Weekly News Bulletin – 9th November 2018

Much of this week’s news agenda was dominated by analysis of the Autumn 2018 Budget, with Premier Construction News looking at the key challenges for the construction industry and how the Chancellor could help.

The appeal of apprenticeships versus university degrees was under the spotlight in The Engineer this week, with a reported 26,000 places unfilled as results day arrived, with young people more and more inclined to look towards alternative routes in education and employment.

In a similar vein, The Manufacturer reported how the number of UK apprentices viewing their apprenticeships as a genuine career path has increased by almost 70%, according to extensive new research from over 15,000 individuals.

As reported by the Express & Star, Birmingham Airport this week unveiled a £500m, 15-year masterplan, to turn it into one of Europe’s leading regional hubs. The newspaper also reported on the airport’s neighbour, the NEC, and its ambitious plans to create 10,000 jobs and 2,000 new homes with the launch of ‘nec.city’.

While industry awaits the outcome of the Brexit negotiations, the Minister for Investment at the Department for International Trade, Graham Stuart, said the West Midlands has ‘a real future as the export powerhouse of the UK’, when he spoke at last week’s Advanced Engineering Expo in Birmingham.

If businesses are to thrive and prosper in the post-Brexit economy, innovation will be essential to increasing efficiency, reducing cost and adapting to change, Robert Plana of international engineering firm Assystem wrote this week in PBC Today.

Hurt by sagging order books ahead of Brexit, an industry survey showed this week that smaller British manufacturers expect their output to dip for the first time in seven years during the next three months, said Reuters.

Virtual reality has been a familiar tool in the construction industry for some time now – but a relatively new variant of the technology looks set to make an equally significant impact, reported Building magazine. While virtual reality creates a digital environment that is a copy of the real world, with “mixed” or “augmented” reality the real and virtual worlds are merged together to produce a three-dimensional environment.

Finally this week, PBC Today looked at integrated security, and how the planning, design and security sectors need to work together to produce a much more sophisticated and collaborative approach when it comes to protecting our buildings, infrastructure and the people within them.

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Building on Success? UK Construction and the 2018 Budget

The building trade has always needed to keep a sharp eye on the Budget. Between a looming skills shortage and an uncertain Brexit deal, firms across the industry were looking to Chancellor Philip Hammond to throw his weight behind them this year. Here are a couple of the key headlines:

https://premierconstructionnews.com/2018/11/03/building-on-success-uk-construction-and-the-2018-budget/

Flipping the apprenticeship misconception

John Druce, Learning and Development Manager at Arqiva, argues that a shift in attitude towards apprenticeship training is vital for addressing the skills gap

https://www.theengineer.co.uk/flipping-apprenticeship-misconception/

Birmingham Airport reveals £500m masterplan in major transformation

Birmingham Airport will be bigger and better for passengers under a £500 million, 15-year masterplan to turn it into one of Europe’s leading regional destinations.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2018/11/06/500m-15-year-plan-for-a-bigger-better-birmingham-airport/

More apprentices than ever recommend vocational routes

The number of UK apprentices viewing their apprenticeships as a genuine career path has increased by almost 70%, according to extensive new research from over 15,000 individuals.

https://www.themanufacturer.com/articles/more-apprentices-than-ever-recommend-vocational-routes/

Thousands of jobs and homes on the way with NEC masterplan

More than 2,000 homes and 10,000 new jobs will be created under a new masterplan for the future of the NEC exhibition site as ‘nec.city’.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/2018/11/07/thousands-of-jobs-and-homes-on-the-way-with-nec-masterplan/

Advanced Engineering showcase for Midlands

The West Midlands has ‘a real future as the export powerhouse of the UK’, according to a Government minister.

https://www.expressandstar.com/news/business/business-picks/2018/11/06/advanced-engineering-showcase-for-midlands/

Driving innovation: A must for the engineering industry

As building and infrastructure projects become more complex, and the business environment ever-more competitive, embracing innovation will be essential to increasing efficiency, reducing cost and adapting to change, says Robert Plana of international engineering firm Assystem

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/planning-construction-news/innovation-an-engineering-must-assystem/48764/

Smaller UK factories expect dip in output before Brexit – CBI

LONDON (Reuters) – Smaller British manufacturers expect their output to dip for the first time in seven years during the next three months, hurt by sagging order books ahead of Brexit, an industry survey showed on Wednesday.

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-economy-manufacturing/smaller-uk-factories-expect-dip-in-output-before-brexit-cbi-idUKKCN1NC00B

Will virtual reality spark the BIM revolution we’ve been waiting for?

It is transforming the stairlift sector but its potential for the construction industry goes far wider – could it spark the BIM revolution we’ve been waiting for?

https://www.building.co.uk/construction-issues/will-virtual-reality-spark-the-bim-revolution-weve-been-waiting-for/5096450.article

Investigating integrated security at the design and planning stage

We’ve been speaking about integrated security for a long time. If we’re serious about it then we need to start working more closely and much earlier in the design and planning process, says Stewart Liberatore, projects director at RWS

https://www.pbctoday.co.uk/news/health-safety-news/integrated-security-design-planning-stage/48657/