UK Construction Week Birmingham 2025 marked its tenth anniversary with a three-day programme that once again confirmed its reputation as the UK’s largest and most influential construction event. Taking place at the NEC from 30th September to 2nd October, the exhibition gathered thousands of leaders, innovators and decision makers to explore the future of the built environment through more than 300 global brands, 200 speakers and over 150 hours of CPD accredited content.
Design and Build UK played a central role on 1st October, curating an entire day of panels and debates at the Culture Change and Skills Hub. The programme focused on the themes of leadership, talent, wellbeing and diversity, offering both practical strategies and inspiring personal stories that resonated strongly with audiences. Whilst the panels branched across a wide range of topics, the theme of allyship organically wove its way into each conversation. This highlighted a powerful truth: across the construction industry, whatever the challenge, solutions become more achievable when we adopt a collaborative mindset.
The day began with Unlock the Power Within: A Leadership Activation for Women in Construction, led by executive coach Natalie Baksheieva of Women in Construction: The Power Within HER. Drawing on her 20 years of leadership experience and her background in coaching and psychology, Baksheieva encouraged participants to build clarity, confidence and resilience. She said: “Self-leadership starts from the inside out. When we cultivate the right mindset, we not only create our own success but also empower the people around us to grow. Women in construction have incredible potential, and with the right tools and mindset shifts, they can lead with authenticity, resilience and purpose.”
The morning continued with a dynamic debate on allyship and inclusion, hosted by angel investor Helen Chorley and featuring Gary Ford of Men for Inclusion, Paul Halbert of Yesss Electrical, Zoe Brooke of Ezrah Consulting and Mark Harrison of CIOB. The discussion highlighted the urgent role of allyship in improving mental health and retention. Harrison said: “Two lives are lost every day to suicide in our industry. 27% of respondents report suicidal thoughts in the past year. Allyship quite literally saves lives.” Brooke added: “Allyship creates psychological safety. When people feel safe, they want to stay, and businesses that embed allyship see 20% less staff turnover.” Ford reflected: “To create psychological safety you need a culture that says: when I get it wrong, you have permission to tell me, and when you tell me, I can get better.”
A powerful session on wellbeing, Where’s Your Head At?, followed, chaired by Gaelle Blake of Groupe Adequat. The panellists – including Jacqueline Gunn of Workplace Bereavement, Errol Lawson of the Building the Future Awards, Natalie Morgan of Accxel and Mani Singh of Tryg Trade – called for cultural change rather than token awareness campaigns. Lawson said: “Most issues start away from the workplace. When people come to site, they don’t know who to talk to. We need built-in support right from apprenticeships, so people always know where to go.” Gunn added: “We do physical risk assessments every day. Why wouldn’t we do the same for mental health?” Singh noted: “Every site should have someone available, discreetly, at all times to talk to. If we build that culture, people will feel safe bringing their whole selves to work.”
The afternoon saw the panel Recruitment vs Retention, hosted by Blake and featuring Renee Preston of Gallaway Construction, Sophie Seddon of Novus Property Solutions, Phil Dean of Core Group and Emma Fletcher of Octopus Energy. The conversation turned to early engagement, cultural change and career progression. Preston said: “We run a twelve-week STEM programme to show young people there are more than 150 career paths in construction. Early engagement is key if we want construction to be seen as a career of choice rather than a fallback.” Seddon added: “Recruitment isn’t the problem at the moment. Retention is. We lose 25% of women every year in this industry, and that isn’t just a women in construction issue – it is an industry-wide issue.”
Mentorship emerged as a recurring theme. Preston said: “AI in recruitment risks embedding unconscious bias against women. The human side must never be lost. Mentorship is where people thrive.” Seddon added: “I prefer skills-based assessments and group recruitment activities that reveal behaviour and cultural fit. Those are the hardest things to teach and the most important for building strong teams.”
The programme culminated with a keynote from Ceri Evans, Global Director of Cost Consult at Mace, whose reflections on resilience and leadership struck a chord with many in the audience. Evans said: “Finding the right path back into work after becoming a mother can feel daunting. Sometimes you need a plan, sometimes it’s luck, sometimes it’s failure – but give yourself permission to be present. We don’t have to knock everything out of the park every time.”
The Women in Construction panel followed, highlighting the importance of events that showcase powerhouse women and their male allies across the construction industry, such as the recent Women in Construction Awards hosted by Design and Build UK. Evans said: “When I show young girls photos of women at these awards and tell them, ‘these women build things,’ it changes the narrative. It shows them that they can too.” Hattie Hasan of the Register of Tradeswomen added: “Visibility is huge. Recognition gives young women the confidence to know that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary things.”
Throughout the three days of UK Construction Week, sustainability and climate resilience were also dominant themes. Sessions such as Net Zero or Bust: Real Strategies for Decarbonising Construction and Building a Sustainable Future: Retrofitting for Climate Resilience provided clear strategies for cutting whole life carbon and embedding resilience into projects. Speakers from the UK Green Building Council, the Carbon Trust and CECA urged urgent action, emphasising that the construction sector carries a critical responsibility in tackling climate change.
Technology and innovation took centre stage at the Digital Construction Hub, where robotics, drones, artificial intelligence and data-driven solutions were showcased by leading exhibitors. McLaughlin and Harvey’s digital transformation blueprint demonstrated how legacy systems can evolve into collaborative, future-ready models.
From culture change to digital transformation, and from sustainability to workforce development, UK Construction Week Birmingham 2025 provided inspiration, strategy and collaboration at a time of rapid change. As the sector continues its journey towards a net zero, digitally enabled and inclusive future, the conversations sparked at the NEC this October will help to shape the industry for the decade ahead, and hopefully lead construction to be less insular and competitive, and instead embrace collaboration grounded in genuine allyship.
