Fiona joins team as construction industry gets set for transformation

SELECT’s Director of Employment & Skills Fiona Harper is among industry leaders from across Scotland's public and private sectors who have been appointed as co-chairs to develop ten core construction areas where transformation across the sector is needed most.

Their appointment follows the publication last year of the Scottish Construction Accord by the Construction Leadership Forum (CLF), which is aimed at creating more successful businesses, enhancing working conditions for employees, improving the quality of construction and becoming a net zero industry.

Central to reaching that goal are ten priority work areas where the co-chairs will now take responsibility to bring together industry and government experts to develop and drive forward a transformation action-plan.

That plan will cover areas such as improving the capacity, capability and diversity of the workforce, reforming construction procurement practices, increasing the use of digital technology across SME’s and optimising Scotland’s place in the modern methods of construction’s emerging market.

Once developed, the plan will be published on CLF’s website with the programme project-managed by Scottish Futures Trust.

The CLF’s Transformation Board of newly appointed co-chairs will meet regularly to realise collaborative ambition across the priority actions. The organisations they are from and the priority work areas they will focus on, are listed below:

Minister for Small Business, Innovation and Trade, & Chair of CLF Richard Lochhead said: “Construction is an extremely important part of the Scottish economy. That is why we are engaging with industry through the Construction Leadership Forum and have formed a first-class team to allow the sector to thrive and contribute towards a wellbeing economy that is fair and prosperous for all.

“By working alongside public and private sector colleagues to codesign a Transformation Plan that will support the construction sector, the Scottish Government is listening to the challenges and looking to maximise future growth, as we strive towards the aims of our National Strategy for Economic Transformation.”

Peter Reekie, chief executive of public sector infrastructure specialists, the Scottish Futures Trust, and co-chair of the Transformation Board, said: “These appointments are pivotal to driving the collaborative approach that will deliver the transformation commitments for the industry.

“We recognise that change is needed and we can only deliver it by working together. We need to bring in new and diverse talent and ensure the whole workforce has the competencies to support the future of the industry and we need to build and maintain assets in different ways using different materials to deliver a net zero, carbon-built environment.”

Morag Angus, chief surveyor at Scottish Government and the Transformation Action-Plan Board co-chair, said: “Working inclusively with the best in the sector, using key knowledge and experience we will identity the optimum ways to achieve a thriving and sustainable construction sector in Scotland. The Scottish Construction Accord and this joint approach to continuous  improvement is the first of it’s kind in the UK and we are excited by the potential.”