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Contact | Oct 10 Regional News

News in Brief

NI BENEVOLENT FUND SEMINAR The Northern Centre Committee of CIOB Ireland welcomed Frank MacDonald, Secretary of the Benevolent Fund, to CITB- ConstructionSkills Northern Ireland training centre on Monday 13 September 2010. MacDonald travelled to Antrim to

SCOTLAND

Dundee Fellow’s service and achievements recognised

deliver a brief seminar about the CIOB Benevolent Fund as well as speak with members. He opened the seminar by introducing members to the Fund, explaining why it exists and what it can do for CIOB members.

EAST MIDLANDERS ACHIEVE MCIOB Professional Review Interviews were held on 16 September at the Marriott in Leicester. Due to the high calibre of the candidates and the thoroughness of their preparation, the review boasted a record 100% success rate as all the candidates who attended passed the interview on the day. The East Midlands branch would

like to heartily congratulate those who achieved MCIOB status and wish them every success for the future: • Jason Stanbridge, project manager, Mansell Construction Services

• Jonathon North, senior construction manager, Westfield Shopping Towns

Left to right: Rob Leslie, Immediate Past Branch Chair, Derek McNulty, Dundee Centre Chair, Bill Crabb, Peter Jenkins, Branch Senior Vice Chair

Bill Crabb FCIOB, a retired lecturer in quantity surveying and member of the Dundee Committee, has been awarded the Recognition of Achievement Award by CIOB Scotland. Rob Leslie, Immediate Past Branch Chair, presented

Crabb with his award at a celebration lunch held in Dundee in September. Presenting the award, Leslie said it was one of the highlights of his year as Chair to have endorsed the recommendation for Crabb to receive the award. Crabb was nominated by the Dundee Centre and Scotland Branch. Dundee Centre Chair, Derek McNulty, said Crabb

was instrumental in procuring a consistently steady stream of students to become involved in the CIOB with many of them going on to become full members

and get involved with Centres throughout the CIOB. ”Over the years, Bill’s support for the Dundee Centre

has never waned and his loyal commitment just keeps going. Having served on all office bearer seats Bill’s experience is second to none and he remains a much-needed committee member,” said McNulty. Crabb has served with the Scottish Branch,

represented the Dundee Centre and Branch at Englemere and continues to sit on several professional interview panels. Along with another Dundee committee members,

Crabb was instrumental in the early discussions with Dundee City Council to create the Contractors of Excellence Awards – a unique and high-profile event within the CIOB.

Speed dating for businesses at Chester event

The CIOB North Wales and North West are hosting a business networking event in November offering construction professionals the chance to market themselves and their business. The event takes place on 9 November at 6pm

at St Davids Park Hotel near Chester. It will start with an informal networking reception followed by the opportunity for members to pitch themselves and their business to each delegate in turn in three minutes. All guests are also free to display a stand. Delegates will wear name

badges and hand out business cards after each pitch. Delegates can be anyone involved in the

construction process who wishes to market themselves, including SMEs, business owners, consultants, self-employed trades/craftsmen or agencies.

The cost is £20 per delegate and will include a buffet. Booking is essential so contact Karina Percival on kpercival@ciob.org.uk or call 08450 706155 for more details and to secure your place.

• Jonathon King, facilities administration manager, London Midland Trains

• Alex Stevenson, director, Frederick Sangster Trading

IRISH STUDENTS REVIEWED Donal McNicholl of Stavley delivered a Professional Review workshop in Dublin in September for recently successful candidates of the EPA programme. Among those attending was James

Newport, who achieved the highest EPA marks of any candidate in Ireland in 2009-10. Attendees also included

candidates who have recently completed a NVQ Level 5 in Construction Management. This is an alternative to the EPA programme as a means of qualifying as MCIOB, and is favoured by some candidates since it does not require them to sit examinations. McNicholl commented: “This

group is very typical of the types of professional backgrounds of CIOB members – project managers, facilities managers, surveyors and designers. It emphasises CIOB’s broad professional membership and integrated approach. It also reflects the number of options that applicants to CIOB now have, including EPA, NVQ and EPAR in addition to the conventional honours degree qualification.”