NEWS EXTRA
assets and staff numbers, is at number 4 in that list.”
Newcomb went on to discuss the BMF’s achievements and activities in the past year, including the continuing development of the Institute of Builders Merchants, the association that caters for individuals within the sector. “We have plans to strengthen the IOBM, which we acquired four or five years ago We think it has a long way to go. It is the only professional body that individuals can use to advance their career.
“We are going to provide more clarity on this, that it is for individuals not companies that it is inclusive, whether you are academic or non-academic and we are going to invest in prompting and marketing it. “One of the biggest decisions we have made, is that all future diplomas, certificates foundations degrees will now be rebranded as IOBM, so you will to be a member of the IOBM to achieve those qualifications,” he said. The BMF has also continued to work on its core strategey, underpinned by the top seven initiatives, which is where the focus will be directed.
doesn’t work then you private the planning system. My local planning is privatised, and since it has been contacted out it has gone from the fourth worst in the country to the third best over an eight-year period.”
If all else fails, Carr said that he has another idea: scrap the entire planning system as it stands, and replace it with Artificial Intelligence. “An AI operation could deliver the local plans with all the information input, determining the
applications based on all the input information. It’s actually a very factual process anyway, he added. “Access to finance is still a big problem. The high street banks won’t touch the SME builders. Persimmon, Berkeley, companies like that have no problem, but smaller developers really struggle to access finance. We need better quicker pathways to finance for developers. As we are low risk. Every-time we a purchase a piece of land to build on, the
“Building Inclusivity: we all recognise that the industry has to change, it has traditionally been white male and stale, and it has to change if we are to attract new talented people into the industry. We are proud to have set up the Construction Inclusion Coalition, and we want to encourage all of you to get involved in that, and send a strong message about how important inclusion and diversity is in building the future of our industry.
“Building Skills: Two years ago, we launched our Apprenticeship Pledge, committing to generate 15,000 apprenticeships through our members by 2030. That was out pledge to government. we now have 71 signatories to that pledge and pledges of over 13,000 apprenticeships. Our apprenticeships manager Maianna Peet has also introduced 50 Apprenticeship course on just about every aspect of business development. “Building Efficiency: We have been investing a lot in product data standardisation, having built a product data template and today we are launching version 2 of that.
value is there. Every time we build something on it the value increases. No disrespect to tech companies, but if a tech company goes bust there are no assets, but we will always have an asset in our land. “
Net biodiversity gains. is another issue, that Carr reports smaller developers having issues with. “This proportionately affects a smaller developer more as we tend to build on smaller sites, and on brownfield sites which have lots of biodiversity. A greenfield site of ploughed fields gives little diversity. By the time a volume housebuilder goes to build on these fields they can produce credits which they can then sell to the smaller builders. For example, I have a brownfield site in the centre of a regeneration area. It’s an old brick pit, and I will need 33 credits. That’s £1.3m that I will have to pay to build on a brownfield regeneration site. “We need to change the policy of the brownfield/grey field sites
October 2024
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net
“Building Sustainability: Our focus in this area has been on speeding up the adoption of more sustainable materials and we have just introduced a second Sustainability Report which give a snapshot of exactly where the industry is on this.
“Building Health & Safety: our focus will be on how we educate how we communicate and how we apply health & safety measures. Too many people get hurt in this industry and we have to help our members and our customers be safe. So we have released minimum safety standards, on our website and will be running two events aimed at driving the message home. “Building your Voice: We have a new government, elected with the promise t get Britain building. There is a desire to build more homes, we produce our manifesto, launched in September, mailed to every single MP, cabinet minister outlining what the BMF and our members want from the new government. We are also continuing to work on constituency visits, getting MPs out into the industry so they can understand members’ issues. “Building Awareness: After two eyas of hard work we
are going live with our Sector Awareness programme, launching the website Building Material careers. We have a huge job to do with this campaign.
“We have three objectives. First and foremost, this is about raising the awareness of our sector, of the building materials sector. Secondly it is to position that sector as vital, varied and vibrant with fantastic opportunities regardless of your age, colour or gender. Also, for the staff who are currently working in this industry, we want to be able to build a bit of pride in what they do, to attract new people in. “The BMF has invested over £200,000 of Members’ money to get to where we are now. However, this campaign will only work if you support it. You can help shape the future of this sector, you can position your business as part of this huge vibrant sector, You can help encourage your own staff through your induction process t you can recruit the key people we will need in the future of this sector. “We want to get across the message that if you join our industry, it’s not just a job, but you are joining a community.” BMJ
to allow us to put the maximum on the sites.
A lack of quality tradespeople, is for Carr, the biggest issue of all. “There’s no immediate short-term solution. We are not becoming attractive to young people to new entrants to the market. We
seem to be classed as an industry of last resort. We need to go to schools and show them our path way through, and explain the actual pathways through leading on from the trades.
“Another issue that we are struggling with is the upskilling
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