Contractors Focus – Page 9
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FeaturesUniversity Technical Colleges: Dumbing down
Until January of this year, University Technical Colleges were fast gaining favour as a way of attracting new talent into our industry. Then, out of the blue, education secretary Michael Gove downgraded vocational qualifications, putting the feasibility of the programme in question. Building asks whether the government is making a ...
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FeaturesRedeveloping Bart's and Royal London hospitals
It was tempting to hang a ‘do not resuscitate’ sign on two dingy, barely accessible London hospitals, but Skanska’s redevelopment of the sites has made them functional again - which should perk up medical staff and patients alike
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FeaturesHigh Speed 2: Jobs on the line
HS2 has got off to a speedy start by appointing its first-phase consultants in just three weeks. But the real wow-factor of this mega-project is that it could employ thousands of construction workers over more than two decades. Building assesses the opportunities ahead
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FeaturesPredictions for 2012: The year of the groundhog
So what does 2012 have in store? Well, there’s the Olympics, of course, and some potentially interesting developments in nuclear power and infrastructure. But mostly it will be a year of battening down the hatches. There will be recklessly low bids for work, some firms will go under, others will ...
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FeaturesSparks fly: The row over electricians' wage agreements
The decision of seven major M&E contractors to break away from the 40-year-old JIB wage agreement was prompted by an ‘urgent need to modernise’ but has already led to angry clashes between workers and police. Building reports on a row that threatens to become the sector’s biggest industrial relations dispute ...
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FeaturesMichael Dyke, Lend Lease: 'It's business as usual'
When Lend Lease dropped the Bovis name, it said goodbye to one of UK contracting’s oldest and best-known brands. Building talks to Michael Dyke, the construction arm’s new boss, about where the division will go next. Portrait David Levene
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FeaturesCarillion's purchase of Eaga: Blinded by the sun
In April, Carillion bought Eaga - a company with big plans to install PV panels on 30,000 homes - and rebranded it as Carillion Energy Services. Seven months later, government feed-in tariffs have been cut in half, and all 4,500 jobs are on the line. So was the £298m purchase ...
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FeaturesAsia markets: ‘Anyone who is not looking at Asia should be’
UK firms have known about the boom in Asia for some time, but now it’s become a region they simply cannot afford to ignore. Emily Wright reports on a part of the world that will spend $440bn a year on infrastructure
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FeaturesTop Specialists 2011
What could help specialist contractors out of the fix they’re in? Iain Withers applies a bit of elbow grease and works up a wishlist
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FeaturesTurner & Townsend interview: Vince Clancy and Steve McGuckin
As more UK consultancies are snapped up by international giants, Building hears from global boss Vince Clancy and UK MD Steve McGuckin about why Turner & Townsend isn’t budging on its independence
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FeaturesTom Haughey: Man of steel
The structural steel sector has been knocked for six by the recession. No one knows this better than Severfield-Rowen boss Tom Haughey - not that he’s going to let that stop him expanding the business. The sheer nerve is admirable
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FeaturesJohn Moore: Looking for Moore
What do you do when your main revenue stream is reduced? If you’re John Moore and the head of Balfour Beatty Engineering Services, you turn to your other divisions - and boost them with acquisitions
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FeaturesCormac MacCrann: Above and beyond
With new transport links to the area and the Olympics up the road, Canary Wharf Group is fast expanding its Docklands home. But Cormac MacCrann, who heads the firm’s contractor business, isn’t just sticking to east London.
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FeaturesThe state we’re in: CEO White Paper preview
With the party conference upon us, how do industry leaders really feel about the government’s economic policies? Sarah Richardson and Will Hurst unravel the data compiled in Building’s first CEO State of the Nation White Paper
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FeaturesThe 2011 contractors' salary guide
Frozen salaries have got many looking to change jobs, according to this year’s contractor salary survey compiled by Hays Construction. So what’s the outlook for those who have forgotten what a pay rise is? Building peers into the distance for a glimmer of hope
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FeaturesElectrical firms' wage agreements: Fury, mistrust and division
Electrical contractors have ditched a 40-year-old wage agreement, pitching 6,000 workers against their bosses and creating a bitter battle between the industry’s two biggest trade bodies. Can anything be done to stop unrest spreading further? Iain Withers reports
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FeaturesTony Lenehan: New directions
Styles & Wood has had a tough few years, taking huge hits as the retail fit-out market nose-dived. Building finds out how new boss Tony Lenehan plans to turn things round - and why you could be seeing more of the northern-based firm in London
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FeaturesBig contractors and SMEs: It’s his pond now
Big contractors are hungry and have moved into waters normally the preserve of SMEs. What’s more, they’ve got no plans to leave, even when the more prestigious projects come back. Clients are delighted, but small firms could see yet more of their work gobbled up
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FeaturesInvesting in training: Forward thinking
It’s tempting to cut when times get hard, but investment in training and developing new talent is vital to the industry’s future. Here’s how three major firms are offering tomorrow’s leaders the chance to learn the skills they’ll need