Weekly News Bulletin – 28th September 2018

This week Construction Enquirer shared important news regarding the continuation of building work at the Royal Liverpool Hospital. The project is to be supported and funded by the Government after construction stopped in January. Work could re-start as early as November and continue until 2020. We would recommend reading this article, where Aidan Kehoe, Chief Executive at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, shares his hopes of finishing construction as soon as possible and maximising the value of taxpayers’ money.

Money Week commented on the need for more apprentices in Britain. The apprenticeship levy was introduced to encourage employers to invest more in skills with the Government’s target to achieve three million new apprenticeships by 2020. However, the numbers of apprentices have been falling throughout the first half of the year, and measures need to be taken to avoid skills shortages. Focusing on practical skills that employers need, rather than ‘dead-end’ theoretical courses is considered to be one of the ways to improve the apprenticeship levy. What are your opinions about the apprenticeship levy?

We saw news from CRL about the first 3D-printed houses which are entering the market. The city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands will be the first in the world to produce 3D-printed housing, and it is thought that it could revolutionise the construction industry. The project is a solution to the shortage of skilled bricklayers in the Netherlands, and there are hopes that this will eventually be even less expensive than traditional methods. Only a week after releasing the images on the website of the company, 20 families have already applied for the first 3D-printed homes.

Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce announced an event in Wolverhampton in early October, which it is hoped will help construction and infrastructure companies get involved in major projects in UAE. The event will focus on Expo 2020 in Dubai, hosting 128 countries while attracting 25,000 visitors over six months. Would you be interested in taking part and having the chance to find out more about funding opportunities?
PBC Today spoke about digital construction and its importance for both large and smaller companies. Adrian Wild, the founder of Integro and award-winning BuildingWorks, will be giving a talk at the UK Construction Week 2018, taking place in Birmingham in October, discussing the topic. The talk will focus on saving time, cost savings and reductions in errors and will aim to help various stakeholders, from general builders and property developers, to architects. For more details on Adrian Wild’s talk, take a look at the article by PBC Today and don’t forget to book your free tickets if you haven’t yet.

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Construction to restart this year on Royal Liverpool Hospital
Construction work on the stalled £350m hospital could restart as early as November
https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2018/09/26/construction-to-restart-this-year-on-royal-liverpool-hospital/

Britain needs more apprentices
The apprenticeship levy has failed to boost the number of people in workplace training. What’s gone wrong, and what should we do about it? Alex Rankine reports.
https://moneyweek.com/495175/britain-needs-more-apprentices/

Netherlands city set to construct world’s first habitable 3D printed houses
The city of Eindhoven in the Netherlands will be the first in the world to produce homes using a 3D printer, an undertaking that is expected to revolutionise the construction industry.
https://c-r-l.com/content-hub/article/3d-printed-houses/

Firms invited to Middle East buyer events
Businesses working in the construction and infrastructure sectors have the chance to get involved in major projects in United Arab Emirates (UAE).
https://www.greaterbirminghamchambers.com/latest-news/news/2018/9/26/firms-invited-to-middle-east-buyer-events/

Digital construction too important for SMEs to ignore, says expert
Construction software expert, Adrian Wild says digital construction is not just for well-known companies and is too important for smaller firms to pass by
https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/digital-construction-2/47438/