Brian Singleton

As secretary of the Guernsey Building Trades Employers Association (GBTEA), Brian Singleton has been a constant at the helm of the organisation for decades. During the Covid pandemic, he was responsible for ensuring members were kept as informed as possible. Brian was recently presented with a ‘Lifetime achievement award’ in recognition of his contribution to the industry.

It’s now a decade since Brian Singleton retired in 2012 but the intervening years haven’t seen the recently turned 77-yearold slow down.

“I’m fortunate to have a large garden at home, but I couldn’t sit and watch the grass grow. I need to be busy and my role at the GBTEA keeps me occupied. I love the organisational side of it and I’ve been interested in computers since the very early days so I enjoy the challenge of that. I’m certainly not ready to retire.” Brian received a ‘lifetime achievement’ award and he definitely has a lifetime of experience in the construction industry. When he left school almost on the day he turned 14, he was amongst the top of his class at the then Vauvert Secondary School. But with no interest in staying in education, he went straight into a trade.

“I was first offered a job with a firm called Davis Engineers. I remember they worked out of a dingy little office with a coal fire, and I quickly decided that wasn’t for me. My Gran’s family was involved in construction but I didn’t want to join the family firm, so my father spoke to Eddie Littlewood and he offered me a job.

“I enjoyed working there from the start. Eddie was a great boss at the time. I had to work there for a year until I turned 15 and was old enough to sign my carpentry apprenticeship papers. I remember doing that at St Paul’s Church in Town [now the Sunken Garden) before it was knocked down.”

From Littlewoods, Brian set up on his own and worked for himself for the remainder of his working life until his retirement ten years ago.

“I never advertised as I could always rely on my reputation and word of mouth recommendations. I took real pride in what I did and also really enjoyed the project management side of it, so I particularly liked the more challenging projects I took on during my career.”

Brian still prides himself on his attention to detail, and he says it has always been important to him. He wanted his clients to have full faith in him so he believed in being completely transparent. “When I did a bill for somebody, I would itemise absolutely everything – every hour I worked and every item I used right down to every nut and bolt. Everything had detailed explanations so my clients always knew exactly what I was charging for and why. Builders can get a bad reputation and I think it’s often down to a lack of detail so I always ensured that wasn’t the case with me.”

That attention to detail was helped by his technological knowledge. A self-described computer buff, Brian was able to marry two of his passions: “If I hadn’t been a carpenter, I would definitely have worked with computers. I’ve been fascinated with them since the days of black screen monitors. Most computers I’ve ever had I’ve built from scratch, and in the past I even assisted in developing industry software to help with wages for those in the industry. But looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing about my career. I’ve had so many interesting experiences and learned so much.”

While Brian is happy to reflect on his career, he’s more interested in looking forward to the next generation. For him, one of the most rewarding parts of his role at the GBTEA is organising its annual gala evening, where the achievements of that year’s crop of apprentices are recognised. “I very much enjoy seeing the younger generation come through into the industry. The gala dinner is all about the youngsters and rewarding their achievements. Thanks to the sponsors, they walk away with a monetary reward as well as a trophy, but most importantly, they can take pride that the efforts they have put into their training and career have been recognised.”

Brian is passionate about encouraging more young people into the industry. The GBTEA recently produced a short film, “I wouldn’t say no to construction,” which is available to view through its website at www.gbtea.gg. The film highlights the multitude of different roles which are available in the industry and the breadth of opportunities it offers. Aimed at young people and shown in schools and through careers events, Brian is hoping it will make a real impact.

I NEVER ADVERTISED AS I COULD ALWAYS RELY ON MY REPUTATION AND WORD OF MOUTH RECOMMENDATIONS. I TOOK A REAL PRIDE IN WHAT I DID AND ALSO REALLY ENJOYED THE PROJECT MANAGEMENT SIDE OF IT, SO I PARTICULARLY LIKED THE MORE CHALLENGING PROJECTS I TOOK ON DURING MY CAREER.

I THINK THE ISLAND NEEDS US AS A VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY. WE HAVE SUCH A LONG HISTORY IN THE ISLAND AND WE HAVE GOOD LINKS INTO THE STATES SO WE CAN ENSURE THAT OUR MEMBERS’ VOICES ARE HEARD. WE ALSO OFFER SUPPORT AND NETWORKING FOR THOSE IN THE INDUSTRY WHICH IS IMPORTANT.

Many of those featured have undertaken apprenticeship schemes through the Guernsey College of Further Education. The College celebrated the 70th anniversary of its apprenticeships scheme a couple of years ago. For Brian it’s an important connection: “When the College was first set up, it was the construction industry that spearheaded it. We have therefore had a strong association with the College ever since, and it is hugely important they provide that training onisland. People need to remember how vital the construction industry is to everybody – everyone would be living in tents if it wasn’t for us. The construction industry contributes a huge amount to the quality of life in the island as well as the economy.”

