Chairman of the Crossrail project, Terry Morgan, has been awarded a knighthood as part of the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2016. As well as the knighthood, the construction industry also received a CBE for property developer and former crane owner Martin Ainscough in the honours list. Sir Terry Morgan started his career as a craft apprentice for Lucas Girling and was knighted for his service to UK infrastructure, skills and employment. He was appointed as Chairman of Crossrail in 2009 and was last year chosen to be chair of the HS2 College governing body. 2015 also saw him appointed by the Government to head the development of its strategy for transport infrastructure skills. Patrick McLoughlin, Transport Secretary, said that he was pleased to see Mr Morgan receive such a prestigious honour for all his excellent work in helping to develop the Government’s strategy for transport infrastructure skills as well as delivering the Crossrail scheme. He added that by putting the development of engineering skills at the centre of the Crossrail project, he has been able to show that the delivery of major infrastructure projects within budget and on time and skills investment go together. Having been an apprentice at the start of his career, Sir Terry has been able to inspire a new generation of apprentices and encourage more young people and women into this crucial industry, regardless of their aspirations and background. Mr McLoughlin added that Sir Terry has lead his peers throughout the construction sector and an ongoing champion of vocational skills. Mr Ainscough built up the UK’s biggest crane hire firm with his brothers before selling it almost 10 years ago for £255 million. The award of a CBE was given for his charity work through the ‘Martin & Judith Ainscough Charity Trust.’ Stephen Huntington, Chief Executive and Chairman of HR Wallingford, was also awarded an OBE for his services to engineering and environmental hydraulics.

National social enterprise and procurement organisation Fusion21 has made the shortlist in the Chartered Institute of Procurement (CIPS) Supply Management Awards 2016. Announced as a finalist in the ‘Best Contribution to the Reputation of Procurement’ category, Fusion21 is one of two organisations nominated for the award – which recognises procurement activities that contribute to the public good. These prestigious awards are respected as a benchmark for excellence, and honour UK organisations and individuals working within the procurement and supply chain industry. Fusion21 has a sustainable business model which complies with the Public Services (Social Value) Act 2012 and enables social value through the procurement process. Members include registered providers, local authorities, education providers and the NHS. Dave Neilson, Chief Executive at Fusion21, said: “The CIPS Supply Management Awards recognise best practice in the industry – competition is tough and it’s fantastic to be nominated alongside big brands working within the private and public sectors. “As a national social enterprise we support public sector organisations to deliver efficiencies, and create social value within local communities. Our approach to procurement leads to a variety of positive social outcomes – from job creation and tackling unemployment, to reducing reoffending and supporting wider community regeneration.” Fusion21 has generated around £56 million of community impact across the country, and created more than 2,500 jobs. Earlier this year, the social enterprise won the ‘Driving Value for Money’ category in the first Cabinet Office Social Value Awards. CIPS Supply Management Award finalists will be announced at a ceremony in London on 14 September, 2016.

The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has warned that apprenticeship schemes are to become endangered due to uncertainty regarding the new UK-wide Apprenticeship Levy for training. FMB Scotland has said that unless the Scottish government makes a commitment to ring fence the new training Levy, then the growth of apprentice schemes in Scotland will rapidly decrease. In 2015/16 the number of young people being enrolled into apprenticeship schemes surpassed its 25,000 target, with 25,818 apprentices starting. The Scottish government has pledged to raise the apprenticeship target to 30,000 in the next four years. In 2015/16, the number of apprentices starting their courses aged 16 to 24 was 79%, while the amount of starters at level three and above went up by 1% to 65%. More than 30% of Scottish apprenticeship starts were in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) frameworks, while 19% were specifically geared towards learning skills in the construction industry. 59% of apprenticeship starters were men, with 41% women. The figures were published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS). In response to the statistics, FMB Scotland Director, Gordon Nelson, said that while the rise in apprenticeship numbers makes for positive reading, the employment outcomes and quality of the schemes should be the most important consideration. He added that there are now concerns that the positive work could be undone if the Scottish government chooses not to re-invest funds raised by the new UK-wide Apprenticeship Levy. Mr Nelson said that there is a lack of direction from leaders in terms of showing how the Levy will be carried out in Scotland. The SDS report figures relate to modern apprenticeships that have a funding contribution from the public which has been administered by the SDS for the Scottish government. The latest ‘State of Trade’ survey by the FMB shows that almost half of SME employers are finding it hard to recruit carpenters, while more than a third are struggling to source plumbers.

