CHARLOTTE Booth, a chartered environmentalist with more than a decade of consultancy experience, has been appointed as associate director of sustainability and wellbeing at multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, BE Design. Having grown up on an almost autonomous farm in rural Lincolnshire, Charlotte had a keen interest in protecting the
Costain has named its first ever chief digital officer. Nathan Marsh will take on the role, leading the accelerated implementation of Costain’s commercial digital strategy, with responsibility for the delivery of Group-wide digital services enhancing the solutions to its clients. He will also take up a position as a member
According to many experts, the construction industry is experiencing a problem with skilled workers — there aren’t enough of them. City & Guilds, a global leader in skills development, states that that 87% of employers in 2017 found it difficult to recruit the skilled workers that they needed. According to
Health and safety expert Bureau Veritas is encouraging visitors to this year’s Contamination Expo Series to come and witness its intuitive field hazard-testing and air quality technology to see how it is transforming the testing and inspection industry. More than 3,000 contamination professionals are expected to flock to Birmingham’s NEC
The South West’s largest independent homebuilder Cavanna Homes has made two key appointments to its senior team, to further support the firm’s ambitious growth plans ahead of its centenary year in 2023. Paul Furner, Head of Sales and Marketing, brings more than 15 years’ experience in the new home and
Ibstock Brick has been shortlisted for two prestigious industry awards which recognise its world-class apprenticeship programme. The leading brick manufacturer, part of Ibstock plc, has been named as a finalist in the Apprenticeship Employer of the Year category at the Personnel Today Awards as well as the Best Apprenticeship Programme
The construction industry is one of the busiest in the world and that is certainly true within the USA. Indeed, the US construction industry is thought to be worth over $1 billion in annual expenditure. With the sector employing over 10 million workers and US construction firms spending more than
Visqueen has appointed Georgia Oxbrough as Business Development Manager (BDM) for the North of England and Scotland. Georgia’s promotion is the latest step in a blossoming six-year career with the gas protection and structural waterproofing specialist. It began straight from school when she applied, successfully, for an NVQ apprenticeship in
Further expansion signalled with appointment of well-known name Pat McGillycuddy. Glencar, an expanding construction company specialising in the industrial, logistics and distribution sectors has today announced the appointment of Pat McGillycuddy as Chairman. Pat McGillycuddy, a well-known name in the UK/European logistics real estate industry joins at the start of
GRAHAM is pleased to announce the official opening of a new construction training hub at its Tilbury2 site at the Port of Tilbury. The Thurrock Hub has been created in partnership with the South Essex Construction Training Academy (SECTA) for the CITB Construction Skills Fund project, led by Southend-on-Sea Borough
CHARLOTTE Booth, a chartered environmentalist with more than a decade of consultancy experience, has been appointed as associate director of sustainability and wellbeing at multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, BE Design. Having grown up on an almost autonomous farm in rural Lincolnshire, Charlotte had a keen interest in protecting the environment from a young age and has since led on energy and sustainability strategies for some of the UK’s largest urban regeneration projects. “From a young age, I recognised the importance of living sustainably,” said Charlotte. “On my family’s 250-hectare arable farm, we grew the energy crop miscanthus, ran our vehicles on biofuel, designed wetlands and wildflower meadows to encourage biodiversity and heated the farmhouse via a ground source heat pump, solar thermal and PV panels. You could say that a passion for sustainability and wellbeing is in my blood. “After completing my degree in Natural Sciences at Durham University – where I specialised in climate change – I went on to study for an MSc in Building Energy and Environmental Performance Modelling at the Welsh School of Architecture. “This greatly contributed to my understanding as to the impacts of development on the environment and led me to pursue a career in the construction industry. “I’ve advised affordable housing providers, local councils and private developers on the environmental impacts of their construction projects. I’ve worked closely with teams to project manage multi-million-pound masterplanning and regeneration schemes. Seeing low carbon, sustainable and biophilic-focussed designs come to fruition is incredibly rewarding. “I’m now looking forward to putting all of this experience into practice at BE Design.” In her new role, Charlotte will be collaborating closely with the team to provide sustainability management, wellbeing and biophilic design support – through accreditations including the WELL Building Standard – and energy and low carbon strategies to BE Design’s clients. Charlotte added: “We want to embed sustainability and wellbeing practices into the heart of our designs. There’s an incredible team here, who are committed to creating exceptional places to live and work in, which have minimal environmental impact and which are fit for future generations. “This passion for sustainability, along with the collaborative and holistic approach to design, is what attracted me to BE Design. “Climate change is a very real threat, one that isn’t going to go away, so we have to be incorporating sustainable practices into everything we do in terms of building design. Businesses and councils are declaring states of emergency. But now, we have to deliver practical solutions to deliver the net zero carbon aspirations of our clients.” Charlotte’s role will significantly strengthen the Nottinghamshire-based practice’s offer relating to sustainable and wellbeing and bring an elevated service to its national and international clients. Director Anna Tsartsari added: “Sustainability isn’t just a buzz word – it’s a practice, an ethos, a commitment to the future of our planet. ‘Designing sustainably for the future’ has been at the core of our business’ approach to design from day one. At BE Design, we very much subscribe to the idea of sustainable placemaking, creating spaces that people want to live and work in. That’s why we’ve also signed up to Architect’s Declare. “Charlotte will hugely benefit our clients, bringing an incredible amount of sector knowledge to their projects. She has already proven to be a fantastic addition to the team and we’re delighted to have her on board.” Find out more about BE Design at www.bedesign.co.uk or join the conversation on Twitter @B_E_Design #BESustainablePlacemaking.
