As recruitment experts, we know the importance of having the competitive edge when attracting talent towards a company. Finding the right people is difficult but retaining employees in an aggressive market with a shortage of great candidates is just as challenging.
To ensure you’re ahead of the game I wanted to give you the up-to-date industry intelligence and salary benchmarking in your sector, so you can see how you compare. Please CLICK HERE to view the Kingston Barnes Salary & Employment Guide for 2021-2022.
We have surveyed a selection of 1,054 candidates across the sector to provide you with the latest salary information and market trends, providing valuable comparison and information that makes for an interesting read.
The enclosed guide provides an understanding of what to expect from the marketplace right now when considering your recruitment and retention strategy for the future.
If you’d like to discuss any of our findings or have any recruitment needs that you’d like some expert support to help you secure new talent for your business, please do not hesitate to contact me.
James Kingston and Millie Di Mambro.
The Cabinet Office has now published the first revision of the Construction Playbook, which is available, together with associated documents, via the link below.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-construction-playbook.
This is the culmination of 6 months work, which has involved people from across Whitehall and the construction sector, and to which BEIS has made a significant contribution, particularly in relation to the enhanced content in the Playbook and associated guidance on net zero carbon and environmental performance as a key component of a strategic approach to ensuring the sustainability of infrastructure and construction projects. The key points about the substance of these changes are:
- a clearer statement that whole life carbon assessments should be undertaken for all HMG construction projects and programmes, and that these should be consistent with strategic organisational objectives for decarbonising estates and improving carbon performance;
- further guidance on what action contracting authorities should be undertaking at each stage of the process for implementing these projects, from market engagement through to handover and operation, to deliver improved carbon outcomes, with an emphasis on benchmarking, monitoring and reporting these;
- pointing contracting authorities to a much wider range of external resources (toolkits, advice and guidance, promoting the circular economy and contractual clauses – the CIH Value Toolkit is regularly referenced, and we also cite Construct Zero in the Guidance Note) to support their efforts and enable them to embed a more comprehensive approach;
- incorporation of the need to address the provisions of the Environment Act 2021 (e.g. biodiversity net gain), and also emphasising the importance of wider considerations such as air and water quality; and
- additional and comprehensive guidance on Net Zero and Sustainability, including a set of case studies of best practice. We highly recommend the Foleshill Health Centre one as an example of what can be achieved – but we have also managed to include case studies from HS2, the Environment Agency, and also the product platform developed through the TCC with CIH involvement.
Balfour Beatty and the Supply Chain Sustainability School are partnering to run a second survey of the whole construction supply chain to understand the challenges faced and further support needed to deliver net zero. The survey runs until 7 October.
They are keen to hear from as many of the supply chain as possible, so please complete or circulate it to your own supply chain partners: Supply chain survey
The responses will be pulled into a report which will be shared widely across the industry and with customers, Government and other stakeholders”.
In 2021, the Supply Chain Sustainability School and Balfour Beatty partnered to undertake a survey of the construction supply chain to understand how successfully the sector is decarbonising, and what further support it needs from Government, customers and others in the industry. The results were combined with qualitative interviews with companies that were happy to be quoted, and published in a report, Greening the Chain, which was shared with Government and widely across the sector.
This follow-on survey aims to measure progress since the 2021 survey and to understand the impact global issues are having on the UK construction and infrastructure sector’s efforts to decarbonise.
We are collaborating with the Innovation Driven Procurement (IDP) Project by sharing availability of fully funded support for SME & Micro-Business Owners in the UK Construction Supply Chain to improve Productivity, Profitability and Value.
CITB funded support in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, Morgan Sindall and Construction Coach to help you.
Learn how to improve site communications with the contractor, your team and sub-contractors
Think about where you’re losing productivity and profits on site
Who is it for?
Business Owners in the UK construction supply chain, the ‘boots on the ground’ delivering on site
Here’s what you need to do to access this support:
1. Sign up to attend an Online Innovation Workshop – this will register your interest in the project
2. Complete four, short, 20 min courses on Collaboration, Productivity, Innovation and Value to start to think about what’s frustrating you in your business. What needs to be improved on site? Do you have the right processes in place to operate efficiently?
