AI, Athletes and Apprentices: Solving the Skills Shortage | Chris Coward of BCS Consultancy Ep 49

Описание: How do you grow a specialist construction consultancy from four people to 170 without losing the culture, quality and client relationships that made it successful?

In this episode of Growing Consultancies, Paul Micallef is joined by Chris Coward, COO of BCS Consultancy, for a fascinating conversation about rapid consultancy growth, the booming data centre construction market and the people needed to deliver the next generation of digital infrastructure.

BCS has grown from a four-person business into an international construction consultancy with around 170 employees, specialising in data centres across the UK and Europe. Chris explains how the business has expanded while remaining people-focused, client-led and committed to delivering exceptional project management and cost management services.

They also explore one of construction’s greatest challenges: the shortage of experienced Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers and technical professionals. Chris shares how BCS is developing new talent through apprenticeships, graduate conversion programmes and an innovative scheme helping former professional athletes build careers in construction.

The conversation also looks at the growing role of AI in construction, how technology could make project teams more efficient and why the demand created by AI data centres may also help accelerate the industry’s adoption of artificial intelligence.

In this episode:

✅ Growing a construction consultancy from four to 170 people
✅ Data centre construction across the UK and Europe
✅ Quantity Surveying and Project Management careers
✅ Tackling the construction skills shortage
✅ Apprenticeships and developing future Chartered Surveyors
✅ Helping former professional athletes enter construction
✅ Using AI to improve construction productivity
✅ Building and retaining a people-first company culture
✅ Maintaining quality while scaling internationally
✅ The future of data centres, power and digital infrastructure

This episode is essential viewing for Quantity Surveyors, Project Managers, Building Surveyors, construction consultants, business owners and leaders growing specialist consultancies.

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