Chamber presenting to Cabinet Office following publication of GM Construction Report

Christian Spence, Research Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce

Following on from the Greater Manchester Construction Sector Pipline Analysis which was published last week, Chamber Head of Business Intelligence, Christian Spence and GTA Construction Sector Lead, Jocelyne Underwood have been invited to present to the Cabinet Office next week. The government department has shown keen interest in the Chamber's ability to map the skills and employment needs of the sector.

The meeting to discuss methodology with a cross-departmental team in Whitehall which, whilst led by the Cabinet Office, also includes senior representation from the HM Treasury, the Home Office, the Departments of Education and Health, the Ministries of Justice and Defence, Highways Agency, Transport for London, Network Rail, Homes and Communities Agency, Highways Agency, and other bodies responsible for delivering infrastructure. 

Talkling about the signficance of the report Jocelyne Underwood, Construction Sector Lead at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce said: "This report is the catalyst to change the provision of training in GM and really start to address the skills gaps in construction. It provides us with the evidence base required to get the training system moving to better suit employer requirements.

"We've known from discussions with members about the issues around lack of skills for steel fixing and building envelope specialists, but haven't know the scale of what we're dealing with. Having an analysis of 'actual' projects in the pipeline should provide employers and training providers with the confidence to continue to invest in apprenticeships and training and change provision or specialise in certain areas."

Christian Spence, Head of Business Intelligence at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce added: "The construction sector has been vocal in calling for greater intelligence in truly understanding the pipeline in our region so that they can adequately plan their own training and staffing needs, particularly as the economy moves out of recession.

"For the first time we now have not only an accurate picture of the future construction work in GM and its scale, but we now also understand how we need to work with training providers to help them prepare our young people for a sustainable place in the construction workforce of the future."