Costain has named its first ever chief digital officer. Nathan Marsh will take on the role, leading the accelerated implementation of Costain’s commercial digital strategy, with responsibility for the delivery of Group-wide digital services enhancing the solutions to its clients. He will also take up a position as a member of Costain’s Executive board. With over 20 years’ experience working in digital transformation, Mr Marsh has held roles at SNC Lavalin, McKinsey & Co, EY and AON. Commenting on the appointment, Alex Vaughan, CEO said: “Ensuring that every service we offer is digitally optimised, and that we offer our clients new solutions founded on the application of digital technology is core to our new Leading Edge strategy which is why we have appointed our first chief digital officer. Nathan’s key industry relationships and experience of enabling digital capabilities across the UK’s critical nature infrastructure will ensure Costain shapes the future adoption of digital solutions and supports our clients in the implementation of this transition.” Nathan Marsh, chief digital officer, added: “I am incredibly excited at becoming Costain’s first ever CDO. Our sector is undergoing a wholesale digital transformation and it’s fantastic to see progressive industry leaders like Costain invest in and prioritise digital. I’m looking forward to helping our people and our clients leverage the full benefits of digital connectivity, designing, building and operating infrastructure for the future.”
According to many experts, the construction industry is experiencing a problem with skilled workers — there aren’t enough of them. City & Guilds, a global leader in skills development, states that that 87% of employers in 2017 found it difficult to recruit the skilled workers that they needed. According to Construction News, official figures show that 12.6% of UK construction workers come from overseas, with 5.7% originating from the EU. This rises to a staggering 60% in London. Furthermore, 30% of British-born construction workers are now over the age of 50, meaning businesses will feel the pinch of those departing over the coming years through retirement when Brexit comes into play. But, could the solution to the skills-shortage issue lie in apprenticeships? Apprenticeships could be more crucial than ever, especially following Brexit. Nation Apprenticeship Week was at the beginning of March, and with an influx of publicity circulating, it has encouraged employers to think about the future of their workforces — could apprentices fill the employee shortage? Construction, Planning and the Built Environment — alongside Engineering and Manufacturing — show the greatest number of apprenticeship starts. In the 2016/17 academic year, the Engineering and Manufacturing sector witnessed 74,000 starts, while the Construction sector had 21,000. Leading UK housebuilder, Redrow, released its second annual research report which revealed that, thanks to a positive shift in attitudes and the perception of construction, the apprenticeship pathway has improved. There was even a 14% increase in young people considering a career in the industry. “This year’s results illustrate that apprenticeships and careers in construction are being viewed in a more positive light. Apprenticeships are a way of futureproofing the UK workforce, particularly in sectors where there is a skills shortage, such as construction, so it is pleasing to see that progress is being made,” commented Karen Jones, group HR director at Redrow. Clearly, there are successes in the field of apprenticeships, which is hoped to carry on thanks to a new way of funding apprenticeship programmes. While some employers have snubbed the new levy as just being ‘another tax’, both large and small employers can benefit from the fund, meaning that 90% of apprenticeship training costs are funded by the government. Furthermore, employers within the construction sector can use up to 10% of the funding to train employees across the full supply chain — something not to be snubbed with the current shortage in skilled workers. But are apprentices really as useful to an employer as other workers? Research suggest that they are. According to UK Construction Media, 86% of employers say that apprenticeships are helping them develop skills relevant to their organisation and 78% believe they improve productivity. “Working with some of the UK’s largest utility firms, our success rates have been very high. We and our customers have no doubt that, managed well, apprenticeships do work,” commented Chris Wood, CEO of Develop Training. He went on to say: “New initiatives such as Trailblazer Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy have raised awareness across the UK. Even so, and despite huge skills shortages, many