This is just to establish, for those in the UK who might feel that the China project (see pages 16-19) is peripheral to the Institute's real work, that it doesn't cost UK members anything apart from the time and effort of Michael Brown, executive director of CIOB International.
But the fact is that the CIOB's work in China is central to what the Institute is all about and represents a praiseworthy exercise of power by an enlightened professional body and educational charity. For the past 10 years the CIOB has been the principal consultant to the People's Republic of China in its efforts to revamp its construction education, based as it was on Russian communist principles. Without fostering a new generation of construction managers who combine technical competence with leadership and entrepreneurial flair, China could never meet the market-led demands for more and better housing, infrastructure and commercial property.
The praise goes to the Chinese, of course, who must do the work. Andrew Gale, who researched Chinese-Western joint ventures, calls the construction revamp a "warm bath" compared to the recent challenges China has faced. Still, the scope of change necessary in Chinese construction makes the UK industry's problems seem piffling.
The CIOB deserves credit as an influencer, facilitator, adviser and exporter of skills. It has taken patience, vision and diplomacy by many individuals affiliated to the Institute. Clearly, the CIOB can muster some pretty impressive resources to get things done.
Doubters may be justified in asking how much of those resources it has committed, or intends to commit, to the boring but perennial problems at home: the apathy of government ministers, health and safety concerns, and the skills shortage.
Source
Construction Manager
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