Thursday 31st March 2011 – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Minister for Business and Budget has joined forces with other AMs in support of the FMB Wales manifesto, ‘Building for Success’, which was launched in the Welsh Assembly yesterday. ‘Building for Success’ calls on politicians to support FMB Wales’s 20 point plan to get the building industry back on its feet. The event was hosted by Joyce Watson AM and other speakers included the Business and Budget Minister Jane Hutt and Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM.
FMB Wales believes construction SMEs can help rebuild the Welsh economy by creating more jobs, supporting economic growth as well as creating a greener more sustainable economy but only if the Welsh Assembly Government acts on three major challenges facing the construction sector. These include promoting a greener more sustainable Wales; developing skills and training; and creating a new business environment that supports innovation and enterprise.
Speaking at the launch Richard Jenkins, Director of FMB Wales, said:
“We need to get Wales building again because the construction industry has entered its fourth year of decline. Unfortunately the importance of the building industry to the Welsh economy is sometimes overlooked which is a mistake because it continues to employ more than100,000 people, representing 8% of the total Welsh workforce and accounts for some £4 billion per annum which is approximately 7% of the Welsh economy.”
Jenkins continued:
“FMB Wales is keen to ensure that policy measures are debated now ahead of the May elections so that politicians can explain to voters how they will help the construction sector recover. Decisions taken over the next four years will have a profound and lasting impact on the economy so it vital that politicians from across the political spectrum recognise and support the important contribution that small building firms make to our competiveness.”
Joyce Watson AM said:
“The FMB and I have met on a number of occasions in the past to discuss the many issues affecting the construction industry across Wales. In the FMB the industry has a strong voice to express their aspirations for the future and to meet the many challenges in the coming years ahead.”
Watson Continued:
“The contribution the construction industry plays to the overall competiveness and to the health of the Welsh economy is clear. With over 9,000 companies connected to the industry and employing nearly 100,000 people, many of which are SME’s, it is more important now than ever that we all join together to help the industry during these tough economic times. The FMB have clearly outlined three major challenges facing the construction sector. Through my work as an AM across Mid & West Wales, I myself have seen the difference initiatives like the Shared Apprenticeship Scheme have made both to lives of young people gaining new opportunities and the businesses benefiting from new skilled entrants into the industry. Developing skills and training to meet the demands of the growth potential of the economy will be vital in ensuring that the industry has the skills necessary to meet client demands.”
Minister for Business and Budget Jane Hutt, speaking at the launch, said:
“The Welsh Assembly Government is committed to helping the Welsh construction industry and recently announced an extra £105 million of funding for capital projects for Wales in 2011-12. Economic recovery remains a priority even though we have had the worst capital settlement for Wales in a generation.”
Hutt continued:
“Our capital budget is being cut by 40% in real terms over the next four years, with a cut of more than 25% in 2011/12 but we are continuing to prioritise capital spending. This will provide a much needed boost to the Welsh building industry for 2011-12, allowing essential work to get underway and delivering real benefits to our citizens and the economy.”
Rhodri Glyn Thomas AM said:
“I am delighted to help launch the manifesto for construction with the FMB Wales. This is a key sector in the Welsh economy and a real driver in creating future jobs for people across Wales. The construction industry has been and is an important employer in my constituency of Carmarthen East and Dinefwr and so I am pleased to have the opportunity to speak at this event today and give my support to some of the objectives the FMB want to achieve in Wales.”
