Breakfast networking brings home the bacon

CONSTRUCTION opportunities in Oldham and Rochdale were outlined at the latest networking meeting hosted by DCT Civil engineering managing director Peter Greenalgh.

More than 60 people were in the audience at the breakfast event at the Earl Business Centre, Hathershaw, to hear a succession of speakers list the subcontract jobs available at sites across the two boroughs.

There is work at the Royal Oldham Hospital extension — and soon on the A&E refurbishment — St Mary’s social housing development, the borough’s three new academies and the Building Schools for the Future programme.

Project managers and site managers addressed the audience and took questions in what an extremely informative gathering.

Attendees went away with a host of contracts for which they could bid, from flooring and internal partitions, from steel fencing to groundworks, from decorating to IT wiring.

Every speaker listed a contact, either a name or a email address, to follow up and register specialisms and interest.

Oldham Council was present, represented by Jameson Bridgwater from the planning department, and Darren Judge, from the corporate procurement team.

The overriding theme was localism — a determination from the public-sector paymasters to the large contractors to use local subbies.

From what I could tell the scheme is working. I overheard one delegate tell a colleague he was going “sit at the back” so he could escape if the event was a “waste of time”.

He was still there as other delegates filed out, back to their desks.

Clearly these breakfast briefings are working and the hard work of all the parties, Greater Manchester Chamber, Oldham and Rochdale Councils and the Peter, from the private sector, who hosts and leads the event, deserve recognition.

And continued support. The next event is in January — watch this space for the diary date.