Summit for growth

INDUSTRY representatives were in Downing Street this month to present UK skills minister Matt Hancock with their proposals to get construction moving again.
Mark Farrar, chief executive of training agency CITB-ConstructionSkills, led a 25-strong industry delegation at a summit as part of the Construction4Growth campaign which is backed by more than 1,400 SMEs and 19 organisations.
The campaign is working to position construction as a critical component in the economy and has called on government to invest in the industry as the best route out of recession. The Downing Street summit was the fourth in a series of parliamentary events. The first three focused on investment, skills and green issues.
Farrar said: “Getting into Downing Street is a tremendous step forward for the Construction4Growth campaign and for CITB-ConstructionSkills. It will give us the opportunity to present our views on how we can positively impact the UK economy.
“As the leadership industry training board for the sector, it is our job to bring together industry and government to broker relationships that will improve skills, training and employment opportunities for the future.”
He said the summit was an opportunity to share industry concerns with the Minister and to provide solutions that could help take construction and the UK economy “from a decade of debt and decline to a future of delivery and growth”.