Trade association, Northern Counties Builders Federation, has confirmed Angela Carney as its new president.
Angela, managing director at Carney Consultancy, has worked in the construction industry for more than 30 years. She sits on several industry boards and is highly respected for her commitment to bridging the skills gap and helping females enter the sector.
Angela takes on the role from Tony Kay, who has been chair since 2020. Supporting Angela in her new role is Matthew McCarrick, managing director at McCarrick Construction, who becomes senior vice president. Chris Morris, company secretary at Compass Developments is appointed junior vice president.
Northern Counties Builders Federation (NCBF) is a long-established trade association bringing together construction companies and contractors operating in the North East of England. As a membership organisation, it is proactive in raising the profile of its regional members, supporting training and apprenticeships and helping to future-proof the North East construction industry.
Angela Carney, said: “I would very much like to take this opportunity to thank Tony for his astute leadership of the NCBF. During his term he has ensured we punch well above our weight and that we continue to play a crucial role within a number of industry-led committees. Tony has helped to achieve a range of highly successful outcomes when it comes to the areas where we look to achieve maximum impact, such as the skills gap, tackling the image of our sector and working closely with the region’s educational providers.
“As a collective, our role is to help facilitate the development and maintenance of a sustainable North East construction industry. We want to continue to provide a voice to SMEs in the region, offer careers advice, support the upskill of employees and trade apprenticeships and to highlight that the construction sector offers long term careers.
“Moving forward, we have a very exciting year ahead of us concentrating on skills. We will work alongside other industry bodies such as lobbying group, Construction Alliance Northeast (CAN) and Constructing Excellence North East (CENE) to really tackle the image of our industry and encourage many more people to enter into it.
“If we don’t proactively start changing our image, as a sector we will struggle to recruit more people. Working with the region’s colleges and educational providers we will look to connect employers to students and highlight the range of fabulous opportunities that a career in construction can offer.”
Over the last year, Northern Counties Builders Federation, supported by Constructing Excellence in the North East has worked on a number of education projects, including the relaunch of the North East Schools Wonder Challenge. The NCBF also launched its Building Your Future campaign, to bring employers to regional colleges to highlight career opportunities.
Tony Kay, said: “I feel we have made great strides during that last four years and I am very confident for the future of our sector. As a president, you are only as strong as the people around you and I have received outstanding support from a vast range of members who are just as committed as I am to drive positive change within the sector. Angela, will be a dynamic, bold, president and has the passion and energy to ensure we meet the stretching targets we have set for the years ahead.”