Is Construction out of favour with Government? asks CIOB Chief
The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has called on Government to recognise the major role that Construction will have in leading the UK out of recession and to provide the support required for the industry.
Speaking in Leeds on June 19th at the CIOB Members Forum, CIOB Chief Executive Chris Blythe raised concerns that the Government was favouring other industries over the built environment, which has traditionally and still remains the power house of the UK economy.
“We know that Government has pledged £3 billion to the aerospace industry which is laudable but at the same time we are seeing huge losses in the construction workforce with a fall of 65,000 construction personnel between September 2011 and September 2012. As an industry we need to be looking at new ways that we can work with the Government to build the foundations for competitiveness, investment and growth,” said Mr Blythe. “With the right kind of support for our industry I believe the UK economy could have grown up to three times faster in recent years.”
In order to provide a platform for influencing government and shaping construction policy for the future, the CIOB have this week launched a new conference called Talk Construction which will be held for the first time at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster on November 25th and 26th.
The UK Contractors Group are official supporters of this new CIOB initiative and will also be instrumental in helping to create an industry ‘pact’ that will consult with Government in order to achieve benefits for the industry as a whole.
The conference will spotlight what needs to happen to drive recovery in the construction industry as well as defining key issues such as the finance and investment, leadership skills gaps and the latest developments such as Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Designed for an audience of senior professionals and board members , the CIOB are expecting to see over 500 delegates attend the conference in 2013 to form a basis for a larger conference and associated exhibition of leading suppliers in 2014.
The event will be the first of its kind in the sector. It will be research-led rather than profit based, with profits ploughed back directly to the industry to stimulate growth, training and best practice. For more information see www.TalkConstruction.co.uk
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS
Talk Construction is a conference and a series of technical seminars and one of the best opportunities to network with key construction professionals. It will take place on 25th and 26th November 2013 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster, London.
The first conference of its kind in the sector to be research-led not profit-based, it will focus on issues identified as key topics by the event’s organisers – the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB). The CIOB is at the heart of a management career in construction. It is the international voice of the building professional and represents an unequalled body of knowledge concerning the management of the total building process.
Talk Construction has the support of the UK Contractors Group (UKCG), which represents over 30 leading contractors operating in the UK on construction specific issues. UKCG members account for £33 billion of construction turnover which is a third of UK construction total output. With a mission to promote the UK construction industry, UKCG supports its members in delivering excellence by encouraging contractors to work together with their clients and supply chains to promote change and best practice.
Further information is available by contacting Colin Felton at CFA Media on colin@cfa-group.com or 01622 754 295 / 07850 292 368
-01.png){kind=spacer}