CELEBRATING 80 YEARS OF THE CONSTRUCTION EMPLOYERS FEDERATION
Changes ahead of us will continue to be faced better together CEF CHIEF EXECUTIVE MARK SPENCE REFLECTS ON 80 YEARS OF THE CEF, INCLUDING THE PAST FIVE UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS FOR CONSTRUCTION IN NORTHERN IRELAND…
HOW HAS THE CEF REFLECTED ON ITS 80- YEAR HISTORY? In March this year, over 500 of our members, friends, colleagues and clients enjoyed a reflective and inspirational anniversary event at Titanic Belfast, marking the achievements of our sector and its impact on the economic and built environment of NI. The post- war reconstruction was to prove valuable experience for decades of turbulent social history and the eventual economic recovery and investment of more recent years. It was important that night that we not only acknowledged the achievement of our predecessors, but we equally welcomed amongst us the next generation and the work of Construction Futures in attracting new talent for the next chapter of our industry. HOW HAVE YOU SETTLED INTO YOUR ROLE AT CEF? My first year with the CEF was rather more remarkable than I could have anticipated! Whilst still finding my way around the structures and processes of a 75-year-old organisation that had seen only four directors before me, I probably felt I had enough challenge without the unexpected and genuinely unprecedented impacts and implications of a global shut-down and re-start of the industry over an 18-month period. As vital political and healthcare news was breaking daily, sometimes hourly, impacting our sector, it was a high-water mark for CEF as an essential conduit with members for up-to-date information vital to keeping their businesses afloat. I still reflect on how quickly and
Mark Spence, CEF Chief Executive.
without selfish interest our members, both major and smaller, combined their experience, knowledge and good sense to develop and apply safe working practices, to maintain service to essential public services such as healthcare, retail, logistics and utilities. I truly believe that this spirit of common cause persists today, and the sector is no doubt more aligned and speaking more clearly than ever with a unified voice on topics such as planning, investment in infrastructure and the necessity for political and pipeline certainty. The intense work carried out with the Dept of Finance by our member volunteers in 2021 ensured a financial formula to reimburse the hyperinflation on materials,
resulting in an estimated £60m being injected back into vulnerable businesses, ensuring their survival. The importance of a unified voice through the CEF was proven and compared favourably with other sectors seeking support. WHAT CHANGES HAVE YOU OBSERVED OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS? I would have to say that the impact of inflation is one of the most damaging changes of recent years, having resulted in a significant drop in pipeline opportunities for public sector work. If you consider that the capital budget of Stormont is similar now to that in 2006, but then the extent to which costs have escalated, it is obvious we have a funding gap
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