Plan proposes to reinvent construction industry

[edit] Introduction

A plan to ‘reinvent’ the construction industry, called ‘Roadmap to Recovery’, was released on 1 June 2020 by the Construction Leadership Council (CLC). The plan was developed by participants on the CLC’s coronavirus industry taskforce, which includes ECA CEO Steve Bratt, as well as representatives of BEIS and other trade bodies. It has three stages – restart, reset and reinvent – which aim to kickstart and modernise the industry over the next two years.

[edit] Three stages

The restart stage is all about providing support through the crisis and focuses on safety on projects, encouraging responsible contractual behaviour and prompt payment down the supply chain. The plan also calls for a delay of the introduction of reverse charge VAT until October 2021, which ECA supports.

The reset and reinvent stages look to drive demand, strengthen capability and transform the industry to deliver better value through collaboration and partnership.

ECA CEO Steve Bratt says, “Given the sharp decline in electrotechnical and engineering services activity, it is vital the industry works with Government to deliver a recovery plan which protects jobs, businesses and projects. This CLC recovery plan, agreed by a broad range of key bodies including ECA, sets out a three-stage roadmap to ultimately reinvent the industry. The first stage critically seeks to ensure cashflow, minimise disputes and most importantly, ensure work can be undertaken safely."

The reset stage of the plan proposes flexibility on apprenticeship levy payments, strengthening direct employment and a move towards fairer business models and contracts.

Looking further ahead, the reinvent stage has a series of modernisation ambitions, including a presumption for offsite construction, a series of net zero carbon targets between 2030 and 2050, modernised training methods and a commitment to more collaborative procurement models.

[edit] Outlook for engineering services

Steve Bratt adds, “The engineering services industry is critical to delivering key UK infrastructure. ECA has long advocated a more modernised, collaborative and sustainable industry. We hope these ambitious plans for the next two years will help set the foundations for a bright future.

“We have welcomed the opportunity to contribute to the development of this plan and we now look forward to supporting its implementation".

To read the full CLC recovery plan, please see this downloadable PDF: File:Roadmap-to-Recovery.pdf.

This article originally appeared on 1 June 2020 under the title, New recovery plan aims to ‘reinvent’ construction industry on the ECA website.

--ECA

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