Session overview: In a Question-Time style discussion, this session tackles the commercial realities facing the scaffolding sector head-on. Structured around three interconnected pillars - Skills, Safety and Success - the panel brings together voices from government, construction, scaffolding contractors and suppliers to explore the most difficult challenges faced across the supply chain and address what each link in the chain needs from each other to succeed. Topics will be topical - including fair payment, contract terms, workforce pressures and how scaffolding firms can build stronger relationships with clients.     

Why this session matters: This session puts the client, the contractor, the supplier and the government in the same room to say what they actually think and what works. If you want to win better contracts, get paid fairly and build a business with a reputation that opens doors, the insights from this session are worth acting on immediately.

Session overview: This session is for anyone thinking about starting their own business, or who has done it and wants to hear others talk honestly about the experience.

It will address what it truly takes to start and grow a successful business in the scaffolding sector. Starting a scaffolding business for many may feel the next logical step, but often it’s the least well-prepared-for. This session cuts through the theory and brings together founders and business leaders who have actually done it, to share what the journey really looks like. From apprentice to owner, from first contract to company culture, the panel covers the financial, legal and operational realities of building a scaffolding business - including the milestones to aim for, the warning signs to watch and the mistakes that nearly derailed them. This will be a frank, practical and at times candid conversation about what really counts.

Why this session matters: Most people who start a scaffolding business learn the hard way - because nobody told them what was coming. This session changes that. Whether you are thinking about making the leap, a year into the journey, or looking to scale what you have already built, the founders on this panel have lived the reality and are willing to share it honestly. The lessons here - on finance, resilience, culture and growth - could save you years of costly trial and error.

Session overview:  The scaffolding sector is facing a workforce challenge that will not resolve itself. An ageing workforce, a shortage of new entrants and persistent difficulties retaining skilled people are converging at exactly the moment when demand for scaffolding is growing. This session brings together employers, workforce and training specialists, industry bodies and government representatives to address the crisis directly - and practically - and what it will take to change that. Covering everything from apprenticeships and youth engagement to adult recruitment, career changers, ex-offenders and veterans, the panel makes the case that solving the talent crisis requires a genuine blend of youth and experience, and the cultural and structural changes to support both.

Why this session matters:  The scaffolding sector cannot afford to keep recruiting from the same shrinking pool. The organisations represented on this panel have already started doing things differently — and the results speak for themselves. Whether you are struggling to find new entrants, losing experienced workers faster than you can replace them, or simply not sure where to start, this session gives you concrete strategies to act on. The talent is out there. This session shows you where to look and how to build a workplace worth joining.