While he recognises the value of the industry, he says the general public need to be more aware of it and recognise its work needs to be rewarded to attract and retain people: “Wages are the problem and Guernsey is an expensive place to live. My trade was carpentry and I remember when I started out all of the money I earned went into buying tools. I understand that isn’t very appealing to many people so we have to make sure that those in the industry are being paid a realistic wage for their time and skills – it’s really important that people recognise the value of the work they are doing.”

Improving the public’s perception of the industry is one aspect of the work of the GBTEA. Brian joined the organisation in 1980, and first took on the administration role of treasurer in 1990. In 1994, he took on the secretarial role for the organisation before combining the two in 2010. During the 40 plus years he has been involved, he has clearly seen a huge amount of change in the organisation and the industry.

“It’s certainly evolved since I first joined. When I became a council member, I was already very interested in computers and how to make things more efficient using technology. Ray Le Page had been the secretary for a long time at this point and had his own way of doing things, so my suggestion that we print out the envelope labels to send out meeting agendas and minutes was quite a controversial one!”

Since taking on the two roles, Brian is now able to use his skills to manage the administration of the organisation as effectively as he wants. While some may question his desire to take on the heavy workload of both jobs, he thinks it makes sense. “Because everything comes through the secretary anyway, the treasurer role comes together really well with it. The workload is certainly manageable – we have Council meetings once a month which I organise and I also deal with member queries and those from the public. With my grandson’s help, I set up the GBTEA website. He is a programme developer so I told him what I wanted and he built it, and that’s really helped to automate a lot of the role.”

While Brian says his day-to-day responsibilities with the GBTEA are not onerous, he was recently kept very busy with the organisation. When Covid hit the island, the industry was badly affected as no sites could operate during lockdown. Brian took on the responsibility of liaising with the States of Guernsey and providing his members with as much up to date information as possible. It was a role he took very seriously, and one the GBTEA members appreciated.

“I’ve had a lot of recognition from members for the work I did during Covid, so I’m really pleased to know it helped. There was a colossal amount of correspondence during that time with our members as they wanted and needed to know what was happening. I would monitor everything on the States website and at briefings and immediately send updates out to our members. The feedback I had was that it was hugely helpful and helped provide clarity at such an uncertain time. For me, it was good to feel that I could do something constructive and helpful and I’m lucky because I had the time to do it and I enjoy that kind of work.”

With the worst of Covid hopefully behind us, Brian is now looking forward to the future of the GBTEA. He believes it serves an important role for the industry: “There is always room for improvement but I think we do a pretty good job at the moment. We’re very open and honest with our members. We hold an open AGM where we encourage our members to come along and speak directly to us so we can represent them. I think the island needs us as a voice of the industry. We have such a long history in the island and we have good links into the States so we can ensure that our members’ voices are heard. We also offer support and networking for those in the industry which is important.

“We would like to expand our reach with the right members. We have around 135 members on our database and that’s stayed fairly static for a while as some join and others leave the industry but I think there are plenty of other people that could join and would benefit from being involved. That’s not to say that we take everybody – we see being a member of the GBTEA as a badge of honour and so there is a certain screening process that takes place. To join, new members have to be proposed and seconded by current members and need to have been trading for at least a year. We may want to expand, but it needs to be with the right people.”

Those people, however, won’t be a continuation of Brian’s family line. While his family history in the industry and with the organisation stretches back to his great-grandfather, his son and daughter both work in the finance industry. But while the GBTEA involvement will end at some time in the future, he has ensured that his skills have been passed on.

BRIAN AND THE GBTEA

The GBTEA has a long history in the island, and Brian’s family involvement dates right back to the start …

1918: the GBTEA was formed on 2 April 1918. The inaugural secretary was Stephen Rabey (partner of the firm J&S Rabey Ltd), who held the post for 21 years.

1980: Stephen Rabey’s greatgrandson, Brian Singleton, joined the GBTEA as a member. 1987: Brian was elected to the council representing builders group B (for a period of three years).

1990: Brian was elected treasurer (for a period of four years).

1994: Brian was elected secretary.

2010: Brian remained secretary but also undertook the treasurer’s duties in a combined role.

2022: Brian continues to hold both roles to the present day, meaning that he has provided a period of 35 years’ service to the GBTEA executive, working with 12 presidents during that time.

As well as the secretarial and treasurer duties, Brian also administers the GBTEA’s Passport to Safety scheme and the organisation’s website.