It was great to meet some members in person for the Organic Business Growth Masterclass training which took place in Edinburgh on 1 February. Our Associate Members Esteem Training delivered the course and it was fascinating to hear some insights from members about where their business is now and where they want to take it. All present made connections with each other, with some good humour and anecdotes shared about life in the building industry!
We are now aiming to run this free half day course in Glasgow, more on this to follow.
Maths class
The training took place at Manor Estate Housing Association who are one of our neighbours in the building where our Scotland office is located. A short walk from the office took me to the site of a project which FMB members Q Build Ltd are working on. I’d been meaning to have a look around the site for weeks, so I finally made it at the end of January.
My thanks to Johnathan, Mark and John from Q Build who explained how they've enjoyed using trigonometry to ensure precision of the curvature during this build. Thankfully they didn’t sit me down for a maths test! On a serious point, it was helpful for me to hear first-hand about the aptitudes and problem-solving skills which are part and parcel of a Master Builder’s toolkit.
Recently I was interviewed for a Zero Waste Scotland project which is looking into waste reduction and best practice across the Scottish built environment. This topic has been discussed by your Scotland Board members. Zero Waste Scotland are keen to hear from other members about your specific approach to waste reduction, the best practices used, and the barriers to doing so. I’ve shared what I can, so if you are willing to participate email the researchers.
The Feds
The Scottish Plant Owners Association (SPOA) in Stirling was the venue for the first Federations Forum meeting of 2024 on 8 February. The CITB briefed me, SPOA, and other trade federations on current developments including employer network pilots, a pre-apprenticeship study and why CITB are setting up a new team to support employers and apprentices. In May we will discuss the CITB’s Nation Plan for Scotland which will be published in April. I’ll certainly share this with the FMB Scotland Board but for now if you want to find out more about what was discussed in Stirling on 8 February contact me.
Following the meeting I popped into Bridge of Allan to meet new FMB members LAN Construction Services Ltd. So my thanks to Lindsay Neill for welcoming me to his warm office on a freezing February afternoon.
Authors
Gordon Nelson
Director, Federation of Master Builders Scotland
