by Nicky Smith | Oct 13, 2017 | Main News Feed
On Friday 6 October 2017, FIS held its second Scottish Awards Lunch at the Principal George Hotel in Edinburgh. Over 100 members and guests attended the event to hear the winners announced. FIS President Steve Coley opened proceedings by raising a toast to the awards, with the compliments of Forza Doors. Guest speaker and compere Bill Copeland provided the entertainment, ensuring a fantastic time was had by all.
In the Interior Fit-Out category, sponsored by CCF, the Silver Award went to Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its project at Ellis Whittam in Glasgow. The Gold Award went to Veitchi Interiors for the Golden Jubilee Conference Hotel, also in Glasgow.
The Suspended Ceilings category was sponsored by Nevill Long, with the Silver Award going Brian Hendry Interiors Ltd for its contract at The Control Room, Hunterston B Power Station in West Kilbride. Gold Award went to D V McColl Ltd for its installation at Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus.
In the Plasterwork category, there was just a Gold Award which went to David Fisher & Sons (Edin) Ltd for Botanic Cottage in Edinburgh.
The partitioning category was sponsored by Ocula Systems and Jason Hemingway presented the Gold Award to Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its project at GHA Kingsway Court in Glasgow.
In the Judges’ Award category, sponsored by Minster, the Silver Award was awarded to Veitchi Interiors Ltd for its project at Haddington Place new student accommodation in Edinburgh. The Gold Award winner was Worksmart Contracts Ltd for its contract at the Gaiety Theatre in Ayr.
The Apprentice of the Year category was sponsored by Komfort Partitioning. Jim Smith announced that Kieran Tarleton of Roskel Contracts was Runner-Up, with the Winner being Jordan McKay of Brian Hendry Interiors.
Our nominated Charity was Hansel and prizes for the Charity Draw were donated by Brian Hendry Interiors, Scotwood Interiors and Veitchi Interiors. Generous attendees helped to raise £1,552 which was presented to Hansel’s fundraising assistant, Claudia.
From all the team here at FIS, we would like to say congratulations to all winners. Visit our Facebook page to see all the photos from the Scottish Awards Lunch and our Storify page for the event’s Tweets.
The website image gallery can be found here.
by Nicky Smith | Oct 5, 2017 | Main News Feed
The #iBuiltThis2017 competition closed for entries last week, allowing the website to switch to voting mode. Many votes were cast for all entries across the three age categories over the four-day period, which ended at 11.59pm on Sunday 1 October.
The UK public identified their favourite images, providing three clear finalists for each of the categories to go forward to the judging stage.
Our Judging Panel comprises:
- Amanda Clack, RICS President
- Mark Famer, CEO of Cast Consultancy
- Brendan Williams, Founder and CEO of Building Heroes
- Steve Coley, FIS President
- Steve Neilson, Managing Director of Worksmart Contracts Ltd
- Wyn Prichard, Director of Construction Skills and Business Strategy, NPTC Group
- Jack Parsons, CEO of Yourfeed.com.
The Judges now have the task of deciding the winner from each of the below categories:
13 Years and Under
- Kendrick Long for his project New Three Little Pigs
- Evie Van Rensburg for her project My Dinky Fan
- Thomas Horner for his project My Scaffold Bed Bunks
14-18 Years
- Emily Ash for her project Wall and Cavity Synoptic Testing
- Amer Saeed Cheema for his project My Dream House Build
- Joseph Horner for his project Whole House Renovation
19 Years and Over
- Carwyn Jones for his project The Dragons Eye
- Luke Neville for his project The Great Wall Build
- James Horner for his project An Epic Shed
We are delighted that George Clarke, Architect and host of Channel 4’s ‘George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces’ will announce the three winners live at UK Construction Week 2017 on Tuesday 10 October. To obtain your free tickets to attend the event at the Surface and Materials Show main stage between 4:45 – 5:45 pm, click on this link.
Thank you to all those who entered #iBuiltThis2017 and congratulations to the nine finalists. We look forward to hearing the winners announced!
by Nicky Smith | Oct 3, 2017 | Main News Feed
Encon/Nevill Long is hosting a Spray Readymixed Finishing breakfast event, with Knauf, on Thursday 19 October at its West London branch. FIS members are invited to attend free of charge.
