Construction News Read UK Construction Industry News, Analysis, Opinion and data From apprentice bricklayer to boardroom executive
Caddick’s managing director Paul Dodsworth can look back on a 42-year career working for some of the biggest names in construction
Interviews
Diversity in construction: ‘It’s got worse, not better’
Despite slow progress on ethnic diversity in the industry, Amos Simbo remains optimistic
Platform for change: Connolly’s scaffolding mission
Wayne Connolly’s earliest memories are of a cramped terraced house in Didsbury, Manchester. The Connolly Scaffolding boss grew up in the 1980s in a large Irish family, with no hot water, an outside toilet and a bedroom carved out of a bathroom. “I came from a very poor home,” he…
Kim Sides on becoming Bam’s ‘change agent’
Under executive director of construction Kim Sides, Bam UK & Ireland is consciously reining itself in when it comes to chasing turnover
Rolling with the punches: Beard reviews recruitment plans
Beard is reviewing its recruitment plans after the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions
‘The culture isn’t just toxic for women – it’s toxic for men’
A new book by Faye Allen blends survey data, personal testimonies and practical recommendations in an attempt to make the sector a better place to work
Goldbeck seeks to apply German lessons
The UK subsidiary of a German contractor is awaiting the arrival of its first licence-produced concrete products, enabling it to serve clients with domestically made materials instead of having to import them from mainland Europe. In late February, the business signed a licensing deal with precast concrete manufacturer Oranmore, with…
NASC boss: untroubled at the top
After a series of roles in various sectors, Clive Dickin found his rhythm by returning to construction In 2017, National Access & Scaffolding Confederation (NASC) boss Clive Dickin was struggling to relax on a beach in the south of France. Following a spate of terrorism incidents, the pressures of his…
Bible study: how Wates is optimising its business
Main contractor Wates may have posted record turnover in 2024 – plus a pre-tax profit for the 25th consecutive year – but its chief executive isn’t resting on his laurels. Speaking to Construction News on 8 April after Wates released its financial results for the 2024 calendar year, Eoghan O’Lionaird…
Seddon warns of training trouble
Director Nicola Hodkinson says changes to employers’ NI and the minimum wage will not help the skills crisis Nicola Hodkinson is not happy.This April brings a double whammy of costs for contractors, with increases in both employer national insurance contributions and the minimum wage. In her first Budget announcement last…