by Clair Mooney | 21 Sep, 2023 | Contractual and Legal, Lens Blog, Main News Feed
FIS Consultant Len Bunton talks about the work that he carries out for members, and summarises some guidance that will help member organisations to improve cash flow within their organisation.
The assistance we provide usually starts with a phone call from a member organisation who has some sort of payment problem, and the answer is to respond quickly and to be provided with relevant communications and try to understand why the member is not being paid. The second stage of that would be to endeavor to have a discussion with the other party involved, and to get their side of the position and to see if there can be some sort of compromise that will allow the member to be paid.
These monthly Blogs are designed to help FIS Members avoid common traps and build on our focus on collective experience. They share ideas about improving the commercial management of your contracts. In other words, instilling best practice into the way FIS members run and manage their business. What I have endeavored to suggest is ways to ensure you get paid on time, and what you are due.
by Clair Mooney | 21 Sep, 2023 | Skills
Did you know you can apply for The Skills and Training Fund in advance of any planned training activities?
To be eligible, you must
- You are a CITB-registered employer and up to date with your Levy Returns
- You have up to 99 directly employed staff (in addition to yourself/the business owner)
- Any previous project paid for by the Fund has been signed off as complete.
How much can you apply for:
- Employers with CIS only (no PAYE) can receive up to £2,500.
- Employers with 1 to 49 directly employed staff can receive up to £5,000.
- Employers with 50 to 74 directly employed staff can receive up to £7,500.
- Employers with 75 to 99 directly employed staff can receive up to £10,000.
For further information, please contact Marie Flinter: email marieflinter@thefis.org or mobile 07799 903 103.
by Clair Mooney | 18 Sep, 2023 | Market data
The ‘Regional Construction Hotspots in Great Britain 2023’ report from Barbour ABI and the CPA provides a regional analysis of construction contract awards to signal near-term trends in construction that aren’t always reflected in data at a national level. By analysing the value of contracts awarded last year in local authority regions across the residential, infrastructure and commercial sectors, the report identifies ‘hotspots’ and ‘coldspots’ as pockets of growth or contraction over the next 6-24 months. The report is available now to members, which can be access here.
by Oscar Venus | 18 Sep, 2023 | Awards
The FIS Scottish Awards are a celebration of the exceptional work and diverse range of projects carried out in Scotland. On 15 September, the awards ceremony was held at the impressive voco Grand Central Glasgow. The event was hosted by broadcaster, writer, Herald columnist and former BBC Political Editor Brian Taylor and was well-attended, with attendees eagerly anticipating the announcement of this year’s winners.
The ceremony began with a welcome address from FIS President Philip Brown, who highlighted the organisation’s activities in 2023 and plans for the future. FIS CEO Iain McIlwee then gave a short speech before presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to Len Bunton.
Len has spent his career advocating for fairness in the construction industry. He has been an inspiration to many and has tirelessly fought for a fairer supply chain, calling out unacceptable behaviour along the way. Len has been a powerful advocate for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and has been a solid rock that they can rely on. His efforts have made a significant impact and his dedication has been recognised with this well-deserved award.
After a fantastic three-course lunch, the presentation of the awards began. The winners were as follows:
Specialist Installation – Under £1M: D V McColl, for the National Robotarium Building constructed within the grounds of the Heriot Watt University Campus.
Specialist Installation – Over £1M: Indeglås, for designing and constructing an internal glazed atrium and high-performance rooms in the university’s Advanced Research Centre (ARC) building.
Interior Fit-Out: Scotwood Interiors, for their work on the office at 132 Princes Street in Edinburgh, designed to exude character and promote socialisation and collaboration for global digital transformation consultancy, Kin & Carta.
Project of the Year: Indeglås, for their visually stunning atrium and innovative design and delivery of exceptional quality, meeting the architects and client’s needs.
Apprentice of the Year: Jay Miller, Ceiling Installation Apprentice at D V McColl. With consistent high standards and enthusiasm for learning, Jay completed his NVQ Level 5 in Ceiling Fixing in August 2023, excelling in all elements of his training.
Congratulations to all the shortlisted individuals and companies, as well as the winners on their well-deserved success!
by Clair Mooney | 11 Sep, 2023 | Sustainability
The construction industry is a big contributor of carbon emissions. The industry is also a big consumer of resources – a staggering 60 million tonnes of waste is generated per year. While 90% of wastes are recycled, much gets down cycled as low value applications. The fit-out industry is fast paced and commercial buildings often get refitted every 5-7 years. With every refit, products that are still within their specified service life are disposed of with little consideration for a potential new life.
As we are coming out of the summer, having once again beaten records temperatures around the globe, it is time that we start to embrace new approaches to reduce carbon emissions quickly. Over the last two years FIS has been working with its members to find ways to reduce carbon emissions. Getting out of the take, make, use, dispose cycle and to change the way we operate are becoming more important than ever.
Through this survey, we would like to get your views on whether we can change some of the current practices and we would like to understand what barriers are still in place to enable change. We would be very happy to discuss the questions further if you would like to share more thoughts.
by Clair Mooney | 11 Sep, 2023 | Labour, Skills
The City of London Corporation has released a new report urging investment in workers to meet the growing demand for green jobs and skills in decarbonising the city’s commercial buildings.
