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The construction business is growing at its fastest rate since 2004 and is the largest industry in Britain, employing more than two million people. The market is buoyant but there is a huge problem: there simply are not enough people with the right skills to maintain the growth of the industry. Last week Shropshire took two major steps in the right direction. Two new centres opened in the county, specifically to train people for a construction industry which is facing a crisis, with too few specialists - from architects to carpenters - to plug the jobs gap. Wrekin Construction opened its new, purpose-designed and -built training centre at the company's headquarters in Shifnal, offering trainees a wider range of career options. And Telford Construction Centre also opened its doors on Friday, giving youngsters the opportunity to train both in the classroom and in an on-site environment.
As governor, she would commit $3 billion for road and bridge construction and $2 billion for school construction that would include the WIU campus. "This is an important project for the Quad-Cities and an important project for the state, and I am committed to fully funding it over four years," she said. "I want to get Illinois moving in the right direction, and, with a commitment to this campus, we can get the state moving in the right direction." Her capital improvement plan would be funded by bond sales done in conjunction with other steps to bring the state's debt down, including the sale of a 10th casino license for Chicago. Construction of the campus is expected to have a one-time economic impact on the area of $118 million and a direct economic impact of $10 million annually. "We are thankful that Ms.
What a mess. Two years of delays, cost-overruns, spats, legal actions, contractor bickering, profit warnings, accounting irregularities, bank bail-outs and plunging share prices. Still the Governments £6.2 billion NHS computer upgrade to connect 300 hospitals with 30,000 GPs by 2014 has no guarantee of success. .
Fraudulent contractors, unlicensed contractors and the bilking of homeowners are reaching epidemic proportions, prompting federal and state agencies to beef up regulatory and criminal enforcement against unscrupulous businesses, officials said Monday. The problems may have not hit their peak, with Road Home money still to be handed out, state and federal agencies said. The law and license enforcement agencies are coordinating efforts to fine or jail bad contractors. "The FBI and the U.S. attorney are fundamentally committed to ensure (the use of) recovery (money) is free of fraud, and we are cooperating to include contractors who engage in fraudulent activity," said James Bernazzani, FBI special agent in charge of Louisiana. Bernazzani said that the disbursement of Road Home loans -- federal money -- gives the FBI jurisdiction, and any contractor stealing or fraudulently taking the money will be high on the FBI's radar.
PBL has set the Leighton Group a tight deadline to complete its $1.7 billion City of Dreams casino/hotel project in Macau. Announced on Monday, the City of Dreams is set to become Leighton's largest single project in terms of turnover over the next few years, chief operating officer Bill Wild said yesterday. Mr Wild said Leighton had several larger projects on its books, including Melbourne's $2.5 billion EastLink, otherwise known as the Mitcham-to-Frankston freeway. But he said the Macau project had a much tighter deadline with the casino and most of the rest of the project - which includes four hotels, an apartment block and a theatre - due for completion in the second half of 2008. "It will be a challenge to deliver a massive project in a couple of years," Mr Wild said.
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