CPA Bulletin

www.cpa.uk.net CPA Bulletin > February 2025 13 CPA CONFERENCE REVIEW: 1 The CPA’s Conference 2024 could hardly have come at a better time. Held on 7th November at its established venue of The Heart of England Conference and Events Centre near Coventry, it took place the day after Donald Trump’s landslide victory in the US presidential election became clear, causing many to consider likely changes in the global economic landscape. And closer to home, Chancellor Rachel Reeves had delivered her Autumn Budget statement just a week previously, announcing several hotly debated measures including a rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions and changes to inheritance tax thresholds for family firms, making many plant-hire companies ponder the future impact. So the overall Conference theme of ‘Shaping the Future: Insights for the Plant-Hire Sector’ provided a comprehensive backdrop against which current challenges could be discussed together with future directions of travel. The event comprised five panel discussions between plant-hire professionals, industry suppliers and relevant organisations, each focusing on a specific topic. Debates were guided by two co-hosts throughout the day: Merryn Myatt , a former BBC news presenter who specialises in media management training and positive corporate communications as part of the Perris-Myatt consultancy; and Peter Haddock , the journalist, podcaster and vlogger whose Content with Media business covers construction and infrastructure development. Delivering the opening Conference keynote speech, Steve Mulholland , CPA’s Chief Executive Officer, emphasised the need to combine evolution with revolution as the plant-hire industry adapts to challenges. With so many removing themselves from the available labour pool – especially younger people – companies had to find new ways to attract school leavers into the industry. This was compounded by an ageing workforce and retiring workers CPA Conference Review How Will Hirers Shape Up? Late last year we hosted the CPA Conference . Respected journalist Alan Guthrie reviews the event which discussed why plant-hirers need to understand current industry challenges in order to address those in the future - and it also highlighted the human touch.