UKREIIF is a 'big success' for BCUK

In his latest Building Careers Blog, Mark Harris (CEO and Owner), talks about the major benefits of being at the centre of the UKREIFF debate.

As day three of UKREIIF draws to a close, I wanted to highlight some of the key takeaways that I’ve learned from the event.

It is worth saying that UKREIIF is not one to be missed. If you are a serious business and you want to learn, be informed, enjoy networking opportunities and attend the crucial meetings that have been planned ahead of the event, then you have to be there.

I attended a couple of the days and I think it’s safe to say that not many construction and social housing recruitment companies and their specialists were present and doing the hard yards that we know are pivotal in our industry, as we keep in to touch with key clients and win new ones.

That meant big opportunities for Building Careers, and I’m delighted with some of the results our team has landed. Whether that is netting recruitment work now or further down the line, it’s happened for us over these three days. That, of course, is not the only reason why we attended. Admittedly, it’s one of them, but for us, we pride ourselves on being at the cutting edge of what is happening across sites in the North West and Yorkshire and UKREIIF gives you that insight. We understand the needs and wants of the contractors, and we deliver for them.

It's also been interesting to hear of new opportunities across the country. From Newcastle and Newquay to Peterborough and Portsmouth, there’s building happening everywhere.

Some really big decisions have been announced this year. Decisions that will positively affect places where Building Careers has offices close by. Places such as Liverpool and Manchester revealed big infrastructure deals, such as the £17bn rail link between the two cities, plus Manchester’s pursuit to build 10,000 new homes by 2032 was underlined heavier than it ever has before. With a general election on its way, social housing is one battlefront that will be contested, and the general consensus is that we need more of it and now.

There’s equally other important work happening outside of the ‘go to cities’ mentioned above. While we know Skelmersdale, where one of our offices is located, sits in West Lancashire my colleague, Ian Cheveau, spent some time with the Investment Team in Lancashire, to hear about some of the latest schemes we hope to be involved in.

While Lancashire intends to get spades in the ground on about a dozen projects, schemes such as Preston Station Quarter, Lancashire Central and Farrington Cricket Campus which Eric Wright is building on their behalf – caught the eye. There’s a raft of new work which we intend to be supplying candidates to. There’s 44,000 engineering workers and 37,000 energy specialists all sitting in Lancashire, not including construction numbers. This shows the scale of the region as an economic powerhouse with a £39bn regional economy – one of the UK’s largest and 2^nd in the North West.

UKREIFF gives you that bigger picture view, but to me, you only have to look on your doorstep to see growth and opportunity. It’s fair to say that our eyes are on the market and our consultants have their fingers on the construction pulse – this is something which I’ve championed in our Skelmersdale office for a long time and our team reacts to.

We too are growing.

Our Leeds office at Thorpe Park has hit the ground running and kudos goes to Beth Marshall and Djamel BeniMoussa for their efforts so far. They will take advantage of the opportunities and schemes we’ve seen showcased in Yorkshire, in particularly the regeneration of York and York Central which McClaren is delivering, not to mention dozens of schemes across West Yorkshire which will enhance ‘Brand Yorkshire’, which was discussed at another seminar I attended. 

All in all, this was a very productive week and well done to everyone involved in UKREIIF for putting on such an impressive event.

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