The building trade appears to be ’coming out of the doldrums’ claims a leading figure in the industry.

Gary Blackburn, 53, believes the island is ’hopefully back on the up again.’

Absolute Scaffolding managing director Mr Blackburn, spoke to Business News as he welcomed colleague Andrew Moore to the company’s board of directors.

Mr Moore, 56, is also a health and safety expert.

Speaking from the company’s base at Hills Meadow, Peel Road, Douglas, boss Mr Blackburn said: ’It certainly feels this last 12 months or so that we are finally coming out of the doldrums of the last few years where the building trade has been quiet.

’Certainly there seems to be these little green shoots appearing.

’We seem to be getting more inquiries, there are different bigger sized jobs about, housing developments and things that are going through planning at the moment.

’So my message is that hopefully the island is back on the up again.’

He agreed with a suggestion by Business News that a scaffolding firm such as theirs is very much at the forefront of the building industry.

But he added: ’Probably the first port of call is the architects. If they are quiet then the building trade will be quiet.

’So if the architects are busy, and it seems like they are, then it slowly but surely threads its way through to us guys.’

Colleague Mr Moore said the so-called ’summer rush’ has already started after recent good spring weather.

He said: ’As the weather improves it is busy and this is a good thing for the island.

’It means business confidence, whether domestic or commercial.

’If you’re building domestic properties or office blocks then someone has some idea that there is potential, so that’s positive.’

Mr Moore agreed with Mr Blackburn about the outlook and said things were looking more encouraging generally.

He said: ’For instance if you look at all the apparent uncertainty over Brexit then in fact we in the island seem to be adopting a ’’well let’s just get on with it’’ type of stance.’

Managing director Mr Blackburn said: ’Everybody seems to be cracking on.

’The government are making a conscious effort to try and attract people over here which is good because people will need places to live and ultimately it comes down to the whole economy.’

Mr Moore added that it appeared the government were working hard to encourage more tourism and there was no substitute for people coming over here on holiday and thinking: ’’We could live here.’’

’It leads to other things, the more people you have got visiting then this can be the first step in the chain of them considering coming here to live with their family.

’So in my opinion tourism is critical.’

Absolute Scaffolding have jobs on all over the island.

Mr Blackburn said: ’It’s funny really, I could go anywhere on the island and look around and I can see buildings of all shapes and sizes, where I know we have had scaffolding.

’It’s pretty much anywhere.’

Mr Blackburn said health and safety standards in the island have ’risen enormously’ over the last 20 years.

He said: ’We have a very good relationship with the government’s health and safety at work inspectorate on the island.’

Mr Blackburn set the business up 22 years ago and it has grown over the years.

He and co-directors Martin Leivers and Kevin Rooney all have extensive knowledge of the building trade and scaffolding.

He said the business has grown from ’a few bits of scaffolding in my back garden to this.’

The business employs 35 full-time Manx workers - who have a combined experience of scaffolding totalling more than 175 years.

Andrew Moore said the big thing for the future is ’continuous improvement’ and warned: ’Nobody can rest on their laurels.

’You need to plan ahead for a new generation of scaffoldders and we are actively pursuing that all the time.

’There are young lads out there who are starting the first stages of a potential career in scaffolding and who are being taught by the older, more experienced guys.

’The teams are always learning and moving forward, which is what we all need to do.’

He said they are not looking for new people at present but ’the summer rush will probably mean at some point in the next few months we will be actively looking for more labour.’

On Andrew Moore’s addition to the board of directors, Mr Blackburn said: ’Andrew Moore has worked for Absolite Scaffolding for more than eight years.

’Since starting with us he has brought with him a wealth of experience and professionalism which he has used to help to develop and drive the business forward in keeping with our policy of continuous improvement.’

Mr Moore is an LRQA (Lloyds Register of Quality Assurance) registered auditor.

He is also NEBOSH (National Examining Board of Occupational Safety and Health) level three qualified in controlling workplace hazards, management of health and safety and health and safety practical application.

And he is qualified with IOSH (Institute of Occupational Health and Safety).

Along with the restof the management team he has undertaken many industry safety courses to keep abreast of developments and practises.

Managing director Mr Blackburn said: ’We are always striving to improve standards and raise the quality of scaffolding services to meet the high expectations of our clients and which they deserve from us.’

He also told Business News that the company has welcomed many apprentices over the years. Recently Business News hosted a Topical Talks roundtable in which business people said gaining a university degree was not the be all and end all of being a success in the business world.

Mr Blackburn, who himself does not have a degree, said scaffolding could be a great career. And scaffolders always have to work together as a great team because of the nature of the job.

He said: ’I call it a Marmite job - you will either love it or hate it.’

There was of course one major factor to being a good scaffolder - you have to have a great head for heights.

He admitted there had been some people in the past who had left because they were scared of heights.