The report highlights a need for a skilled and diverse workforce capable of constructing, retrofitting, and managing sustainable buildings. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) predicts a surge in construction labor demand in Central London, reaching over a quarter of a million by 2027. Additionally, there’s an annual demand for around 35,000 non-construction professionals in the built environment sector.
Over 300 organisations have joined the ‘Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce,’ including designers, construction firms, and education providers. The taskforce emphasises the urgency of addressing the growing demand for sustainable commercial buildings.
The report recommends reforming the Apprenticeship Levy and s106 policies to match the demand for skilled workers. The current inflexibility of the Apprenticeship Levy and inconsistencies in s106 policies have raised concerns within the sector.
There are six main recommendations for government, training providers and the wider industry to address collectively. These include:
- Developing new entry-level sustainability training, apprenticeships and upskilling courses for emerging job roles;
- Working with government to set more ambitious green skills strategies for the built environment;
- Invest in attracting diverse candidates to a wider spectrum of sustainable roles across the built environment;
- Creating an easily accessible way to collect and share data on the pipeline of projects and workforce skills shortages, so that the industry can prepare for the emerging skills needs;
- Built environment organisations should develop an Environmental Social Governance (ESG) strategy to support sustainability operations, retrofit, and skills training;
- Promote the sector’s role in addressing climate change, with wide-ranging career pathways and diverse role models through positive PR and engagement with schools.
Chairman of the City of London Corporation Planning and Transport Committee, Shravan Joshi, said:
“The built environment is critical in supporting central London’s transition to a more sustainable economy. Buildings have substantial carbon footprints, so reducing emissions in the sector will be pivotal for addressing climate change. Ensuring technical education, such as through apprenticeships, offers a range of flexible training routes towards new jobs, which will be essential to delivering on sustainability ambitions.
“I would like to personally invite industry representatives to join the Skills for a Sustainable Skyline Taskforce, read the new report and to follow the six recommendations to help us build a more sustainable built environment workforce and reshape the sector.”
The Skills for a Sustainable Skyline taskforce has committed to sustained engagement with the government to promote a reformed Apprenticeship Levy and s106 policy, that is more flexible and meets the needs of employers. It will also promote the delivery of a new National Retrofit and Green Skills Strategy for commercial developments. It will also convene with employers, owners, leaseholders, local government and training providers to explore how they can work collaboratively to promote workforce upskilling, expansion and diversification.
by Clair Mooney | 6 Sep, 2023 | Building Safety Act
by Clair Mooney | 5 Sep, 2023 | Sustainability
With mounting pressure on the built environment sector to reduce embodied as well as operational carbon emissions, the industry needs to get to grips with how circular economy practices, such as reuse, can provide solutions. The Alliance of Sustainable Building Products (ASBP) is supporting the sector to share knowledge and drive action through the relaunch of its Reuse Now campaign and as part of that its upcoming Reuse Summit event (18 October) which is being hosted in conjunction with FIS.
Aim of the Reuse Now campaign
The aim of the campaign is to increase uptake of the reuse of construction products and materials through:
- Practical focus by exploring supply chain barriers and develop solutions
- Open dialogue and sharing of knowledge between reuse material donors/recipients and wider ecosystem to enable greater uptake
- Learn from what others have done to progress quickly (not everyone doing their own research)
Through connecting and collaborating with others active in the space we want the ASBP to be the ‘go-to’ place for practical guidance and information on the reuse of materials and products in construction.
Supporting the campaign
The ASBP is looking for forward thinking organisations to get involved and sponsor the Reuse Now Campaign and Reuse Summit to enable this work. Benefits of being involved with the Reuse Now campaign include:
- knowledge exchange and learning
- thought leadership opportunities and leading by example
- being associated with sector best practice
- and being able to input into and have access to research and practical outputs to support your organisation – and the industry – to achieve its Circular Economy and Net Zero Carbon targets.
Get in touch
Please get in touch with debbie.ward@asbp.org.uk or larry@asbp.org.uk if you are interested in sponsoring the Reuse Now campaign or have any questions about our work in this area.
by Oscar Venus | 4 Sep, 2023 | Main News Feed
Register for the Supply Chain Sustainability ‘Progressing Sustainable Procurement: Driving Sustainable Supply Chains and Businesses’ Virtual Conference.
This event will take place in just one week, on Thursday 7th September at 10:00-12:00 via Zoom.
By attending this session, you will have the chance to gain valuable insights into sustainable procurement strategies and processes. You will receive a first look at Action Sustainability’s ‘Sustainable Procurement Progression Report 2023’ and learn from cross-industry leaders in sustainable procurement about their experiences, the challenges they have faced and how they have overcome them. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to deep dive into three specific sectors – construction, utilities, and train operating companies – to benchmark against and learn from ISO 20400 evaluation insights.
Their Q&A session will give you the chance to have your questions answered by industry experts. This is a unique opportunity to learn from the best in the industry, so we encourage you to register now. Places are limited, with less than 100 spaces left, so don’t delay and register for free using the link provided. We also invite you to share the registration link with your colleagues and supply chain.
Learn more about the event and register here
