The Civil Engineering Contractors Association is the latest member of the West Midlands Business Council.

The council now has 25 member organisations which, collectively, represent approximately 200,000 businesses across the region.

CECA has signed up at a critical time for the organisation.

Its most recent trends survey released last month showed workload and orders in the industry at their lowest ebb since the snapshot’s inception in 1993.

More than 50 per cent of firms revealed falling workloads in quarter four of 2008 compared with the same period 12 months earlier.

The picture was no better when looking at work-in-hand, with 59 per cent reporting reduced order books – both figures representing record lows.

And that is resulting in major job cuts.

The balance between the number of firms taking on employees and those laying them off was -41 per cent for skilled workers, -51 per cent for unskilled and -18 per cent for staff.

WMBC executive director James Watkins said: “We very much welcome the CECA as members.

“More representative organisations mean our voice is louder and our lobbying impact grows ever stronger.

“These are harsh times for industry generally and the engineering sector has been hit hard.

“We have been pressing the Government to help with, for example, the introduction of temporary job subsidies and we hope they are listening.

“These are the sorts of initiatives which could also benefit engineering – certainly it can ill-afford losing skilled people who will be needed when the economy picks up again.”

Brian Frost, director of Bridgnorth-based CECA (Midlands), said: “We have been impressed by the impetus that has developed behind West Midlands Business Council and we are confident that by being part of it we can greatly benefit.

“I am sure it can only help our own lobbying efforts as the industry strives to overcome this very deep recession.”
CECA (Midlands) represents civil engineering contractors across Derbyshire, Herefordshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Rutland, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Midlands, Worcestershire and the Peterborough area of Cambridgeshire.