How does it work?
Once you’ve done steps 1 and 2 you can then:
3. Join the free, online IDP Community to receive business support from Construction Coach to help embed the learning from the courses into your business and site operations (doors will open beginning of October)
4. Get the opportunity to become 1 of 40 Innovation Champions to receive 12 hrs free Coaching and Mentoring to do
an innovation project in your business
Register interest by signing up to an online Innovation Workshop with Maria Coulter BEM MRICS of Construction Coach and get access to free Training and Mentoring.
https://www.theidp.co.uk/events
On Thursday 8 September, the very best in construction and the built environment came together to celebrate the 2022 Constructing Excellence South West Awards.
Designed to recognise those involved in delivering housing, building and civil engineering projects in the South West region, this year’s awards ceremony brought together over 400 industry professionals at the Marriott City Centre Hotel, Bristol.
Across 16 categories, the judges were looking for a commitment from entrants to deliver buildings, housing, infrastructure, and facilities of all kinds in a collaborative and sustainable manner.
Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West, said: “Our awards are recognised across the South West built environment as the biggest and brightest celebration of best practice, and this year was no different.
“It was incredible to see so many industry professionals celebrating the core strength of construction in the South West.
“We had some fantastic award entries which demonstrated a real desire and commitment to help make the sector more collaborative and sustainable. This is incredibly important as the sector continues to navigate a series of ongoing challenges.
“At Constructing Excellence South West, we’re passionate about driving real change across the construction industry, and our awards are a great way to showcase how our region is successfully paving the way for the wider sector.
“Congratulations to this year’s winners and runners-up. You have shown true innovation, leadership, and a passion for the future of the built environment.”
CLICK HERE to view all 2022 winners!
Constructing Excellence South West is a cross-sector, cross-supply chain member-led organisation which operates for the good of the industry and its stakeholders.
And one company that has benefitted from its great membership for three years is Dowlas Property Group.
The Somerset-based company is made up of ambitious property, land and investment consultants who enable growth in the leisure, commercial and retail sectors to complement residential development projects.
Matt Tyler, Director at Dowlas Property Group, said: “As a construction professional, I’ve been a member of Constructing Excellence South West for 15 years. So, when I joined Dowlas in 2020, I understood how beneficial it could be for the group to do the same.
“As an organisation, we’re passionate about sustainability and encouraging more diversity within the sector. This is why it’s great to be part of a group that also sees these things as priorities and allows us to help influence change based on our own experiences.
“Constructing Excellence South West is one of the only organisations in the region which provides a platform for its members who are keen to play a more proactive role in implementing change throughout the sector.
“Although the industry is well known for operating in silos, it’s certainly much stronger when everyone comes together and works more collaboratively. CESW helps to facilitate this by offering a range of networking opportunities where you can meet with like-minded people and share examples of best practice.
“We truly value this membership and believe it should be seen as a real investment in your own business and the industry as a whole. Not only can you help to improve the quality of the sector and the end user experience but you’re also able to broaden your own knowledge and skillset.”
Constructing Excellence South West is unlike any other organisation operating in the region, creating endless networking opportunities for its members who want to support the future of the industry.
Andrew Carpenter, CEO of Constructing Excellence South West, said: “It’s great to have a proactive organisation like Dowlas Property Group participating in our events and theme group discussions.
“The sector has a history of being fragmented but to tackle key issues like climate crisis and building safety, organisations must work more collaboratively to positively impact the wider industry.
“We hope to see more companies like Dowlas Property Group become members of Constructing Excellence South West so they too can participate in our networking events and help to influence change and best practice throughout the built environment.”
September is “back to school” month and, I always find, a great opportunity to reflect on the calendar year so far, and to state new ambitions.
For solicitors, most of us qualify in the autumn, and so for many this month marks a professional anniversary, in my case 12 years. I trained and qualified through a recession and spent much of my first year of qualified life helping clients to prepare for the legal changes about to come into force. I refer of course to the pithily named Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009, which eventually came into force on 1 October 2011, amending and supplementing the equally laconically named Housing Grants Construction and Regeneration Act 1996.
