Welcoming a constructive policy, by Mark Farrar

28 Aug 09
MARK FARRAR| The announcement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the role of the chief construction adviser is a welcome one

The announcement from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills on the role of the chief construction adviser is a welcome one. It should go some way in showing that the government has been listening to what we desperately need so we are in the strongest possible position when the economic upturn kicks in.

High on the priority list for the CCA should be ensuring that the existing commitments for public construction spend are achieved over the next few years, commitments that are going to be at risk due to the significant public sector debt. The public sector is the industry’s largest client and, for the industry to emerge from the recession with the best skillset, it’s imperative that planned work goes ahead.

These contracts must also be used to bring positive change for the supply of skills to the sector. In April this year, the Office of Government Commerce produced procurement guidelines, which give all public sector clients the motivation to require successful contractors to have apprentices and wider training embedded in their workforce; a part of the CCA’s role must now be to turn this policy into action at every available opportunity.

Further emphasis should also be placed on the public sector to implement best practice in areas such as low carbon and waste management. These areas of innovation are essential for the UK to compete on the international stage.

In practice, the CAA needs to have a real influence on departments over their construction spending, procurement and project completion. In particular, there should be improved planning and long-term stability regarding public sector investment in construction, as it is likely that that a fall off in public investment – while the private sector has not yet recovered – will produce a deeper, more prolonged period of recession for the industry.

The construction industry has been through previous recessions, but this time around we have an opportunity to come out the other side stronger than we have done before. And, with the proper implementation, the CCA’s role can make all the difference to achieving this goal.

Mark Farrar is the chief executive of ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council. For more information, please visit  the ConstructionSkills website

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