Worcester, Bosch Group has announced its winners of this year’s Environment 2020 Awards ceremony. The annual event, which was first established in 2000, recognises the best practice in the industry and celebrates the work of those who have showed a commitment to recommending hot water technologies and energy efficient heating over the past year. Across the seven installation categories, the firm has received hundreds of entries, with the winners presented with their prizes at the prestigious ceremony in Stanbrook Abbey, Worcestershire. Presenting the awards were special guests from the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering, Roger Webb and Paul Williams. Among the winners were Lee Hatch, of LH Gas Hertfordshire (Greenstar gas-fired boiler installation), Jamie Sinclair, of SJS Plumbing & Heating Hertfordshire (Greenstar oil-fired boiler installation) and Nick Critchley, of Radiant Heating Solutions Lincolnshire (Renewables installation). Worcester’s E2020 awards also recognised a group of environmentally aware young people aged up to 16 through an art design competition. The competition aims to reward exceptional artwork inspired to combat climate change and improve energy efficiency. The winners of this year’s competition were 10 year old Harry Stone from Bristol, five year old Zaki Rynne from Hampshire and 17 year old Niamh Ni Iceadha from Dublin. All of the winners were awarded £500 in leisure and shopping vouchers for their exciting works of art. Chief Executive Officer at Worcester, Carl Arntzen, said that as always it was a pleasure for the company to hold the award ceremony and that he gives thanks to all those who entered, with special congratulations to all the worthy winners. He said that Worcester continues to be a manufacturer inspired by having so many installers who are already trying to reinforce the commitment of the industry to the protection of the earth’s valuable resources. CIPHE President, Paul Williams, said they are always looking to highlight the excellent work carried out every year by heating and plumbing engineers.

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has announced the timeline for redesigning the construction industry levy. CITB says it will consult with employers in the construction sector to discuss how its levy could work in relation to the Government’s Apprenticeship Levy. As planned, the Consensus process will take place next year, which will see a full consultation with a variety of employers from the industry to discuss the CITB Levy. The industry asked for this timetable to make sure that all employers in the construction industry will be able to submit their views on how the CITB Levy should be modified for a potential new Levy Order in the next two years, as well as considering the CITB support that this could fund. Before the formal Levy consultation, CITB will meet employers to discuss the best way the organisation can meet their needs. One of the ways to be considered is making the existing grants scheme more accessible and relevant, especially for smaller businesses. CITB is also set to re-establish the Levy Working Party, which will be made up of representatives from all around the construction industry. The meeting will see the firms come up with different possibilities for a possible new CITB Industry Levy. Included in the working party is CITB Board Member Diana Graham, Ian Rogers from the Scottish Decorators’ Federation and Hannah Warburton from Laing O’Rourke. For 2017 only, the timeline will require a temporary transition agreement in order to lessen the impact of the CITB Levy and the Apprenticeship Levy on firms. This is due to the fact that organisations with a payroll in excess of £3 million will be required to pay both levies next year. However, CITB insists it will assist these companies in claiming back a significant proportion of their CITB Levy contribution through enhanced funding for the training they do.

A number of top performing companies have been nominated for this year’s Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) Annual Awards. The firms have been shortlisted after a thorough judging system was undertaken by eight experts on an independent panel. A total of 34 entries have been nominated for this year’s awards in eight different award categories, including ‘Best Health and Safety Initiative’, ‘Best Client/Contractor Partnership’ and ‘Contractor of the Year’. Included in the shortlists are various firms who also received nominations at last year’s ceremony, such as Darke & Taylor, Dodd Group and Quartzelec. Paul Reeve, Director of Business at ECA and head judge at the annual awards, said that after an unprecedented level of entries for this year’s awards, there were a number of tough choices to be made by the independent judging panel. He added that with such a high level of entries, the 34 final nominees were eventually chosen based on best practice in the industry and company success stories. The ECA received more award submissions than ever before, some 142, which were all given careful consideration by prominent figures in the industry, including Charity Marketing Director at Electrical Industries, Tessa Ogle, Executive Director at CEDIA, Wendy Griffiths, and Director of Operations at JTL, Caroline Turner. The winners of the eight awards are set to be announced on July 8 at the ECA Annual Gala Dinner and Awards, sponsored by LEDVANCE, at the Celtic Manor in South Wales. Those in attendance will enjoy a night of entertainment with Alan Dedicoat (voice of Strictly Come Dancing and The National Lottery) hosting the event along with well known comedian Stephen K. Amos. The ECA are still taking bookings but insist that there are only a limited number of tickets still available for the event. In the running for the coveted ‘ECA Large Contractor of the Year’ are W T Parker Group Services Ltd, Imtech Engineering Services Central and Dodd Group.