Construction Expo 2008, held in September at the Historic Dockyard in Chatham, lived up to its billing as the biggest and brightest event of its kind in the south of England.  

This year, NoKCS joined with Kent’s Future Live KOS Media Team, the regeneration show that has been held successfully for the past two years as part of the Kent County Show. The merger of these two events provided a powerful business platform for all those interested in construction, development and regeneration projects in Kent and Medway.

Local and regional authorities, regeneration agencies, contractors, architects, developers, planners, suppliers, utilities and training providers were among the more than 100 exhibitors and over 1200 visitors.  In the main exhibition area, modern building techniques including the application of clay block and engineered flooring systems were on show as well as an air jack demonstrated by Select Plant Hire.  Other interactive demonstrations featuring brickwork, carpentry, roofing and painting and decorating were to hand.

Thrill of the show was claimed by Absen Rope who showed off their expertise in ‘work and rescue in the vertical domain’.  But the undoubted star of Expo ’08 was a magnificent falcon  who toured the show with his handler from NBC who explained how birds of prey were indispensable in keeping construction sites free of intruders such as rats, pigeons and unwanted vermin.

Mini Expo

A ‘Mini-Expo’, designed by Denne Construction and jointly funded by Medway Council, illustrated how school children are putting sustainability at the heart of their learning about the built environment.

A full conference programme, which included a challenging address by designer, Wayne Hemingway, ran alongside the exhibition.  Speaker after speaker urged delegates to plan for the inevitable upturn in the industry by investing now in training and education.  North Kent Construction Skills (NoKCS), one of the main organisers of Expo ’08, is helping employers do  just that.  The ‘House of Pledges’ invites employers to make a pledge, whether that be a day’s placement, a site visit, a two-week placement, an apprenticeship or an opportunity to visit a school or college to talk about the industry or a specific profession.

Glenys Gilbert-Collins, NoKCS Project Director, said:

All too often employers feel that because they are not in a position to offer a full two-week placement then they don’t feel they can offer anything.  This is simply not the case.  Our team of experts at Expo ’08 helped guide employers through the various opportunities available to them.  We were delighted that by the time the Expo closed, over 40 employers had made a pledge.

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