Skills

This year, the Labour Party’s annual conference played host to 29 fringe events containing the word “housing” in the title. A further seven mentioned the word “infrastructure”. In crowded rooms across the conference zone on Liverpool’s dockside, delegates crammed in to hear the new army of excited “generation rent” MPs…

Haman Manak is the procurement director at Stanmore For the past 18 months, we’ve all felt the effects of the economic headwinds. Under the tough, high interest rate climate, some well-known peers went insolvent – and activity stats across our sector have looked abnormally meagre. “The government cannot overlook or…

A project that challenges young people to design stadiums is helping build bridges to a career in the built environment Ninety 12- and 13-year-olds used a skills outreach event in London to pitch their designs for new football stadiums to professionals from the likes of HS2 Ltd, Multiplex, Ramboll and…

Samantha Knight is group HR director at housing developer MJ Gleeson Every company has a responsibility to actively participate in the dialogue surrounding equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI), and to contribute to its implementation in the workplace. EDI isn't just a buzzword – it is a cornerstone of future success…

Matt Voyce is executive director of construction at Quintain The construction industry needs more than a quarter of a million extra workers by 2026. Between 1991 and 2011 the Office for National Statistics tracked a 13 per cent increase in the number of UK construction workers aged 45 and over.…

CN looks into the main parties’ manifestos as the UK general election approaches As the UK prepares to vote on 4 July, how have the main political parties’ manifestos approached the construction sector? Infrastructure The Conservative manifesto criticised “frivolous legal challenges” against big infrastructure schemes, after a five-year term in…

T levels and modern apprenticeships are the newest contenders to step onto the training stage. CN looks at how they are performing against the competition It’s no surprise that Steve Umbers is a fan of apprenticeship training. His 20-year career path through the construction industry has taken him from being…

Apprentice requirements imposed by local authorities on contractors are backfiring – leaving some trainees out of work and firms out of pocket Amid the cacophony of politicking before last month’s local elections, you may have heard candidates promising to create “local jobs for local people”. Politicians are acutely aware of…

Martin Barnfield is head of manufacturing at Painter Brothers, part of Balfour Beatty Group In an era marked by constant change and innovation, companies in the manufacturing and construction sector face a multitude of challenges. With fierce global competition for skilled workers, combined with high domestic material costs, the stakes…

Adam Nicholson is group preconstruction director at McLaren Construction As building safety regulation has crystalised, it has become clear that digitised upskilling is as important to the modernisation of the construction industry as digitised delivery. It was clear two years ago that the emerging building safety legislation could boost skills…