The future of the professions starts with competence

Paul Gandy FCIOB, CIOB President 2025/26, discusses how we create a more competent construction profession

I recently attended a dinner discussion on the future of the professions. As you might expect, the conversation covered a wide range of topics, from skills shortages and modern methods of construction through to building safety, apprenticeships and professional standards.

What struck me most, however, was that many of these discussions seemed to lead back to the same question: how do we create a more competent profession?

It is a timely question.

The construction industry is operating in a period of significant change. New regulations are reshaping expectations, technology continues to evolve, and society rightly expects higher standards from those responsible for creating and managing the built environment.

Against that backdrop, competence is becoming an increasingly important part of the conversation.

One statistic shared during the discussion suggested that between 40% and 60% of construction professionals are not members of a professional body. Whether the figure sits at the higher or lower end of that range, it raises an interesting point about how competence is recognised and demonstrated within our industry.

Professional body membership is not simply about belonging to an organisation. At its best, it provides a framework for professional development, continuing learning and adherence to recognised standards. Increasingly, it is also becoming one of the clearest ways for individuals to demonstrate their commitment to professionalism.

Of course, professionalism is about far more than letters after your name.

It is reflected in how people behave, the standards they uphold, the decisions they make and their willingness to continue learning throughout their careers. Professional qualifications and Chartered status help provide evidence of that commitment, but they are only part of the picture. Ultimately, competence is not just about knowledge. It is also about culture and behaviour. The best professionals understand not only what they are responsible for doing, but why it matters and the impact their decisions can have on others.

The Building Safety Act has undoubtedly accelerated the industry’s focus on competence, but this conversation extends far beyond building safety. It is about quality, accountability and public confidence across the built environment as a whole. In many respects, the challenge facing the industry is not simply one of compliance, but one of trust. Competence is increasingly becoming the foundation upon which that trust is built.

The discussion also touched on areas where professionalism has an important role to play in shaping the future of the industry. One example was the opportunity to encourage greater engagement with professional standards amongst supply chain and technical specialists. Membership of professional bodies remains relatively low in some parts of the industry, yet these roles can have a significant influence on project outcomes. Bringing more of these professionals into the conversation around competence, standards and professional development would benefit the industry as a whole.

We also discussed modern methods of construction and design for manufacture. While some well publicised failures have attracted attention in recent years, there have also been many successful examples that demonstrate the value these approaches can bring. In reality, much of what we build today already incorporates elements of design for manufacture and assembly. Many of the schools delivered through the Department for Education, for example, make extensive use of repeatable components and standardised approaches. The lesson is not that innovation should be avoided, but that new approaches, like traditional ones, depend on competent people applying the right knowledge, skills and judgement.

That is one reason why continuing professional development is so important. Construction does not stand still. New regulations emerge, new technologies develop and new ways of working evolve. Competence cannot be viewed as something achieved once and then forgotten. It needs to be maintained, refreshed and strengthened throughout a professional career.

For CIOB, this has always been central to our purpose. Whether through Chartered membership, CPD, professional standards or apprenticeships, our role is to help people build and demonstrate competence throughout their working lives.

As CIOB approaches its bicentenary, there is an opportunity not only to celebrate our history but also to help shape the future of professionalism in construction. The conversations taking place across industry, government and the professions suggest expectations are changing, and rightly so.

The challenge for all of us is to create an industry where competence is clearly understood, consistently applied and continually developed. That means creating greater clarity around expectations, greater certainty around standards and greater consistency in how professionalism is demonstrated across the sector. If we can achieve that, we will strengthen not only our profession, but the confidence that society places in it.