Last month, Federation of Master Builders (FMB) member Kisiel Group Ltd. were visited on-site in West London by the Minister for Construction, Lee Rowley MP, to talk about some of the challenges facing small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) construction in the UK.
As champions for SME home building, the FMB were on hand to host the event and join in the conversation about some of the important issues we campaign for.
The Minister heard first-hand about some of the pressures currently facing businesses, including material and fuel cost increases, the skills shortage and the need for direction on carbon net zero to help us meet the UK’s targets.
Levelling up SME construction businesses
FMB Chief Executive, Brian Berry highlighted that SMEs make up 95% of the construction sector and they are ideally placed to level-up by entering the home building market and expanding their operations. All of which would help to boost the economy.
Kisiel Group’s site will deliver 21 new homes and is an example of high-quality building by a local SME company that’s diversifying and growing its business in the home building market. From their beginnings in 2007, Kisiel Group have moved from refurbishments and renovations to building new quality homes for property developers. Leaning on that expertise, they are now property developers in their own right.
The FMB are campaigning for policies that support SME home building, which you can read about on our regularly updated SME House builder campaign page. Through our campaigning, we aim to smooth the path for smaller developers and contractors to scale their businesses – with a simpler, speedier planning process and better site availability for SME developers.
We’re the voice of SME house building to Government, representing your views at regular meeting with the Housing Minister and Shadow Housing team, and our annual House Builders’ Survey uses data collected from our members to identify and highlight the issues that matter.
Building the next generation
Kisiel employ 26 people on their West London site and offers support to new graduates from nearby Kingston University through their intern programme, with several of their intake becoming full-time employees.
The Minster met some of the young graduates, who talked about the on-the-job training they’ve received and how valuable to them this is. These included Alen Joseph Easow and Ashly Joseph – both Masters in Construction Management graduates from Kingston University who are now employed as Junior Engineers by the Kisiel Group.
One of the biggest challenges facing the construction industry is a skills crisis – with a shortfall in the number of people getting into the business. The FMB are working hard to address this by campaigning for training and development – lobbying for apprenticeship reform and working towards a general builder apprenticeship standard.
But it’s not just about lobbying behind the scenes. The FMB worked with the Kisiel Group previously on a grassroots community project led by youth charity Volunteer it Yourself – teaching young people trade skills through repairing and converting disused community buildings. On-site with the Minister last month was the Kisiel Group’s Annie Summun, who co-ordinates all their voluntary and charity work, and who was a Women in Housing Award’s finalist in 2018 for her work in the community. Annie is also a representative for London on the FMB’s National Board and Chair of the FMB Training Group.
Find out more
You can keep up to date with our campaigns, catch up with the latest industry reports published by the FMB and key industry bodies, and read our bi-monthly Master Builder Magazine online.
Or if you’re looking to level-up your business, become part of the conversation by joining the FMB and becoming a Master Builder. We offer our members free advice and access to a wide range of services to help you support and grow your business. Apply online or get in touch today.
