The Titanic Belfast was the setting for CIOB Conferring Ceremony in the autumn.
More than 130 guests were in attendance when 28 people were awarded Chartered membership and seven members were upgraded to Fellow membership.
The ceremony began with opening remarks from councillor Sonia Copeland, the deputy lord mayor of Belfast, who welcomed everyone and commended the work of construction professionals in shaping the city’s new skyline.
Chris Blythe OBE, chief executive of the CIOB, was the keynote speaker and was joined by Ivan McCarthy FCIOB, a trustee of the CIOB. Paul Crowe, managing director of Todd Architects, and president of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA) as an invited guest, delivered a presentation on the construction of the iconic Titanic Belfast building.
Guest speaker was Margaret Conway, project manager at McAleer & Rushe who recently won the coveted CIOB Construction Manager of the Year UK accolade for 2017.
Gerard Graham FCIOB, chair of the CIOB Belfast Hub hosted the ceremony and concluded by commending Farrans Construction, a CIOB Training Partnership, for having the most conferees. Farrans set a new record this year with nine (it should have been 10 but one didn’t make it on the day) conferees at a single event.
This followed eight of the firm’s employees achieving distinction and one achieving a merit at a recent CMP course. It was a particular success for women in construction as seven were women.
Above: Conferees along with the presentation party, which comprised Gary Blair, vice-chair of the CIOB Belfast Hub; Gerard Graham, chair of the CIOB Belfast Hub; Ivan McCarthy, trustee of the CIOB; Councillor Sonia Copeland, the deputy lord mayor of Belfast; Chris Blythe OBE, chief executive of the CIOB; Paul Crowe, managing director of Todd Architects and president of the Royal Society of Ulster Architects; and Margaret Conway, project manager at McAleer & Rushe and overall winner of the CIOB Construction Manager of the Year UK award for 2017.
