Business opportunities are in the pipeline - Triona Tiernan

With a turnover of around £19bn per annum and employing over 140,000 people in over 45,000 businesses, Scotland’s construction industry is vital to the country’s economic growth.

Triona Tiernan, Associate Director working in the Scottish Futures Trust’s Construction Industry and Delivery Business area

Recognising the sector’s contribution to Scotland’s economy, the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland highlighted in its Phase 2: Delivery Findings Report, the need to create a clear pipeline of construction work that would provide the construction industry with greater clarity and understanding of what future public sector construction projects are to be delivered across Scotland, allowing the sector to resource accordingly.

Last month we published the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool, a website that details over 1,150 public sector infrastructure projects, valued at £8.5bn that covers many sectors including education, health, housing and flood prevention.

Of the 1,150 project opportunities, approximately 60 per cent are below £2m in value, emphasising the focus and importance of providing opportunities to small and medium-sized businesses. This pipeline will continue to grow as additional public sector organisations join the system.

The Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool details over 1,150 public sector infrastructure projects, valued at £8.5bn in sectors including education, health, housing and flood prevention.

By providing greater transparency on future workload, the pipeline will help businesses plan better and maintain their investment in skills and future training needs.

The pipeline also seeks to provide a longer-term view on forecast infrastructure investment and identifies construction projects up to 2028, with the majority of the spend planned to be before 2025. The types of construction projects include new build, refurbishments, maintenance works as well as road infrastructure.

Providing businesses working in the construction sector with this detailed information creates greater confidence through improved project transparency. As a result, it will allow businesses to invest correctly and recruit accordingly, as well as build stronger partnerships within supply chains.

Through being a key partner in the Scottish Construction Leadership Forum, we took responsibility to deliver the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool, one of the actions coming from the Construction Industry Recovery Plan which was published in October 2020 in response to Covid-19.

In building the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool, it was met with strong levels of engagement across the public sector, which has been greatly appreciated, and we look forward to continuing to work with the sector on this leading-edge development.

Welcoming news of the pipeline launch, Ivan McKee, Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise, said: “This is a crucial time for business, trade and investment in Scotland and we are pushing forward with an ambitious agenda of recovery and economic transformation. Construction will play a key part in that recovery, delivering critical infrastructure and supporting our important net zero commitments.

“By working together and galvanising the expertise and ingenuity of the construction industry, we can enhance Scotland’s economic potential and deliver greater, greener and fairer prosperity.

“This online tool will provide businesses with the pipeline visibility they need to plan investment in skills, labour and materials which will support jobs and business growth. It also delivers new opportunities for small and medium-sized business across the sector by providing visibility of smaller contracts.”

Inverness-based flooring, plasterboard and ceiling firm Clanco is already looking forward to using the new web-based tool. The family business was launched 35-years ago by Eddie Macdonald and works on major projects across the Highlands and north-east Scotland.

Eddie’s son Zander, who is general manager and estimator, said: “I can see how it will be very useful in giving you an early heads up of potential work and that will allow you to plan ahead as well as making sure you don’t miss out on tendering. It is certainly something that we will be using.”

Triona Tiernan, Associate Director working in the Scottish Futures Trust’s Construction Industry and Delivery Business area