Construction Giant Worth Following During The Credit Crunch

"Before the credit crunch, many companies were seen as safe havens, but the list has dwindled to a handful of blue-chip stocks over the last year. One of the few remaning candidates is Balfour Beatty - Britain's largest building contractor, and one of the most respected brands in the construction industry.

A strong reputation is crucial for winning new contracts in Balfour's industry and this is reflected in the firm's £12.8 billion pound order book and £27.8 billion pound work pipeline. This provides excellent earnings visibility during tough times. What's more, over 80% of its revenues are derived from government infrastructure spending and regulated industries such as water treatment plants, with only 19% linked to the more cyclical private sector.

Balfour is also well placed to benefit from Britain's nuclear-power renaissance. It has teamed up with Rolls-Royce and Areva to build the next generation of nuclear reactors, the first of which could be commissioned in 2013. And it's not just a UK play: nearly a quarter of turnover is generated in North America, which should be boosted by the US government's public spending plans, while another 12% comes from Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In light of the pound's decline these international sales should continue to lift returns.

Balfour also owns stakes in a number of public-private partnerships that will be sold off to the highest bidder when the time is right.

What could derail the shares? The main wild cards for investors are those inherent in the construction industry: underpricing contracts, failure to complete work successfully, customer bankruptcies or a severe cut-back in infrastructure investment. For example, in March the firm flagged issues with large building projects where it is not recognising profits until the cash comes in (albeit this kind of thing seems par for the course). And the £261m pension deficit needs to be watched - although much of this shortfall should unwind in due course once the worst of the bear market is over.

In short, with a top notch brand, a sound balance sheet and a focus on public - sector contracts, Balfour is good value for money." Paul Hill, professional analyst, writes for the moneyweek magazine.



Regards

Capital Engineering

Latest Training Courses

Below is a list of training courses which is being run in conjunction with Capital Training. Please feel free to contact us using the reference shown for further details.


1. PAT Testing (1 day) - £175.00

This qualification is based on the IEE Code of Practice and designed for those involved in the inspection and testing of electrical equipment and/or managing the process. The price includes training, online assessment and certificate. Ref: patca.

2. 17th Edition, City & Guilds 2382 (2 days) - £175.00

The course is primarily designed for practising electricians with a working knowledge of the 16th edition of the BS7671 and who have already achieved a qualification addressing BS7671 June 2001 (2381), Ref: 17thca

3. NVQ Level 3 Electro Technical Technology (1 year) - £2115.00

NVQ Level 3 Electro Technical is a work-based qualification designed to reflect the roles and responsibilities of 'occupation operatives' within the sector. There are no restrictions on entry to this qualification, except candidates should not register for this qualification if you hold or are registered with City & Guilds or another awarding body for a similar qualification. Ref: electroca

4. Inspection, Testing & Commissioning of Electrical Installation (4 days) - £610.00

This qualification is for experienced personnel working in the electrical industry. The course is intended to ensure that candidates are conversant with the format, contents and application of the current edition of the requirements for electrical installations BS 7671:2008 (17TH edition). Ref: inspectionca

5. CSCS Construction Skills (1 day) - £100.00

The construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card is the industry's largest scheme and covers 220 occupations including trades, technical, supervisory and management. The price includes training and assessment. Ref: cscsca

6. Health & Safety (1 day) - £750.00

This is a City & Guilds qualification in giving an introduction to health and safety and promotes safe working practices for a wide range of workplaces. Suitable for all business types, this qualification helps business meet legal obligations. All candidate who successfully complete the course will obtain the level 2 progression award in Health and Safety in the workplace.
Ref: h&sca

7. Domestic Energy Assessor, DEA (6 Weeks) - £2996.00

This course trains the candidates to become a qualified Domestic Energy Assessor in order to prepare the candidates to become a Home Inspector. By completing the course the candidates will be able to collect house condition information including, age, storeys, type, heating and hot water provision etc. Qualified Domestic Energy Assessor should be able to give advice on how to improve the energy efficiency of their homes. Level 3 Award in Domestic Energy Assessment from City & Guilds will be honoured to the successfully completed candidates. This course price includes training, assessment, certificate and learning materials. Ref: deaca

For further details, please contact us on 020 8605 2800 and ask to speak to a consultant.