employers are still only scratching the surface of what they could be doing to use apprenticeships to attract new people to join the industry and improve the skills of existing employees.” Since the construction industry is struggling to fill its desired workforce, apprentices could be the fast and efficient solution the sector needs. Downing Street has committed itself to creating three million new apprenticeships by 2020. The construction industry could be on the receiving end of a large chunk of those programmes, which will be an opportunity to deliver a new generation of highly skilled workers — something that the industry is experiencing a lack of right now. In fact, the Director of the National Apprentice Service, Sue Husband, predicts that 2018 will be crucial for programmes. As more opportunities become available, now could be the time to cut yourself a slice of the apprenticeship programme success — and secure your future workforce now. This article was researched and produced by Niftylift, a leading UK retailer of cherry pickers. Sources
Health and safety expert Bureau Veritas is encouraging visitors to this year’s Contamination Expo Series to come and witness its intuitive field hazard-testing and air quality technology to see how it is transforming the testing and inspection industry. More than 3,000 contamination professionals are expected to flock to Birmingham’s NEC for the event on 11th and 12th September this year, which brings together suppliers and partners from across all aspects of contamination including land, spill, clean air, hazardous, waste, nuclear and geothermal. With an established reputation for providing bespoke consultancy services around regulatory compliance in areas of hazardous chemical and environmental management, Bureau Veritas’ respected thought leaders will be on hand at stand F85 to share best-practice advice and guidance in areas including emergency response planning, asbestos, air quality and hazardous materials – to name just a few. Fire science consultant, Sarah Bergin, will also be delivering a presentation in one of the ‘speaker slots’, discussing the air quality considerations during a major incident, bringing in her own experience as a scientific advisor during the Moorland fires of 2018. Keen to showcase how its technology is helping to improve testing, inspection and certification, experts from the renowned Bureau Veritas Technical Centre are calling on visitors to pop along to its stand to see its latest solutions. Bureau Veritas’ scientists have combined the capabilities and strengths of the existing HazMat testing kits to create a wet chemistry testing system designed to allow emergency responders to quickly and accurately classify unknown chemicals. The CHASE kit, which will be demonstrated at the Expo, enables the responder to quickly identify the hazards of the substances involved and understand the implications of this when planning the emergency response, as well as protecting emergency responders, other personnel, and the environment, in the process. Mike Shaw, Principal Consultant at Bureau Veritas, comments: “Our specialist Technical Centre leads the industry in providing innovative solutions that add value to customers. As a business we are dedicated to best practice in health and safety and we’re excited to showcase our latest solutions in hazardous chemicals management, air quality issues, industrial risk assessment and asbestos management at the Contamination Expo Series. “So whether you are seeking to invest in new compliance services, or simply looking for help and advice on everything from fire science and emergency response to air quality and asbestos inspections – we’d urge all attendees to pop along and talk to our thought leaders to find out more.” Bureau Veritas offers a wide range of specialist services to help firms achieve compliance. Attending and conducting demonstrations at the Contamination Expo will be thought leaders and experts from across the Bureau Veritas business, including fire science, who are dedicated to the provision of appropriate scientific advice at emergency and other incidents; asbestos, who offer assistance overseeing asbestos surveyors, as well as supporting with feasibility studies, risk assessment and management studies; and air quality, who work with a large number of organisations to undertake feasibility studies, bring forward air quality compliance and assess the potential benefits of air quality improvement measures prior to implementation. For further information on Bureau Veritas, call 0345 600 1828 or visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk. To find out more about attending the Contamination Expo Series, please visit the Contamination Expo website or contact Daniel Rogers on 0117 990 2005.
