MORE than 30 delegates from the construction sector heard top business tips from industry leaders at Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce's construction conference, organised in partnership with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Construction Excellence, at Malvern's Three Counties showground.

Keynote speaker was Don Ward, chief executive of Constructing Excellence, which is a cross-sector, cross-supply chain, member led organisation operating for the good of the industry and its stakeholders. His presentation gave a detailed overview of current sector trends and future demands, with a specific emphasis given to the power of collaboration.

Other speakers included Gary Woodman from the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and Tony Johnson from Herefordshire County Council, who discussed the future of economic regeneration across the two counties, giving attendees an insight into the supply chain opportunities available over the coming years.

In addition, Stuart Speight, director of local sustainable development firm, IE Developments, addressed the challenges inherent for developers over the coming years. The sustainability focus was upheld by Jonathan Hines, managing director of Architype Architects, while Catherine Bullough and David Elsmere from the Construction Industry Training Board talked about the industry's short and medium term training needs.

Stuart Speight, who is to become Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce's new President, said: "I thought that the construction conference was a great success, with some lively debate and interesting speakers. It was good to see such a high calibre of delegate and such a strong level of interaction. This will surely now become a firm fixture in the Chamber calendar. It is always useful for such an important sector to work together and share ideas and look toward collaborations for the future, and this was very much the message of the day. There are exciting times ahead and we need to embrace the challenge together."

Jack Stephens of the Chamber's commerce policy & PR executive added: "The construction sector is of particular value to the local economy, and that's why events like these are important. Everyone who attended learnt more about current trends in the industry and took the opportunity to network and make new contacts. Overall, the conference was a valuable addition to the Chamber's Business Expo."