Andy Steele Steps into BUILD UK CHAIR

Osborne’s Group Chief Executive was elected as the Chair of Build UK this week and addressed the AGM.

Andy stated that he felt very privileged to take over the role and thanked former Chair Brendan Kerr for his leadership of Build UK over the last two years.

He continued by saying it is vital that we speak with greater clarity as an industry and influence change for the many people who work in construction, as well as for wider society through the better outcomes that are within our reach.

Andy has always believed that we have both the privilege and the responsibility of representing one of the most important and influential industries, one which touches and moulds millions of people’s lives. No other industry can shape, impact, and make such a difference as construction.

Andy emphasised we must take every opportunity to constantly push the boundaries and work more collaboratively with industry partners and clients. We must look to remove the constraints and inefficiencies we habitually encounter because of a contracting model that often does not deliver the outcomes we all want.

Trading throughout the pandemic has shown us some far better ways for dealing with things in the future, and Benjamin Franklin’s “Out of adversity comes opportunity” has arguably never been more relevant to our sector.

The pandemic gave businesses across the supply chain the opportunity to work more collectively, to share information and to focus on a few issues that make the difference while deferring everything else. Fundamentally, we learned that people can be creative about where and how they work.

Build UK has proven it can transform the industry to the benefit of the entire supply chain, and Andy fully believes in its importance as a force for driving change across the industry. Taking the opportunity to outline some personal priorities as Chair, he highlighted raising the profile and value of the industry with clients, playing our part in encouraging adoption of the Construction Playbook across all Government procurers, and getting a grip on the skills system to create a better, more defined, and meaningful plan to recruit and retain the best talent in construction.

Andy concluded that he took on the role because he wanted to make a difference and added that construction is a team game. It is only by working together as members of Build UK, and collaborating across the industry with a common purpose, that we can make that difference.

The full Build UK Board for 2021/22 can be viewed here.