BESA has recently announced that it is now looking for nominations with regard to 2 of its management awards, set out to recognise the incredible work being done by many of the building engineering services sector’s present engineers, and future business leaders. The first award, dubbed the Alfred Manly Management
Much like within the architecture sector, contractors within the building engineering services sector maintain a positive outlook, with turnovers reported to have increased over 6 months up to last December (reported by BESA). The growth showcases the present state of the sector and its capacity to grow amidst unreliable economic
BESA has recently announced that it is now looking for nominations with regard to 2 of its management awards, set out to recognise the incredible work being done by many of the building engineering services sector’s present engineers, and future business leaders. The first award, dubbed the Alfred Manly Management Award, sets out to congratulate the success and accomplishments of younger engineers, highlighting and judging them on a basis of their potential for future role development and responsibility within the wider building engineering services sector. And for the process by which candidates are selected, the award looks to highlight management-specific skill areas which are in need of development so as best to provide the training and support required for their professional development; successful candidates then being awarded an associated certificate or diploma as well as already have confirmed employment in a management position on some level. The second award, the Professional Engineer of the Year Award, is then for individuals who have already achieved suitable qualification and are working on membership for a relevant chartered professional body’s scheme. Then combined with the first award, this allows BESA to reward individuals at various levels of the scale, with varying and highly differential personal goals and ambitions. The awards, which are widely recognised throughout the industry, will, upon the finalisation of the judging process, be given at the BESA Specialist Groups’ Annual General Meetings event, to be held on the 19th of May this year at City of London’s Trinity House, with the deadline for nominations sitting at Friday the 1st of April for both of the different awards. More information on the awards is naturally available from the BESA, including details on the nomination process, however, given the industry repute associated with the awards, nomination could prove to be the next step in major career development.
Much like within the architecture sector, contractors within the building engineering services sector maintain a positive outlook, with turnovers reported to have increased over 6 months up to last December (reported by BESA). The growth showcases the present state of the sector and its capacity to grow amidst unreliable economic climate; however, as always, there is more to it than that. Over the period, it has been reported that the frequency of enquiries and order books had in fact slowed down as compared to the previous 6 months, with tender prices, yes, rising over the period, but at a slower rate than previously. Combined with a reported rise in material and labour costs, the figures do call into question how the industry will fare in the coming years, however the present state of the sector remains wholly positive. As has been the case for some time within the construction industry, late payments remain a major challenge for businesses, though the situation is reported to have improved marginally. Late payments, in effect, making budgeting and cashflow a severe concern for contractors, remains one of the key factors impeding the growth of businesses, combined with the widely reported labour shortages in comparison to the demand for skilled labour – such as building and quantity surveyors, planners and design engineers. Though the figures do highlight a slowing down of growth across the market, the two aforementioned challenges may indeed be amongst the most prominent factors holding the industry back from achieving further growth and, as such, businesses are increasingly urged to assist in the labour shortages through apprenticeship schemes, training and improving awareness of the opportunities actually available in the industry. After all, it is the next generation of engineers which will define the future of the industry itself. In contrast, the upcoming deadline for businesses to take up Level 2 BIM across any and all public sector works does not appear have drastically impacted the industry as feared, with only a minor reduction in BESA members undertaking such projects (31%, down from 33%). But, of course, in building for the industry of tomorrow, the power is in the hands of businesses to act now in a bid to overcome some of the modern industry challenges, with movements towards addressing the lack of skilled labour being amongst the more important. Jim Marner, President of BESA commented: “The issues of skills shortages, labour costs, and the movement of resources, modern methods of design, project risk, procurement and quality control will all become even more significant in the coming months.” As such, contractors are urged to step up and make a difference.
