Last month FMB Chief Executive Brian Berry and the Director of FMB Northern Ireland, Gavin McGuire had the opportunity to link up in Cork, at the request of the British Embassy in Dublin, to attend the Joining The Dots conference. Joining The Dots is a joint UK and Ireland initiative to help city leaders connect on shared challenges and opportunities to strengthen economic ties and drive regional growth.
Retrofitting the built environment
This year’s conference was the fifth to date with a focus on retrofit and skills. Making our existing buildings greener and more energy efficient is an issue the FMB has a long and strong interest in having led the development of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC)’s National Retrofit Strategy. The conference was an opportunity for Brian and Gavin to promote the value of Master Builder companies to local authorities, elected representatives, and industry colleagues stressing the entry checks that all companies must undertake if they want to join and remain in the FMB.
It was great to hear from Dr Alice Owen of Leeds University who highlighted the role of local builders for sustainable regional economic growth and the need for them to have access to a pipeline of both private and local authority work. The networking discussions over two nights allowed Brian and Gavin to make several new contacts who are now keen to look at how they can engage with the FMB to explore how more SMEs could work for public sector clients.
The FMB looks forward to seeing how these relationships develop as we’re always keen to find new workstreams and opportunities for FMB members to grow their business.
