New president Peter Jacobs commits to working more closely with industry’s major employers
In his inauguration speech, new CIOB president Peter Jacobs FCIOB made clear his priorities for his term in office: driving through the institute’s stated strategy of “putting the CIOB at the centre of any career in the built environment”.
Speaking to CM in advance of his debut as CIOB president at last month’s CIOB conference and members’ forum at Oulton Hall, Leeds, Jacobs said: “Architects, civil engineers or quantity surveyors are all very good at their specific specialisms. But the CIOB is the natural home of the people who drive the process and the logistics.
“With BIM and the need for an integrated approach from beginning to end becoming more of a factor, the CIOB by default becomes the natural home of the people who will be driving the construction process.”
A key part of that strategy will be efforts to work more closely with the industry’s major employers, he said. “Every major board includes members or fellows. So we will be contacting those individuals, and arranging with them for the CIOB to talk directly to the board members, asking what they’d like to see from the CIOB, perhaps establishing a training partnership or other joint initiatives.
“CIOB is a very broad church, and we will be engaging with a whole range of contractors and consultancies. We want to make the most of the links in both directions.”
"Some readers feel that being a chartered builder doesn’t fully describe what they do, although many are very happy with it. But being able to have a choice should be a positive step."
Peter Jacobs FCIOB
Asked about how the Institute can encourage more people to join or move up to MCIOB or FCIOB, he said that emphasising the value of the qualification to employers was an important factor. “If there was an extra £5,000 on your salary, all that concern [about the effort involved in progressing to membership] would disappear. You have to attack it at both ends – encouraging the individuals and emphasising the value to employers.”
Jacobs also expressed the hope that the CIOB and other professional institutions in the sector would work together more closely. “Wouldn’t it be far more sensible for the industry to communicate and collaborate more than we do at the moment?” he said. “We all have common issues, such as qualifications, and common problems, such as administration costs. As we move more into the digital age, perhaps we will find there is more common ground.”
He also predicted that sustainability would return to the industry’s centre stage. “While we’ve all been struggling for survival, sustainability has been on the back burner. It’s not had the same position at the forefront of the industry as it did before the slump. But again, the CIOB is very well positioned to take a lead on sustainability through our Carbon 2050 campaign and members becoming Chartered Environmentalists.”
l Also at last month’s event, members passed a resolution at an extraordinary general meeting to seek approval from the Privy Council to introduce an alternative title. If the move is approved, members will have the choice of calling themselves Chartered Builders or Chartered Construction Managers.
Jacobs commented: “Some readers feel that being a chartered builder doesn’t fully describe what they do, although many are very happy with it. But being able to have a choice should be a positive step.”
The members’ forum also resolved to set up a working group to review CIOB membership grades. The group has an open remit.
Three new trustees were formally confirmed: Jason Margetts representing Novus, Henry Lamb and Paul Gandy.
