The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has appointed a new president who is focused on making professional ethics one of his main themes during his year in office.
A director of Turner & Townsend Project Management, Paul Nash has become the CIOB’s 113th president and one of the few to have carried out work in both the consultancy and contracting sides of the sector. He replaces outgoing president Chris Chivers.
In his first address to his colleagues, Mr Nash spoke about his desire to make ethics one of his core themes for the forthcoming year.
He said that everyone in the CIOB must take responsibility for the industry’s reputation and for the wellbeing of those who work in it, regardless of the country we are working in.
“Ethics defines what it means to be a professional. Behaving ethically entails tough decisions. And we have a responsibility to help our members make those right decisions,” he added.
In the next year, the CIOB has said that it will release a simplified code of conduct that will outline what is expected of a member of the CIOB, while the CIOB Academy will develop new learning modules on governance and ethics.
Paul Nash was a director of Sweett from 2004 to 2012 and was fined £1.4 million earlier in the year for bribery offences.
Last month, the CIOB supported an industry drive for more military recruits by creating a clear route into membership for people with military experience.
The move came after the group conducted a survey of more than 700 construction professionals, 77% of which said that ex-service personnel could help to plug the industry’s management skills gap.
By 2020, the UK needs around 230,000 recruits and with 75% of UK contractors operating at or near to full capacity, skills shortages are no longer confined to the trades: demand for professional technical and managerial staff is escalating.
