NEWS EXTRA


BMF SETS OUT STRATEGY FOR A CHANGING INDUSTRY


Building excellence, developing skills and embracing digital change will remain at the heart of the BMF’s strategy, according to CEO, John Newcomb who outlined the organisation’s priorities at the BMF Annual Members Day Conference.


THE BMF MEMBERS DAY conference themes of


digitalisation, diversification and decarbonisation had been chosen because they represented “the three key strategic things that the BMF needs to tackle over the next few years”.


That’s according to CEO John Newcomb, who explained that the BMF will also continue to engage with government, concentrating its lobbying efforts on five areas: housing, building safety, extended producer responsibility, apprenticeships and decarbonisation.


Skills and recruitment featured prominently in the speech. Newcomb highlighted the BMF’s Building Materials Careers campaign, launched to attract a more diverse workforce to an industry that remains predominantly white and male. “We need to increase our diversity because we are a white and male dominated industry,” he said. “This campaign is about making awareness of building


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materials, but also trying to attract a new type of person into the industry.”


The campaign has generated significant engagement, with 55,000 people visiting its website and social media activity reaching more than 14 million people. The accompanying jobs board has advertised more than 11,000 vacancies over around 18 months, while ambassadors have been taking the industry’s career message into schools and colleges.


Newcomb said the BMF’s role did not end with recruitment. Training, professional development and recognition were equally important, with apprenticeships, online and face-to-face training and new qualifications all forming part of its offer. He also pointed to government funding of up to £8,000 for businesses taking on an apprentice.


The BMF is also changing its approach to training, he said,


moving towards a broader talent-development programme designed to identify individual businesses’ skills requirements and help meet them.


Digital future


Digitalisation was another key theme. Newcomb praised the development of Datayard, the centralised product-data platform that now has almost 170 suppliers signed up. He urged suppliers who had not yet joined to do so, arguing that the platform would provide “one single source of trusted product data”, support the government’s “golden thread” initiative and prepare the sector for digital product passports.


Despite the challenges facing construction, Newcomb ended by trying to find something to be cheerful about. The industry, he said, remains central to the UK economy, accounting for 9% of GDP and employing three million people. “Our industry continues, despite the


challenges that we have to adapt, innovate and invest.” Artificial intelligence will transform the sector, he acknowledged, but there are limits to what technology can replace. “AI can’t lay bricks, it can’t move materials around a yard and it can’t deliver product to site,” he said.


As he outlined his continuing role, which will see him move into the executive chairman role from November, Newcomb said he would still be focusing on championing the sector with government and industry, while overseeing strategic initiatives including Datayard and BM Careers.


After 14 years of growth, Newcomb’s message was one of collaboration: “We can only do that together.” He thanked members for their partnership and support, saying it had been “a privilege running this business” and expressing confidence that the sector could achieve even more in the years ahead. BMJ


www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net October 2026


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