The South West’s largest independent homebuilder Cavanna Homes has made two key appointments to its senior team, to further support the firm’s ambitious growth plans ahead of its centenary year in 2023. Paul Furner, Head of Sales and Marketing, brings more than 15 years’ experience in the new home and property sector, and Victoria Potter, Head of HR, joins the firm with a strong background in human resources management and employee professional development. Paul joins Cavanna Homes from Countrywide Plc, where he managed the new homes division for the South West. He will oversee the sales and marketing teams at the Torquay headquarters and across all development sites to ensure visitors and customers have the best experience possible. Paul said: “Buying a home is one of the biggest purchases most people are likely to make, so we need to make that experience as informative and as pleasurable as possible. We want our homeowners to be as proud of their new homes as we are! “This is an exciting time for Cavanna Homes, with the recent opening our stunning new show home at Cavanna @ Wolborough Hill in Newton Abbot and with more developments lined up to open later this year. I’m really pleased to have joined the fantastic team at Cavanna Homes, and I’m looking forward to getting stuck into this new challenge supporting the company’s growth plans and encouraging people to come and visit our sites to see our beautiful new homes”. Victoria Potter, who was previously Head of HR and Training at British Ceramic Tile, will be supporting the company’s 130 employees with a focus on raising awareness of mental health through training programmes. Victoria added: “Moving into homebuilding has been a big step, but the ethos and goals at Cavanna Homes are inspirational and we have a great team here to deliver them! “My role is all about attracting, training, and retaining the best talent and supporting the business to achieve its goals. I’m looking forward to working with the business managers and employees to continue making this firm a great place to work”. Andy Addison, Operations Director at Cavanna Homes said: “We pride ourselves in having employees who are passionate about what they do, and Victoria and Paul are shining examples of this. “Cavanna Homes is a long-established company in the South West and has gained a strong reputation for building brilliance. Having a forward-thinking and enthusiastic senior team will support the company’s continued growth and success”. Cavanna Homes currently has the largest number of live developments to date in its 96-year history, including Newton Abbot, Dawlish, Paignton, Tavistock, Newton Poppleford near Sidmouth, Barnstaple, Stoke Gabriel, and Bodmin, with sites in Holcombe, Wincanton and Exeter set to open later this year. The firm has also welcomed its largest number of apprentices to date as part of its commitment to nurture new talent in the construction sector.
Ibstock Brick has been shortlisted for two prestigious industry awards which recognise its world-class apprenticeship programme. The leading brick manufacturer, part of Ibstock plc, has been named as a finalist in the Apprenticeship Employer of the Year category at the Personnel Today Awards as well as the Best Apprenticeship Programme at the Training Journal Awards. Ibstock Brick offers two engineering apprenticeship programmes, both four years in duration; Advanced Mechanical Engineering and Advanced Electrical Engineering. There are currently 35 apprentices within the business, ranging from 16 to 25 years old. The main objective of its apprenticeship programme is to build on its skills base by nurturing a new generation of highly qualified employees – who will bring new skills, energy, ideas and enthusiasm to the business. Such has been the success of Ibstock Brick’s apprenticeship programme, it is being rolled out to include Ibstock plc’s Concrete division. Paula Wardle, Group Learning & Development Manager at Ibstock plc, commented: “We are delighted that our apprenticeship programme has been shortlisted for these two prestigious industry awards. It recognises the investment we have made in developing a comprehensive programme focussed on delivering world-class engineering skills and knowledge. “Our apprenticeship scheme contributes to our goal of growing the business by investing in people – from the start of their careers – and helping them achieve their potential. It also ensures that we create a pool of engineering and technical specialists who will help drive forward innovation and manufacturing excellence. We believe this approach makes an important contribution to delivering excellence in the way we operate. It is only by nurturing our future talent that we will have people with the technical expertise and skills to manufacture our products for years to come.”https://www.ibstockplc.co.uk/careers/apprenticeship-schemes
The construction industry is one of the busiest in the world and that is certainly true within the USA. Indeed, the US construction industry is thought to be worth over $1 billion in annual expenditure. With the sector employing over 10 million workers and US construction firms spending more than $10 trillion annually on goods, it is clear how important this sector is to the whole economy. Of course, the construction industry itself is only able to play this important role due to the many contractors it uses. Past figures from the US Bureau of Labour showed independent contractors make up 6.9% of total employment across the country and construction certainly sees its fair share. Why do contractors play such a major role within construction? With the number of contractors active in construction, it is obvious how important they are in facilitating its smooth operation and in getting projects completed on-time. But just why have contractors become so powerful? It is