Opening Of Constructionskills And The National Construction College, Scotland

Minister, special guests, colleagues – on behalf of ConstructionSkills in Scotland, I would like to extend a very warm welcome to you this morning. We are delighted that you are able to join us here in our brand new, purpose built site for what is a great day for our staff, our students, our employers and for Scotland.

I am very pleased to be here today, and I am delighted that Maureen Watt MSP, Minister for Schools and Skills from the Scottish Government is here to celebrate with us and to see the result of everyone’s hard work.

It has taken 6 months and an investment of £3.8m to transform what was once an industrial unit into a fit for purpose, modern training centre that will give both young people and adult learners access to first class specialist training. This site is also our national Headquarters for Scotland and it will be the base of 70 full time staff and 60 mobile workers who will use it to service the whole of Scotland.

This development has been a joint effort, from our team here in Scotland, the National Construction College and other partners including the Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise who have helped us to deliver an ambitious construction project on time and budget.

This development could not have come at a better time. As an industry, we are being called upon to deliver a number of unique and iconic projects that will leave a lasting legacy here in Scotland. Employment is expected to grow by around 7.5%, which is more than the UK average of 7%.

The Scottish Government has announced that they will speed up the construction of affordable housing by bringing forward a £100 million investment programme. The money for the Affordable Housing Investment Programme will now be spent this year and next, rather than in 2010-11 as originally planned. A total of £60 million will be committed from national Government programmes, with a further £40 million contributed by local Government. They also have ambitious plans to redevelop infrastructure by announcing a £3bn Transport Investment Programme, which includes the Glasgow Airport Rail Link.

We have all seen reports on the news recently and heard the talk about the “credit crunch”.  The effects of this are being seen nationally in the house building sector, where there has been a slowdown. However, in most parts, construction remains buoyant.  Findings from our Construction Skills Network research tell us that Scotland is expected to fare better than many English regions during the economic slowdown.

This is because Scotland already has a number of projects in the pipeline. The Scottish construction industry is set to benefit from long term regeneration programmes – the largest of which being the £1billion plan for Ravenscraig, Scotland’s first new town for more than 50 years. The Ravenscraig Project is due to take 20 years to complete and includes residential, retail, education, leisure and transport. This is great news for Scotland and for construction – because it means that we need more and more people every year to help to deliver the projects. 
 
We need to find 6,320 new recruits every year for the next five years to meet the demand and deliver the projects that I outlined earlier. In addition, specialist skills are also in demand in Scotland.  We need to find 1,360 new carpenters and joiners each year, as well as 750 civil and mechanical engineers.

And this is where we come in. These exciting developments mean that more than ever, and as the Sector Skills Council for Scotland’s construction industry,  we need to work with Government, employers and other partners to make sure that we have enough job ready recruits to meet this challenge. Our work is crucial.

In the next four years, we will need to upskill our existing workforce and new entrants, because we will be called on for our expertise to contribute toward the development of the Olympic  Village and the Commonwealth Games site in Glasgow. We also need to prepare our young people so that they are ready to compete in the WorldSkills competition in London in 2011. The new NCC training centre and ConstructionSkills, Scotland will make sure that we are ready to meet that demand.

I’m conscious that so far I have been citing many facts and figures – but these relate to people, their lives, their careers and their development, as well as the economic prosperity of the whole of Scotland. What we do really does matter.

Here in Scotland, we need to make sure that we have enough job ready recruits and delivering a professional and skilled Scottish construction workforce falls to Graeme Ogilvy – our Director for Scotland. Together, with his team, ConstructionSkills listens to industry and contributes to Government consultations and initiatives by responding to the skills needs of industry.  This  is done with the one objective in mind – to up-skill Scotland’s workforce and make the country a great place to live and work.

If we are to move forward as an industry, we must always listen to our colleagues and continue to work with Government so that our voice is heard.

We also need to evolve our courses at the National Construction College, so that we keep up-to-date with trends and deliver the skills required by industry when, where and how they need it.

Earlier I said that ours is a job that matters – and it does. Ours is a great industry. In years to come, young men and women who have trained at this college will be able to take their grandchildren to an iconic building and say, “I built that”. The landmarks that we build here in Scotland today, tomorrow, next year and in years to come will be here as our testimony long after our passing.

Today, we might be officially opening an office block and a series of classrooms that make up a training facility, but what we do here in Scotland and what we will do from the Inchinnan business park means so much more than that.

Ladies and Gentlemen, by creating the space that we have here, we have started something that will have a positive effect on Scotland. Everyone present in this room today is involved in a project which is bigger than we could have thought. Together, we are building Scotland.

Today, we are officially launching ConstructionSkills in Scotland and the new home of the National Construction College. But, this is not just an office, or a classroom – this is our opportunity to make sure that we provide our workers with the right skills so they can build a lasting legacy for us all.