Manchester’s first ever industry-government construction summit will seek to tackle the region’s chronic skills shortages and minimise risks to the wider region’s £15bn pipeline of work.
The Greater Manchester Construction Summit, organised by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce with The Cabinet Office, RIBA and others, will take place this July and is expected to be the largest event of its kind outside of London.
It will include a keynote speech from Peter Hansford, chief construction adviser to the government, and a panel discussions headed by industry experts including James Wates, chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board, and Richard Leese, Leader of Manchester City Council.
With a potential construction pipeline of £15bn in Greater Manchester alone up to 2018, the summit will address growth, procurement, innovation, skills and training. Delegates will be able to vote live on various topics to fully inform the debates.
“There is real uncertainty over whether the pipeline of work can be delivered with the available resource,” said Jocelyne Underwood, construction sector lead at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. “This doesn’t just apply to the trades, we are hearing that construction managers and commercial directors are in short supply and there is concern we will not have the right skills to deliver the work. The Summit will give businesses in Greater Manchester an opportunity to feedback to government the issues they are facing.
“The skills shortages we are currently seeing are not so much a lack of resource due to geography [being outside of London and the South], but caused because entry level routes to industry are not correctly aligned,” added Underwood. “For example, we have many training providers in Manchester who deliver bricklaying, plumbing, and electrical skills but we have a lack of building envelope specialists, and steel fixers.”
Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce acts as a voice for local business and has a construction membership of 550 businesses out of a total 4,500 firms. It also recently became an approved scheme operator for TrustMark, allowing it to bring local firms into membership of TrustMark.
The Chamber recently worked with Heyrod Construction, using Employer Ownership of Skills money from the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, to set up the only steel fixing training available outside of London.
Up to 400 delegates are expected to attend the event where topics will include: The current state of the construction industry and future opportunities in Greater Manchester; What is best practice in procurement?; What will the industry look like in five years?; Do we have the right skills and labour in Greater Manchester to meet the demand?; and Why is the construction sector important for the Greater Manchester economy?
The Construction Summit will take place on Friday, 11 July at The Point, Lancashire County Cricket Club. To confirm a place or enquire about and sponsorship opportunities email [email protected].
