The South West Construction Summit was hailed as a great success. The attendee profile at the South West Construction Summit included some highly influential professionals, creating a rare opportunity to connect with the hardest to reach decision makers within the South West built environment. The Summit took the form of a combined Conference and Exhibition with significant opportunity for networking. The Summit brings together key contributors of the regional construction industry and its supply chain to support and underpin the progress already being made. The event explores opportunities, major projects, client commitments and procurement best practice, including; skills, image, sustainability and productivity in construction. The South West Construction Summit opened with introductions from Andrew Carpenter & Emma Osmundsen from event hosts Constructing Excellence South West. This was swiftly followed by: Mike Borkowski – Southern Construction Framework: “The Skills Gap and whether it is just someone else’s problem.” Leif Tarry – CITB: “CITB Projected Skills need and construction as a career of choice.” Rachel Bell – Stride Treglown and Chairman of Women in Property: “Image of Construction and Gender Diversity” Shortly after a Q&A, Refreshments and networking opportunities. Nathan Waller – Natwest Bank: “Development finance and the early collaboration between funders and property developers, optimising supply chain relationships.” John Boughton – Willmott Dixon: “Achieving Value through Efficiencies.” Dominic Thasarathar – Autodesk: “Constructing the Future: Possibilities, probabilities and opportunities.” Shortly after a Q&A, Lunch and networking opportunities. Emma Osmundsen – Exeter Council: “Delivering Sustainable Energy Efficient public buildings.” David Sutton – EDF Energy: “A Case Study on Hinkley Point” Cllr Paul Smith – Bristol City Council: “How to tackle Bristol’s Housing Crisis” Andrew Carpenter then returned back to the stage with a summary of the day. All the speakers raised some very valuable points in their discussions which made the attendees extremely engaged and involved when it got to the Q&A. It was a very busy day for the South West construction sector as the summit was swiftly followed that evening by the South West Built Environment Awards 2017 at the same venue.