Having just returned from the FMB Scotland Board meeting which was held at the Loch Insh outdoor centre on Speyside, I thought a river-themed headline would be appropriate this month. Since mid-August I have caught up with members either on site or in their offices in Glasgow, Perthshire and in Falkirk.
Whilst it’s helpful to catch up with members at our monthly Zoom meetings, nothing beats a face-to-face meeting. Of course, members are very busy, so I am under no illusion that any member is relaxed about re-arranging their day to catch up with me. However, whenever I am traveling on business, I always take the opportunity to contact members in the area I am traveling through. My most recent meeting with members having been with Craig Henderson of Dew North Ltd who showed me around the redevelopment of the Amulree Hotel and Derek Petterson of Meldrum Construction who met me at their offices in Perth.
Aside from meeting members, I am busy organising the devolved nations section of the FMB’s Building Conference which takes place on Tuesday 8 November and will be 100% online. To date, Stephen Garvin, Head of the Building Standards Division at the Scottish Government, and Jim Brown Director, Energy Skills Partnership have confirmed as speakers. I am awaiting a reply from Ivan McKee the Scottish Government Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism to speak at the conference.
Engaging with other construction industry stakeholders
Skills, training and apprenticeships are a hot topic across the construction industry. So it was helpful to join a meeting with the CITB’s CEO Tim Balcon to share feedback from FMB members. We also discussed how to improve the pre-recruitment support in Scotland to generate more and better-quality candidates to jobs and careers in construction. Looking at the wider industry, I am exploring how FMB members could network with architects. This through the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland (RIAS) and their six chapters across Scotland.
Surveyors and property specialists DM Hall & Graham & Sibbald met up with me online to find out more about the work of FMB members in Scotland and explore how we could work together.
Construction Industry Standards
The FMB continues to be a leading voice on standards and quality within the construction industry. One area where the FMB has helped to shape standards is through the National Occupational Standards (NOS) working group. This is comprised of employers and industry stakeholders.
I have been part of the working group to review and update the NOS on Construction Contracting Operations Management. The CITB needed a representative from Scotland, hence their approach to me. The process started in Autumn 2020 and has just concluded with CITB’s Accreditation Manager formally approving the 18 draft NOS in the CCOM suite on 30 August. The final approved NOS will be published on the NOS Database later this month.
Later this month some Glasgow-based members will be joining me at a briefing delivered by SELECT: the trade association for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland.
Authors
Gordon Nelson
Director, Federation of Master Builders Scotland