because of the flexible access to specialist skills that they offer. A construction company may have won a project to build a housing development but lack the skills required to complete key elements, such as installing next-gen acoustic solutions or specialist drainage work. Rather than missing out on the project or doing a poor job, construction companies use independent contractors to do the work. Of course, independent contractors also help companies to save money. By allowing them to only hire the particular skills they need for a set time, a lot of money is saved on employing permanent staff who may only be needed a few times each year. This combination is what gives contractors a lot of power within the whole industry. After all, without them, a lot of projects would not be able to be completed and a lot of construction companies would not be able to stay operational. Tips for independent construction contractors If you are a contractor in this sector, then it is always wise to get a few tips on how to become even more successful. A great idea is to use an umbrella company. They effectively act as your employer rather than the actual client that has contracted your services. Why is this a good move? In short, it sees the umbrella company handle your payroll, sort out any tax deductions each month and produce a payslip. They will also submit timesheets for you, handle any admin queries concerning payments and generally make this side of your business less hassle. For more details on umbrella companies, Crystal Umbrella information about umbrella companies is worth looking at. Network, network, network Another great tip for any construction contractor is to always be networking. While this can sometimes seem hard to do when busy with projects, even chatting with other companies on-site can lead to new opportunities. If you do get time, networking online via sites like LinkedIn is also a good way to forge new partnerships in the construction sector. Keep gaining new skills and equipment As you will be aware, construction is an ever-changing industry with new skills required constantly. A great tip to have more success as a contractor is to always be learning new skills so you and your team can offer more to potential clients. As well as this, it is also worth keeping your equipment up to date, so you are not left behind by competitors when tendering for jobs. Keep an eye on the law As well as new skills being in demand all the time, the US Government is prone to making law changes to building regulations at times. To make sure you are fully compliant on any job you take, ensure you are always working in accordance with the latest legal advice. If you do not then you may be kicked off a job or even be sued if you build something wrongly which then causes an accident. Umbrella companies can help partly here as they will always be working to the latest laws around your tax requirements. This means you do not have to worry about keeping up with those! For the rest though, you must make sure you pick up on any current regs to comply with. Contractors hold the power To get an idea of how much power contractors hold within the construction industry, you only have to imagine there not being any. It would leave a huge skills gap in the industry and have a big impact on the ability big construction firms have to operate. This leaves working as an independent contractor in construction as a great career choice and one that will always be in demand.
Visqueen has appointed Georgia Oxbrough as Business Development Manager (BDM) for the North of England and Scotland. Georgia’s promotion is the latest step in a blossoming six-year career with the gas protection and structural waterproofing specialist. It began straight from school when she applied, successfully, for an NVQ apprenticeship in business and administration. Since then Georgia has risen through the ranks from Key Accounts Support & Development Executive to Senior Specification Support & Development Executive, then Construction team leader looking after a team of 10 people. As a BDM, she will have a more external role, with duties including building close relationships with merchant customers, distributors and end-users to increase awareness and ensure the message gets across that it pays to invest in quality solutions and products. “There are tremendous opportunities for growth in the sector,” she said. “I have already gained experience working with customers in the North in a previous role, and I’m excited to have the opportunity to build on that with a broader remit covering Scotland.” Laura Guy, National Sales Manager for Visqueen, said: “As a company, we are committed to investing in our people as well as in the development of our range of market leading products. “That includes creating a pathway for talented employees such as Georgia, who joined as an apprentice and whose hard work has been recognised with her appointment as BDM for the North and Scotland.” Visqueen is the market leader in the manufacture and supply of structural waterproofing and gas protection systems. Visqueen offers complete support at every stage in the specification process and supply chain. This includes a comprehensive range of advanced products, a dedicated technical support team of specialists – offering specification, design advice and a best in class level of customer service. With a team of highly trained and experienced technical experts offering the highest level of support to our customers, including, architects and specifiers, contractors and merchants – all of Visqueen’s technical team have been awarded the CSSW award (certified surveyor of structural waterproofing), a nationally recognised professional qualification – aiming to promote excellence within the industry, improving consumer confidence and encourage professional development.
