Wales has ambition. It has always been like that. It is what makes it a wonderful place to live and work. The Welsh are resourceful, creative and often, for such a small nation, we punch above our weight. This is one of the themes in the Welsh Government’s twin papers published recently that set out its vision for the next five years. Taking Wales Forward and Prosperity for All: the national strategy outlines the crucial five years ahead of us all, key priorities facing Wales such as an ageing population, climate change, healthy living and improvement in the economy and public services.

The document is positive and full of ambition – which is to be applauded. It makes specific reference to infrastructure development and hints at projects and ideas that can only be delivered by one sector of our economy: construction.

It's great timing that CEW is embarking on a series of meetings around the country: our Construction Strategy for Wales Workshops. We held the first meeting of the Construction Strategy for Wales Task Group earlier in September and we will run another two one in Swansea on 3rd October and another in Llandudno on 5th October. The aim is to be constructive, not critical. Welsh Government has a tough balancing act – so there is a real need for industry to step up and help. What we hope to do is take heed of one line in Taking Wales Forward: “The challenges that we face as a nation are complicated and inter-related and require us all to play our part.”