An opportunity to reflect, and look forward

New Year always provides an opportunity to reflect on individual circumstances and set new goals.

2025 is a momentous year, marking the centenary since CABE’s 1925 founding as the Incorporated Association of Architects and Surveyors. The January 2025 issue of Building Engineer contains the first of several features looking back at the Association’s history (see article here). Other celebrations include a CABE digital library launch as a legacy project and HQ staff raising money for charity by walking the equivalent distance in miles from HQ to our Hong Kong office before year’s end – approximately 6,000 miles!

In terms of the Association’s financial performance last year, my first report as Chief Executive is in the journal; 2023/24 was a challenging year, both for our members and CABE itself. The introduction of registration for building control in England and Wales has increased the value of CABE membership for many, but has also seen some members deciding to step away from the industry. Clearly, the resulting reduced capacity is not good news for the building control profession; it is important that lessons are learned from the registration process, particularly if the government in England is looking to bring fire engineers, fire risk assessors and potentially structural engineers into statutory registration, as now seems possible. It would help if the government could also seek to endorse other professionals who often have to compete with individuals who haven’t undertaken any assessment of competence whatsoever, but we will have to wait and see.

Looking forward, I am mindful that global events may impact our industry over the coming months. Donald Trump’s inauguration as President of the US could see international trading conditions change radically if tariffs are introduced, as is being widely reported at the time of writing. It may be wise to consider ‘onshoring’ specification and supply chains as far as possible to hedge against international fluctuations, including transactions between the EU and UK (which could easily be drawn into a wider trade dispute).

On the upside, the UK government’s overall investment plans and strategies suggest strong, continued demand for built environment professional services. Housebuilding targets, infrastructure investment and accelerating progress towards a net-zero carbon economy all suggest strong demand for the skills that building engineers possess in abundance.

Our Regional AGMs take place in a revised format this month and I wanted to start 2025 with encouragement to get involved in CABE’s work. We are launching a recruitment exercise for the CABE Expert Panel to advise on policy, support our work on competence and represent the Association on industry and government panels. The more that members get involved, the stronger we will become as an organisation. I also want to highlight that CABE Board Elections take place this month, providing Chartered Members with the opportunity to choose who represents you on the Board.

Sadly, the closing months of 2024 saw the passing of David Taylor PPCABE. David was a fantastic President and servant to the Association. I want to take this opportunity to extend our profound sympathy to his family and friends for their loss.

Richard Harral Chief Executive Officer

Image credit | Samm Kerr