Northamptonshire Company Forterra Celebrate First UK Mental Health First Aider’s Day
Northamptonshire-based building products manufacturer Forterra is celebrated the inaugural Mental Health First Aider’s day (12th November 2025) by putting the spotlight on its 61 trained staff members that help care for their team.
Thanks to a greater understanding and better access to information over the past decade, companies are increasingly aware that training employees in mental health first aid is crucial. According to the 2024 Burnout report by the organisation Mental Health UK, 9 in 10 people at work in the UK experienced high or extreme levels of pressure or stress in the last year.
Each mental health first aider in Forterra is equipped with an understanding of how to support others in a crisis, recognising symptoms and signs of mental health conditions and signposting the support available to them internally and externally. It also ensures that employees are aware of a colleague that they can talk to in the short-term, allowing them to share the issues they’re facing, encouraging a healthy work environment surrounding mental health.
Sarah Renton, Group People Director, stated, “In any workplace it’s crucial to have representatives that are trained to deal with mental health concerns of their colleagues. Our employees’ wellbeing is paramount, and we want them to know that our mental health first aiders are there to offer support, whether it’s a non-judgemental discussion about how the employee is feeling, or exploring helpful options to aid them in tackling whatever they’re struggling with”.
The awareness day was created by The Association of Mental Health First Aiders®, who are the first and only membership body in the United Kingdom for mental health first aiders. The association offers The MHFAider Support App®, providing a 24/7 text support service, signposting to a national database of health services and insights that teach critical self-care skills to trained representatives. There’s also access to courses, quarterly webinars and much more.
To learn more about The Association of Mental Health First Aiders® and how to get involved, visit their website here: https://mhfaengland.org/. You can find out more about Forterra on their website: https://www.forterra.co.uk/.