said: “Terry’s work makes a real difference to our people every day. This award is richly deserved.”
Terry is also a finalist in the Unsung Hero category at the PFM Awards which take place on Thursday.
