NEWS | DIGEST IN BRIEF BDP appoints Fairham as CEO Nick Fairham has been appointed as chief executive by BDP and will take over from John McManus, who is retiring later this year. Fairham studied at the Bartlett School of Architecture and joined BDP in 2006. He is currently responsible for leading the Bristol, Cardiff and MENA studios. As BDP prepares to celebrate its 60th anniversary, this is an exciting time to take up the role of chief executive, he said. Yates succeeds Beattie at FETA Chris Yates has been appointed as the new chief executive of the Federation of Environmental Trade Associations (FETA). He will take over from Russell Beattie, who has been in the post for seven years, in September. Yates has worked in the low carbon and renewable heating and ventilation sector since 1998 and, most recently, has been running the Corgi brand licensing business. He has worked for the Energy and Utilities Alliance and was a steering group member of the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. He is also a former chair of Oftec. SMEs mental health epidemic Late-payment problem adding to stress despite construction sectors recovery The economic recovery is concealing a growing mental health epidemic among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in construction, according to a new online survey carried out by YouGov. Despite an upbeat forecast for growth across the UK economy this year, and a rapid recovery for construction and its related conditions among workers, including panic attacks, insomnia and depression. Employees in construction SMEs are more than twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts as people employed in other sectors. Displays of extreme anger resulting from late payment are also 50% more likely in SME similar size in other industries, according to the survey. Rather than improving the situation, the speed of the sectors recovery seems to have added to the stress experienced by many construction SMEs, with the perennial problem of late payment often to blame. The survey, commissioned by the Building Engineering Services Association and the Electrical Contractors Association during Mental Health Awareness month (May), revealed a strong link between late-payment practices and serious mental health issues. It showed that extreme responses, such as suicidal thoughts, depression and panic attacks, in construction SMEs are now 6% higher than in sectors experiencing a slower economic recovery. More than a third of respondents to the survey reported chronic mental health conditions in their workforce. The rise in mental health problems also increases physical health and safety risks, putting even more lives in danger, the survey found. More women working in engineering The number of women working in UK engineering occupations rose by nearly 26% between 2016 and 2020, new data from the Labour Force Survey has revealed. The number of women engineers rose by almost 200,000, from 721,586 in 2016 to 906,785. The proportion of women in engineering has also risen. Women now make up 14.5% of the workforce compared with 12% reported in 2018, according to EngineeringUK. Dr Hilary Leevers, chief executive of EngineeringUK, said: Its encouraging to see nearly 200,000 more women working in engineering over the past four years something for us to celebrate on International Women in Engineering Day [23 June]. Nevertheless, the fact that women represent only 14.5% of those working in engineering is a serious concern. Construction workers are more than twice as likely to have suicidal thoughts as workers employed in other sectors PV capacity to double in a decade UK solar PV capacity is set to more than double over the next decade, but is still not going fast enough to meet net-zero targets, according to Solar Energy UK. In a new report, the trade body says an additional 40GW of solar capacity developed this decade would deliver 13,000 new jobs, 17bn in additional economic activity, and a 4.7% cut in total UK carbon emissions. It adds that this level of progress is needed to meet the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change. The report also looked at how improving building standards for homes and commercial buildings, 12 July 2021 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE July 21 pp12 News.indd 12 25/06/2021 16:12