Construction Disrupted Episode 90 - Invest in the Future of Construction (05.11.25)

In this episode, we dive into three major developments shaping the future of the UK’s economy and industries. From addressing the £400 billion AI skills gap to rebuilding Britain’s infrastructure and analysing industrial advertising trends, we explore how these initiatives are driving growth, innovation, and sustainability. Join us as we uncover the challenges, opportunities, and transformative strategies that are setting the stage for the UK’s future.

Help for UK businesses to fill £400bn AI skills gap

• A new report by Skills England highlights a significant AI skills gap in the UK workforce, which could hinder businesses from unlocking up to £400 billion in economic growth by 2030.
• Three innovative tools have been launched to address this gap:

1. AI Skills Framework: Identifies technical, responsible, and non-technical skills required for various job roles.
2. AI Skills Adoption Pathway Model: Guides organisations through stages of AI adoption, from awareness to scaling.
3. Employer AI Adoption Checklist: Helps businesses assess their AI readiness and identify workforce gaps.

Rebuilding Britain

• The UK Government’s ambitious 10-Year Infrastructure Strategy aims to deliver resilient, decarbonised, and digitally enabled infrastructure to drive economic growth and sustainability.
• Key recommendations include:

1. Accelerating Project Delivery: Appointing a dedicated infrastructure minister, streamlining planning processes, and incentivising high-quality design.
2. AI-First Infrastructure Delivery: Leveraging AI for cost optimisation, faster project delivery, and real-time asset management.
3. Unlocking Private Investment: Reimagining public-private partnerships and enhancing government capabilities to attract private sector investment.

WARC Expenditure Review

• The AA/WARC Expenditure Report reveals that industrial advertising was the only category to register growth in display spend in Q2 2025, up 1.8%.
• Total UK adspend rose by 9.1% in Q2 2025, driven by online formats like search and online display, which accounted for 83.3% of overall adspend.
• VOD (Video on Demand) emerged as the fastest-growing medium, combining TV’s effectiveness with digital’s targeted delivery and measurable outcomes.

Bios

Ryan Jones - SLG Agency

For almost 20 years, Ryan’s focus has been on helping brands in the construction and manufacturing sectors tell their story.

His career began in PR, working for global businesses across a variety of sectors, before opting to focus on construction and the built environment.

In his role as Managing Director, Ryan works to ensure that SLG Agency continues to be one of the construction industry's leading specialist strategic and creative agencies, having seen its work recognised by the likes of Campaign, Marketing Week and The Drum in recent years.

Ryan is regularly asked to speak at trade shows and events, and to contribute thought leadership pieces to trade media. He is also a member of several industry advisory boards, including Constructing Excellence and the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce.

His passion for the construction sector has seen him work with clients on CSR campaigns that tackle the sector’s public perception, culminating in him recently launching a not-for-profit called Deconstruction.

Peter Sumpton - buildDifferent

Peter is a construction–marketing strategist and co-host of Construction Disrupted. With two decades’ experience spanning manufacturers, contractors and agencies, he helps organisations swap scattergun activity for clear strategy, joined-up planning and measurable outcomes.

His approach is practical and plain-spoken: cut the noise, focus on what moves the numbers, and build repeatable systems that teams can actually use.

Having seen first-hand how unfocused tactics waste time and budget, Peter works with leaders to align commercial goals, customer insight and content so marketing supports delivery rather than distracting from it.

Peter's passion lies in diagnosing organisations' marketing functions' capabilities and existing market, assembling what’s required to create a functional strategy, fit for purpose and scalable.

Marketing should create value, not just cost, and Peter’s work is about making that the norm.