It’s no wonder the construction sector likes an acronym! Roll on 12 years and the focus is, once again, on regulatory change. I refer of course to the Building Safety Act 2022 whose provisions come into force over the coming months. At Michelmores LLP we are running various webinars and publishing articles, sharing with you our knowledge of these legal changes as the details emerge from Westminster.
The latest UK economic statistics for construction are for June 2022, with the ONS keen to remind analysts of the impact of the Jubilee Bank Holiday when comparing date for each of May and June. Nonetheless the numbers make for challenging reading: the monthly fall of 1.4% in construction output in June 2022 represents a decrease of £204 million in monetary terms compared with May 2022.
My contacts in the marketplace (both public and private sector, and covering clients, main contractors and professionals) have all been telling me the same thing: the work is out there, but what is harder to find is clients willing and able to pay the sort of prices contractors need to tender in order to be profitable. Risks of labour and materials shortages/price increases remain high and discussions about how those risks should be allocated in contracts continue to be difficult. In economically challenging times it is more important than ever that all members of the project team come together to collaboratively identify and address these risks. Risk allocation is one thing: but risk management increases the chance of project success.
It was apparently American philosopher and activist Cornel West who said “You can’t move forward until you look back”. I am a great believer in taking time to reflect on both achievements and, dare I say it, failings. I recommend that each of you takes a few minutes today (why put it off?) to think of 3 things you have done well or achieved in 2022 so far, and 3 things that you could have done better.
Then consider what 3 things you would like to achieve, or at least start, between now and New Year’s Eve. In a period of regulatory, political and economic change, it’s easy to feel that there is much beyond our own control, but we should all retain a focus on what we can control. We all have 3 months left to influence what kind of year 2022 will have been for us and for the organisations we work within – now is the time to reflect and then act.
Our CEO and champion of our change champions Andrew Carpenter has decided to step down. But what a great legacy – from helping to set up the Bristol Rethinking Construction Club in the immediate post-Egan era through to helping create CESW in 2003, and then spending the last nine years as our CEO taking CESW to a new level.
Having closely observed Andrew championing change in construction in our region over more years than he cares to remember, this month Martyn Jones reflects on the attributes of an effective change champion – and in the case of CESW’s role, providing support and succour to change champions in all parts of the supply chain. In other words, being an effective champion of our champions.
CESW’s membership, profile and success across the supply chain from clients to manufacturers is a testament to Andrew’s energy, enthusiasm, knowledge, endless list of contacts, “performances” and sheer passion for ‘best practice’. Under his leadership and championing of change, we’ve made great progress in setting best practice standards through seminars, workshops, conferences, webinars and summits. Our theme groups have provided thought leadership and published insightful guidance, and we’ve celebrated outstanding achievements in our annual CESW Awards.
Effective change champions are very interested in new or different ways of doing something coupled with the determination to make change happen. They have a vision for a possible better future. Many of the best champions don’t just want change: they, like Sir John Egan back in 1998, want a revolution.
As demonstrated by Andrew, a great champion is passionate about their cause and the need for transformation. He or she is a staunch, zealous, fanatic. Often emotional, irrational, irreverent, impatient, and sometimes even unreasonable. They want the change – no matter how big – to happen now, this week, this month, or certainly by the end of this year. They want to knock down barriers, to disrupt and demolish the status quo. They don’t just rock the boat they steer it in a new direction and sometimes even capsize it too.
Champions have a tangible presence at the critical points for change, with persuasiveness, patience, grit, and an encouraging, coaching and empowering leadership style. These attributes enable champions to overcome institutional silos, build and leverage professional networks, create tension for change, cultivate a positive learning climate, and engage key stakeholders.
And then there’s the angle of the championing of champions. Andrew was great at seeking out leaders and champions along the supply chain who are making the changes and improvements or have the desire and passion for change, and then to recognize, publicise and celebrate their success. Honouring, thanking, applauding and otherwise encouraging champions and teams to take initiatives to bring about change in their projects and supply chains, and improve construction across our region.
We’ve come a very long way but Andrew is the first to admit much work remains to be done in transforming construction in the way that Sir John Egan and others called for in the 1990s. One thing for sure, Andrew is going to be a hard act to follow.
