It is one of the accepted truths within property and construction that you have to travel far and wide to win and fulfil contracts – now two key players in the sector are joining forces to try to encourage local professionals to look closer to home.
Parm Bhangal and Matthew Abraham have launched Prop Connect – a networking group that will encourage a community of property professionals. Developers and contractors, architects and quantity surveyors, specialist services, building services and sole traders will all be welcome at the quarterly events that are aimed at connecting like-minded professionals and helping them expand their networks.
Parm, who founded Bhangals Construction Consultants to provide quantity surveying, estimating and project management services, will be working with Matthew, from FormFive, a people-first construction contractor based in Earls Barton, to organise and facilitate the events, which will be held at Bhangals’ Grange Park headquarters in Northampton.
The idea came about after both local businessmen realised that they were travelling significant distances to attend networking events, securing contracts elsewhere in the UK, but finding contractors from out the area working on projects closer to home.
Parm said: “It doesn’t matter where I go for networking, whether it’s in the county, in London, further afield, I often see people from Northamptonshire. We’re all travelling around to win business all over the UK and it struck me that what we are not doing is working hard to keep local work with local companies.”
“There’s plenty of work out there and It’s absolutely feasible to make sure work stays local, but because of the way work is secured, through frameworks and supplier lists, you end up with a situation where companies from Northamptonshire are working on a job 200 miles away and teams from 200 miles away are coming to Northampton.”
Matthew said: “If you look at how work of a significant value is secured, companies are obviously keen to look after their clients and so they use people they know and have built a relationship with, so they take people along with them.
“If we’re planning a project, to meet BREEAM regulations, we have to track materials and components coming in and where they are coming from, and we have to track waste and how we are disposing of it, yet there is nothing about tracking the miles people travel to carry out work that could be done locally.”
“It seems crazy, and it could be different, it just needs something to bring local people together.”
Prop Connect events will be geared around making introductions and making sure that guests get a chance to make connections with anyone they feel they may be able to help, or who might be able to help them. Anyone arriving alone or for the first time will be welcomed at the door and introduced to another guest or guests to start the conversations going.
It is hoped, over time, that representatives from the education sector will see the benefit of attending, to forge stronger links between the construction sector and schools, colleges and universities to help address skills shortages.
Parm said: “We hear a lot about skill shortages and think it would be beneficial for people in education to hear what those in the construction sector are saying about what they need. It might be that they have an individual who is clearly talented and looking for a position in a company, invaluable for those looking to grow or scale their businesses.”
“We want the group to be open to everyone and inclusive. There will be no cap on size of business or turnover. It might be a large company, or a one-man band looking for advice. I’ve never met anyone in construction who isn’t prepared to pass on their knowledge and expertise to someone looking to grow and develop, and those conversations might just lead to being able to work together in some way.”
Matthew added: “There are some great networking groups in the county but they’re very general. If you’re a print company, for instance, your clients could be from any sector. In our sector people know what and who they need and those outside the sector have little need for a quantity surveyor or an acoustics specialist. That’s why we need something more specific.
“The idea is that if you work in property and construction you should be able to find anyone you need in that room. It will be an opportunity to showcase your business, sell your services and show why you should be getting that work closer to home.”
Find out more about Prop Connect at www.prop-connect.co.uk