Further expansion signalled with appointment of well-known name Pat McGillycuddy. Glencar, an expanding construction company specialising in the industrial, logistics and distribution sectors has today announced the appointment of Pat McGillycuddy as Chairman. Pat McGillycuddy, a well-known name in the UK/European logistics real estate industry joins at the start of July following over 30 years at the helm of leading European Logistics developer Gazeley. At Glencar, Pat will work together closely with co-founders Edward McGillycuddy and Chris Gleave to spearhead the company’s further expansion and reinforce the customer service ethos that was the basis of many successful programmatic partnerships in his previous roles. Speaking about his appointment, Pat McGillycuddy said: “Glencar has traded successfully for three years and is growing at a steady rate. Eddie and Chris have an outstanding pedigree in the management and delivery of large-scale industrial developments throughout the past twelve years. Over the past three years they have grown Glencar’s capability steadily on several industrial projects. We are very firmly committed to a strong customer service ethos as the basis for building strong partnerships with our customers and supply chains. We believe that this enables better service and ensures the same consistent level of quality and service is delivered right across our operations. I look forward to developing upon that further and supporting Glencar’s continuing expansion”. Glencar Managing Director, Eddie McGillycuddy also went on to say “From years of construction industry experience, we knew there was a better way to do things and that’s what we have set out to achieve with Glencar. Our clients, partners and suppliers tell us they are feeling the benefits of our proactive and diligent approach and we will work hard to continue to build and improve on the excellent standards which we have already set ourselves. We look forward to welcoming Pat into the business and benefitting from his years of knowledge and abundant experience.”
GRAHAM is pleased to announce the official opening of a new construction training hub at its Tilbury2 site at the Port of Tilbury. The Thurrock Hub has been created in partnership with the South Essex Construction Training Academy (SECTA) for the CITB Construction Skills Fund project, led by Southend-on-Sea Borough Council. The official opening ceremony of the new hub was held at the Tilbury2 site on Tuesday 25th June. Representatives were in attendance from Port of Tilbury, Essex County Council, Thurrock and Tilbury Council, while GRAHAM also welcomed the Mayor of Thurrock, Terry Piccolo. Hyla Grimwade, SECTA Project Manager commented: “SECTA is pleased to be working in partnership with leading UK contractor GRAHAM. GRAHAM has kindly agreed to host the Thurrock hub for this CITB Construction Skills Fund project. The hub allows people to have first-hand experience of visiting a live construction site and will host training as part of the SECTA project. Clients using the hub have already felt the difference from a normal classroom compared to this hub as it allows them to relate their learning to a real-world experience.” Tilbury2, situated on the north bank of the River Thames, is a nationally significant infrastructure project involving the delivery of a new multi-million pound port terminal. The site will host and facilitate training as part of SECTA, which has been developed to support 650 people from the south Essex region into the construction industry. Students at the Thurrock Hub will receive ongoing training on a live constitution site, with support from qualified construction professionals to provide an improved learning experience that brings the subject to life. The CITB Construction Skills Fund supports the development of onsite training hubs. It has been set up to help train people who are looking to make a career change into the construction industry as well as others not currently in employment. The fund’s objective is to increase the number of people trained in construction skills to create a workforce to meet the needs of the sector. Thomas Craven, GRAHAM’s Tilbury2 Contracts Manager, said: “We’re thrilled to be playing host to this new construction training hub at Tilbury2 and look forward to working with the new trainees over the duration of the project. “At GRAHAM we understand the importance of skills development in our industry and the need to provide high quality training to fill the growing demand for workers in construction and bridge the employment skills gap. “By providing hands-on teaching and exposing trainees to this huge, live port construction site, we will offer the best environment possible for them to learn the trade and gain the skills needed to make them employment and site ready at the end of their training.” Peter Ward, Commercial Director, Port of Tilbury said: “It’s great to partner with SECTA and GRAHAM on this construction academy. Training and skills development is a key part of our business and it is only fitting that as part of the construction of our new port, Tilbury2, that this plays a major role in the project. The Construction Academy will ensure that people are skilled for not only the T2 project but for future work opportunities which help our local and wider economies. Tilbury2 is a significant project for our business, our customers and the local communities and we look forward to it being operational next year.” When operational in Spring 2020, Tilbury2 will be the UK’s largest unaccompanied freight ferry port, the country’s biggest construction processing hub and will see the creation of a new significantly larger rail head which can accommodate the longest freight trains of 775m. GRAHAM is delivering both the Terrestrial and Marine packages of work and is currently underway with works including Roll-On/Roll-Off (RoRo), highway works, the relocation of the existing railhead, and a fixed structural steel bridge to the linkspan. SECTA is supporting businesses and residents across south Essex, with hubs in Southend and Basildon as well as Thurrock. For details about SECTA visit www.sectatraining.co.uk or call 01702 212856.