CPA Bulletin

At the CPA Annual General Meeting (AGM) in October last year, Steven Mulholland was elected to the position of Chairman of the Association. Steven, founder of Mulholland Plant Services, was formerly Vice Chairman of the CPA and we’ve taken the opportunity to find out a little more about him, his background in the industry and his vision for the future of the CPA. How did you first break into the plant industry? As a 15 year old I spent two weeks on work experience from school with Vibroplant (now Vp PLC), after which I got offered an apprenticeship. I spent almost 10 years there going from Workshop to Service Office to Hire Desk to Sales to Depot Management. What’s the history of Mulholland Plant Services and how has the business grown over the years? We started trading in 1999. A family non-operated plant and air compressor hire business, we now employ over 30 staff covering throughout the UK. We have trained most of our own staff, many of whom have come from school or other business sectors, in the fine art of construction plant hire! This has helped us to maintain the same levels of service throughout the business which we were able to offer from day one. What do you hope to achieve during your spell as chairman of the CPA? The most important thing in my view is continuity. Current CPA Council members, CPA staff, along with past Chief Executives, Chairmen and Presidents, have all done a fantastic job to get our Association to where it is at today. It has grown in numbers and improved in professionalism in the services we are able to offer members, and this must continue in an ever changing world. To retain the experience of long standing Council members, staff and members, while welcoming in the new with their ideas and experience, improves our ability to serve the members well by continuing to strengthen the voice that we have in decisions which affect our industry and the plant sector in particular. So in a nutshell, to build and improve on what we have from Training, Health and Safety and Product / Legislative issues to lobbying the powers that be, as the experts in our industry, to what is in the plant sector’s best interest and of course being able to offer the best advice to members on day to day issues which they may need help with. What are some of the biggest challenges and opportunities facing CPAmembers at present? Brexit is obviously creating economic uncertainty for the economy as a whole, and plant hire is no different. For construction companies, the ongoing uncertainty has forced many to take the issue into their own hands when planning for 2019 and beyond. Our research also shows that employment is a key challenge for plant hire companies. Around 40% of CPA members say recruitment is very difficult or fairly difficult. Construction is often perceived as being dirty, boring and male dominated, and one of the issues we face is the perception that work in construction is seen as a job and not a career. In reality, there are many opportunities for young people in plant hire and that’s one of the reasons why the CPA is leading the industry by introducing a series of new Trailblazer apprentice schemes for job roles such as plant operators and hire controllers. The plant sector forms the backbone of the construction industry and the UK plant hire industry is one the best established and most professional in the world. It’s worth over £4bn to the UK economy. How important do you believe trade associations such as the CPA are? Trade associations form a very important function and at CPA we’re able to support almost 1,700 members, advising on training, health and safety, employment, lobbying government and associations, and supporting UK plant businesses. Our members represent companies of all types and sizes throughout the country - from national plant hire companies who have hundreds of depots, to small one man band operations. In fact, CPA members supply 85% of hired plant to the construction industry. Our members use our Model Conditions to trade and they also refer to a series of Best Practice Guides which the whole of the industry looks to for excellence guidance. With skills shortages becoming more prevalent in construction, what would you like to see happen to attract more young people into the sector? We need a co-ordinated approach to attracting young people across the whole of the sector. Attracting apprentices is key and there’s been some excellent work being spearheaded by industry working groups to develop new apprentice frameworks. We need to make it as easy as possible to apply for a job in our sector. We also need to attract youngsters at school age when they are considering their career prospects. The CPA is carrying out a great deal of work to help facilitate this. Getting to Know Steven Mulholland GETTING TO KNOW: 1 38 CPA Bulletin > May 2019 www.cpa.uk.net