Scottish Construction Summit 2025
Scottish Construction Now is partnering with major players in the Scottish construction industry to organise a one-day event designed to bring together high-calibre speakers and industry experts, fostering innovation and collaboration to shape the future of construction in Scotland.
Tickets are now available to purchase at £195 + VAT.
Event Details
Set to take place on 17th September 2025 at the Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, the Scottish Construction Summit 2025 will include keynote speakers from Scotland and beyond with break-out sessions to consider specific topics in depth. Catering for attendees will be provided and exhibition spaces have been included.
In the coming weeks, Scottish Construction Now will reveal more details of speakers and sponsors.
Speakers
Graham Stewart
CEO & founder, Digital Guerrilla Consultancy Ltd
Graham specialises in BIM Strategy & Implementation reaching 40 years’ experience in AEC including over 25 years’ experience using various BIM platforms.
Anne Johnstone
Head of ESG, Vital Energi
Anne is a leading expert in sustainability and decarbonisation within the built environment, with over 25 years’ experience driving ESG strategy and innovation.
Sarah Peterson
Director, Horizon M&E Services Design
With a background of a mechanical engineer with over 20 years’ experience, Sarah began to specialise in sustainability and energy in the built environment over 15 years ago.
Alan Tait
Director, Tait HR
As a Chartered Fellow of the Institute of Personnel and Development, Alan has extensive and broad expertise as an HR professional. He previously spent 20 years in various corporate HR roles with national organisations such as Balfour Beatty in construction and Havelock in interior fit out.
Steve Petrie
Head of Commercial Transformation, Evelyn Partners
Prior to joining Evelyn Partners, Steve was regional director for Centrica Net Zero and previously held the position of business performance director working within Balfour Beatty Group across its UK businesses leading its digital transformation.
Yosof Ewing
Founder, Adjudicate
Yosof Ewing is the founder of Adjudicate.co.uk – a specialist dispute resolution service that helps construction businesses recover unpaid sums swiftly and lawfully through adjudication.
More speakers to be announced in the coming weeks.
Sessions
The Scottish Construction Summit 2025 is set to be a pivotal event for the industry, tackling four critical themes: The Commercial Model, Recruitment and Retention, Sustainability, and Digitalisation.
Each theme will be dissected in depth, uncovering both the challenges and opportunities they present, while highlighting the urgent need for the industry to adapt and innovate.
The construction sector’s razor-thin margins and fragmented risk allocation model have long stifled investment in talent and innovation. With 99.5% of the industry comprising SMEs, the financial instability caused by late payments and inequitable risk sharing threatens the entire supply chain.
The Summit will explore how to transition to a fairer, more sustainable commercial model that ensures equitable treatment across all levels of the supply chain.
The industry is haemorrhaging talent, with a net loss of 210,000 workers in 2023 alone, despite recruiting 200,000 new entrants. Apprenticeship dropout rates are alarmingly high, exceeding 40%. With the UK Government’s ambitious target of building 1.5 million new homes in five years, the question looms: where will the workforce come from?
The Summit will address strategies to make construction a desirable career path and overcome the persistent retention challenges.
As the built environment accounts for 40% of the UK’s carbon emissions, the construction sector is central to achieving net zero by 2050. From retrofitting existing buildings to adopting sustainable materials like timber, the industry must lead the charge in reducing embodied carbon and embracing innovative practices.
The Summit will provide actionable insights to refine or develop net zero strategies, ensuring alignment with national climate goals.
Despite its transformative potential, digitalisation has been slow to take root in construction. Emerging technologies like AI, IoT, and machine learning promise to revolutionise efficiency, cost management, safety, and sustainability.
The Summit will showcase how embracing these innovations can modernise the industry and pave the way for future advancements.
In the coming weeks, Scottish Construction Now will reveal more details of speakers and sponsors.
Contact
For more information on sponsoring and exhibiting, contact Raymond Carr on 07956242860 or raymond@scottishnews.com.