There’s a well-known skills shortage within the UK construction industry. The issue has been prevalent over the last few years, with the apprenticeship scheme touted as a potential solution for sourcing homegrown talent into the construction sector. But has the construction sector made the most of the apprenticeship scheme in order the deal with the skills shortage? Nifty Lift, suppliers of work platforms investigate:

In recent times we have seen an added push, particularly during early years education, in getting children to go into STEM subjects following school. The issue is however, despite the fact science, technology, engineering and maths, is open to everyone, there exists connotations around it of male dominance.

The impression from outside the industry is one that has stuck for many years — manual labour, long working hours and rows of assembly lines. A survey carried out by Women in Manufacturing (WiM) found that almost three quarters of women would not consider a career in manufacturing as a viable option.

Leading bathroom manufacturer VitrA announces its Continuing Professional Development (CPD) module, approved by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).  Earning professionals a valuable 8 points, the seminar Bathroom Design and Specification: Ceramic Sanitaryware provides a practical insight into working with ceramic sanitaryware and the specific considerations and processes.

Margaret Talbot, marketing manager for VitrA explains “The purpose of this CPD seminar is to help professionals involved in designing and specifying bathrooms with important areas of consideration like; innovations, modern technologies, sustainability and improving sustainability ratings for buildings.”

Springfield Properties has taken a major step towards making its developments more environmentally sustainable after becoming the UK’s first housebuilder to use waste plastic to build a road on a housing development.

The initiative has seen Springfield introduce a more environmentally friendly asphalt product on a development. The new road surfacing material contains waste plastic, and will be used initially on a section of road at the company’s Linkwood Steadings development in Elgin.

Global ground engineering solutions provider, Mainmark, has bolstered its UK division by welcoming four new experts, from across the ground engineering and geotechnical industry, to the team. The new hires come as Mainmark continues to expand further into sectors including rail and highways, and will increase the support already provided for commercial businesses and residential properties that require ground improvements.

The news follows Mainmark announcing the expansion of its fleet of proprietary vehicles with the introduction of custom-built compact vans earlier in the year. The updated fleet complements Mainmark’s continued business growth over the last year and are specifically designed to house its proprietary Teretek® resin injection solution.

Now that the weather is getting better, many of us are turning our attention to getting the garden ready for the summer months. While general garden maintenance such as cutting the lawn and trimming back the hedges can make the garden look presentable, here are some of this year’s top trends to make your garden stand out from the crowd.

Garden specialists Oeco Garden Rooms have compiled some of their top garden trends for 2019 to help you make the most out of your garden.

One of the construction industry’s most widely-used mobile technologies makes critical data accessible in the field with first major Autodesk integration after acquisition.

​PlanGrid​, an Autodesk company and a leader in construction productivity software, today introduced ​PlanGrid BIM​, a powerful new product integration with Autodesk Revit​^Ⓡ​ that enables users to immediately access Building Information.

Vicaima’s innovative and stylish interior door models have been selected to compliment a new concept in housing from Crest Nicholson, at their Hygge Park development in Keynsham near Bristol, where the essence of Danish inspired design has been captured.

It may be hundreds of miles from its Nordic roots, but homes on Crest Nicholson’s Hygge Park site embody a touch of Danish design prospective.  Hygge, which means comfort, relaxing and wellbeing, in fact enjoying life’s simple pleasures; is evident throughout this development.  Innovative interior house layouts create bright and airy spaces, where open plan living and the clever use of glazing is used to maximise light.  Contemporary design and designer fittings mark this development out as a new chapter for quality UK homes.

P C Henderson’s Sales and Marketing Director – Andrew Royle – was honoured to present the award for the Top 10 Architects and Developers at the BCI Asia Awards in Jakarta, Indonesia last week.  Invited as a guest of honor by Indonesian distributor – Roda Bangun Mandiri – Andrew was delighted to attend as a way of paying homage to the long term partnership with the company.

The world-famous Ibizan nightclub Pacha, that has seen the likes of legendary DJs such as Carl Cox and Erick Morillo take the decks, has been renovated to coincide with the brand’s 50^th anniversary. The project was completed by the Capella García Arquitectura studio and incorporates the application of Younique® by Formica Group.

The renovation, which covers more than 2,100 m², had a double objective: on the one hand, to update and improve the building to meet current regulations and standards in acoustic insulation and facilities. On the other, it was crucial to revive the original spirit of Pacha, recovering the spatial power of the place and maintaining its initial magic.

Leading British oil-fired domestic boiler manufacturer, Hounsfield Boilers, has just extended their range of market leading Tuscan oil boilers.

The company’s new whisper-quiet Tuscan wall-mounted heat-only oil-fired boilers are available in two models, the internal and the external, with an output of 12 – 19kW. Both models are equipped with the same high-specifications installers have come to expect from Hounsfield’s Tuscan range, namely air-craft grade stainless steel Teflon cored flexible hose, that will not rot or degrade, a Bentone BF1 burner, plus thicker insulation to retain heat. The new external wall-hung models also include a frost thermostat which senses water temperature rather than air, tough weather proof casing and a compact 640mm x 760mm x 320mm size.

When LVMH-owned, Loewe, planned a new flagship store on New Bond Street, London, stunning architectural vision and engineering expertise was the order of the day – particularly with regard to the design and installation of a spectacular lift.

The  store’s expansive space, designed by creative director Jonathan Anderson, features a spiral staircase and inserted lift – more specifically 10 tonnes of Campaspero stone suspended around a cylindrical panoramic lift with brass detailing right in the middle of the store.

A stunning new suspended installation in the O2’s brand new retail development, the Designer Outlet Village, has been created and installed by Base Structures.

Using more than 4,700 white aluminium sheets and 5,300 discs suspended from a high-tension stainless-steel net to create the effect of hanging petals, the installation is a fantastic feature to compliment the already impressive dome shaped O2.

When patients are allowed to recover in a more comfortable environment studies show there is a positive impact on their healing and well-being.  Effective building design has been widely used to help patients recover more quickly and hospital staff to work more efficiently.  Evidence-based design (EBD), the process of making changes to the built environment based on research to improve outcomes, has helped lower the incidences of hospital-acquired infections, medical errors, patient accidents, and staff injuries.

Delia Lakwera has been appointed as Specifications Manager for VitrA bathrooms in the UK.  Delia joins VitrA from THG Paris where she was an Architectural Consultant and before this with Vola, where she was an Architectural Specifications Consultant for four years.

Delia will be responsible for managing the relationships with architects and designers and will be based in London.

Delia has a keen interest in interior design and architecture and has worked in the bathroom industry for more than a decade.