THE PRESIDENT AND THE CIOB CEO

Dear

Readers, Welcome to this fifth edition of Managing Construction and the first one for the year 2023.

Wow, what three months we have gone through! Following the International Built Heritage Conference in November, the AGM in December and the organisation of the First H&S Course for Professionals in collaboration with the BICC, squeezed in, many might have thought that the MCCM team would have a well-deserved rest which indeed was taken. In fact, from the very following day of the publication of the fourth edition of Managing Construction, work on this fifth edition, initiated. I am confident that you will find this edition as interesting as the previous ones.

Apart from work on the magazine, we organised the First Partners Networking Event. An event that proved to be successful not only by the participating partners but also by all those who attended the event. Apart from serving as a showcase for the services and products that are made available by some of our partners, it provided our partners the opportunity to meet our members face-to-face.

During this same event, we took the opportunity to present another batch of new members with their membership certificate and presented also the first certificates for the H&S Course for Professionals.

This event was addressed by the Minister for Public Works and Planning, Hon. Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi and by the Opposition Representative Hon. Ing. Stanley Zammit.

Another event that we participated in, was the ‘I Choose’. This was our second participation in this event, confirming our commitment towards one of our pillars ‘’Education’’.

In this edition we will be featuring another initiative, namely ‘Communities of Practice’. The purpose of this initiative is to bring closer to our members, the public entities and their work and to show their impact on our members’ work.

Another important mention regards the next visit of Mrs Caroline Gumble CIOB CEO, in May. A busy programme awaits Mrs Gumble, highlighted by the organisation of an event held for the very first time, entitled: Women in Construction-The Malta Perspective 2023. Further details on this event will be provided in the coming weeks. Finally, coming up is the official opening of our premises in Floriana on the 10th of May, and similar to WIC 2023, more information on the official opening will be given in the coming weeks.

Wishing you an enjoyable read.

It is great news that the MCCM is holding their first ever event focussing on women in construction. I am encouraged to hear that this will be a platform for showcasing the important contributions of women across the industry.

Many of you already understand why this is such a key topic in our sector, and others, but it does bear repeating –it is imperative to help address the skills and people gap that our industry faces worldwide. Ensuring that women and other under-represented groups are welcomed into the industry is a responsibility shared by all those already in it.

I am also a firm believer that the process of creating the built environment in which we all live and work is something which needs to reflect all of society. This is just one way in which we can support delivery of high-quality buildings and infrastructure that are inclusive and accessible to all.

This is also timely, as it reflects one of three headline themes in CIOB’s new corporate plan - the skills gap. As part of addressing this, we want the industry to bring in people from a range of backgrounds, by helping to improve the perception - and reality - of working in the construction industry, championing diversity, inclusion and worker welfare.

We also want to facilitate smooth routes in the industry to continually develop the skills of modern professionals. Our new policy to encourage ethical reflection and continual learning is part of that.

Congratulations again to the MCCM for organising this event. It is much needed and I look forward to hearing about the successes to be celebrated.