Regards

Femi Yusoof

Capital Engineering

How To Get A New Job During The Credit Crunch

The numbers of people out of work is quite simply frightening, depending on where you get your information from some commentators i hear are predicting around 3 million people out of work before end of 2009, this would mean about 1 in 10 of Britain's working population unemployed! It sounds inevitable and only a matter of time before these unprecedented numbers are realised. However, this is no time to wait in anticipation of the inevitable, the future might be uncertain, but you can shape the future or in the least take several steps towards gaining re-employment.

Firstly, a few facts about the UK's construction sector:

• It is the 2nd largest industry within the European Union
  
• Employs more than 2 million people in Britain
• Provides exports of more than £7 Billion pounds
• Composed of mainly contractors, consultants, building materials and manufacturers
• Mainly full of small to medium size companies with relatively small number of large companies
• Involved in areas such as - architecture, residential and commerical buildings, building services, bridges, dams, roads, rail, regeneration and tunnels to name but a few..

Of note for this article is the last bullet point which describes the diverse business of construction. With certain parts of the industry at almost a standstill this is a time to review your varying skill-sets and consider where you can meet the current market needs.

So you need to be more flexible in terms of issues of remuneration, travel and also consideration for contracting or freelance work. Also, take a look at the public sector, there are establishments such as schools, hospitals and local authorities who will value highly experienced and multi skilled professionals.

As discussed previously, the competition for jobs is even more fierce and so re-marketing or re-branding yourself as a specialist with a broad set of relative experience and skills one which is transferable and pertinent in today's turbulent market is more than likely to be key in separating you from the crowd.

For further advise on your CV or job hunting search please feel free to contact us on 020 8605 2800 and ask to speak with a consultant.

Regards

Femi Yusoof

Capital Engineering Personnel

020 8605 2800

Beat The Credit Crunch By Taking Advantage of Govt Funded FREE Training

With more than 2 million people anticipated being out of work by end of 2009, the job marketplace has got even more competitive with around 20 applications for 1 job, this is certainly a client's market. As a way of offsetting the unprecedented levels of redundancies the government is providing funding for training.

This is an opportunity to stay active and up-to-date with the latest developments and techniques, i still personally feel the government can do more for people seeking employment and a recent article in the guardian concured as it reported that the UK showed the lowest confidence out of all the leading world economies. Nonetheless, there is help out there and training is a start.

Capital Training, sister company to Capital Engineering Personnel and part of the Capital Group offers access to training, in some cases FREE depending on your eligibility. For further details feel free to contact us on 020 8605 2800.

There are also benefits for businesses taking part with certain schemes offering financial incentives. As an individual, you are likely to be more competitive when being considered for a position if you remain active, either you freelance on a short term basis or go on a training course that is relevant to your industry. This is more likely to open doors of opportunity than close them

Over the next few days we will be listing some of our training courses on this forum.

Regards

Femi

Femi Yusoof BEng, MIET Business Development Consultant - Professional & Technical Services
Capital Engineering
T: +44 (0)20 8605 2800 F: +44 (0)20 8946 3899
E: fyusoof@cap-recruit.co.uk
Capital Engineering Personnel is a proud business partner of the Institute of Engineering & Technology (IET).

Welcome to the CECN Forum

This website has been setup so that our candidates and business people alike can share their views, ideas as well as an opportunity to learn whilst keeping up-to-date with current news. We welcome any suggestions that will add to the development of this forum so please feel free to reply to any of the posts.

Furthermore, it is anticipated that the website will have links to 'live jobs' as well as various training courses.

Once again, welcome as we look forward to communicating with you over the next coming days, weeks and months.

Kind Regards
Femi Yusoof
(020) 8605 2800

Capital Engineering Personnel Ltd, part of the Capital Group -
International recruitment and training company with specialisms in aviation, building services, construction, engineering, rail & medical.