Two live demonstrations of the Knauf Airless Finish will take place at 8 am and 10.30 am. Each session will include:
• Full demonstration of Knauf Airless Finish, showing how fast, clean and efficient the system is
• An opportunity to use the spray machine and see the benefits of a premixed finish
• Free breakfast for everyone who attends
• Machine set-up and finishing, with experts on-hand to offer advice on spray machines
The event will take place at Encon/Nevill Long West London, Units 6, 7 & 8 The Griffin Centre, Staines Road, Feltham, Middlesex TW14 0HS
To register your interest, please email WestLondonSprayDay@Encon.co.uk with your details, and which session you would like to attend.
by Nicky Smith | Oct 3, 2017 | Main News Feed
A summary of last month’s data from the IHS Markit/CIPS UK Construction PMI® revealed that the UK construction sector moved into reverse gear during September.
Other key findings include:
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- Business activity falls for the first time in 13 months
- Sharpest drop in civil engineering work since April 2013
- New orders and input buying drop in September
To view the full report, click here.
by Clair Mooney | Sep 29, 2017 | Main News Feed
FIS became a CITB consensus federation for the first time this year and conducted its first survey of members on the future of the levy in September. The result of the survey reflected feedback from members over a sustained period, with 60% voting to reject the CITB levy proposal.
CITB and the levy is however likely to continue as a majority of the construction industry have accepted CITB proposal.
Only a small number of federations and companies have rejected the offer and the advantages of FIS gaining consensus status is clear, in that we are now able to register our own distinct vote on the subject. This allows us to press your message and views to CITB and government in a much more effective way.
There are some important lessons to be learned from our members rejecting the levy proposal. Firstly, it is clear that CITB is not serving the interests of members, with only 35p in the pound paid in levy being returned to members, despite a growing skills problem in the sector. For this reason FIS has backed BuildUK’s urgent call for reform of CITB.
Secondly, it is evident that SMEs are not engaging with training and skills because of the complexity of the process and the perceived cost of training. We will continue to work with CITB and training providers to make this process as “frictionless” as possible for contractors. Initiatives such as Coursesight which allows you to book courses, receive CITB grant payments and updates the CSCS card automatically will continue to be promoted.
The FIS Skills team are a dedicated resource set up to help members get the skilled workforce they need.
As a first step contact skills@thefis.org to find out how to get more from the CITB training levy.
by Clair Mooney | Sep 22, 2017 | Main News Feed
FIS invites members to visit us at UK Construction Week which is being held between 10 – 12 October at the NEC in Birmingham. FIS will be exhibiting within the Surface and Materials Show on Stand M360.
The Surface & Materials Show will showcase the latest surface and material solutions for architects, interior designers, developers and industry professionals looking for cutting-edge innovations within the materials sector. Last year over 30,000 visitors attended the exhibition including 650 exhibitors covering all aspects of the sector.
Book your free place by registering, using our unique registration link https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
- Sign up for the show and get a free VIP ticket to the #iBuiltThis2017 awards and enjoy a champagne reception with canapes.
- Find out the latest membership benefits and offers available just for you.
- Understand the latest technical advice and get a free Clients Guide to Fit-out.
- What does the recent CITB deal mean for you? FIS reveals how you can access the £2million plus pot for our sector.
- Sign-up on our partner engagement wall on the day.
As well as welcoming members and visitors to our stand M360, we have a packed agenda for the duration of the three-day show.
Tuesday 10 October
15.30 to 16.30: Hub 2
David Frise (FIS CEO): CPD Workshop – Current Building Practice is broken, we need a system reboot.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
16:45 to 17:45: Surfaces and Materials Stage
#iBuiltThis2017 competition – announcement of winners of the #iBuiltThis2017 competition followed by a champagne reception and canapes.
Register at: https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
Wednesday 11 October
10:45 – 11:15 – Surface and Materials Stage
David Frise (FIS CEO) – FIS Skills presents Fit-out Futures Programme as the solution to the sectors skills gap.
Register at: https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
11.30 to 12:30 – Hub 1
David Frise (FIS CEO) – CPD Workshop – Current Building Practice is broken, we need a system reboot.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
15.30 to 16.30 – Hub 1
Joe Cilia (FIS technical manager) – CPD workshop – A guide to specification of products.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
