Pen pictures for the chair and members of the board of Construction Industry Training Board Northern Ireland (CITB NI) - August 2022.
Chair
Noel Brady
Noel Brady has held senior roles in the public and private sectors in Northern Ireland for over 45 years. He has acted as an adviser and mentor for senior people in a wide range of industries and is a specialist in public sector finance and tendering with almost 40 years in-depth experience.
Noel is owner and managing director of the consultancy business, Nb1 Ltd, Finance NED at the South Eastern Health and Social Services Trust and chairman of the Continu Group of companies. He has served as a Belfast Harbour Commissioner for 8 years.
He is a fellow with the IoD and an Honorary Fellow of the Sales Institute of Ireland and has been involved with several charities including Action Cancer, Marie Curie and the NI Hospice. Noel has a BA Degree in Business Studies, from Ulster University.
Board members
Dorothy McKee
Dorothy McKee is an educational representative board member who has worked in the field of leadership and management development for the last 22 years. She has experience in the design and delivery of accredited and non-accredited programmes up to senior executive level. Her company is an accredited ILM centre and in addition to running her own management consultancy business Dorothy was course director and a senior associate lecturer with Ulster University for 14 years. During this time, her areas of specialism were Governance and Business Ethics and Leadership of Transformation and Change.
While in academia Dorothy published papers and presented at international conferences on leadership and governance. From 2015 to 2021 Dorothy was the course director for the MSc. Executive Leadership at the Ulster University.
She has a BSc. Hons in Psychology, an MSc. Occupational Psychology and an MA in Change Management. As well as being a member of the CIPD, she is a qualified executive coach and mentor specialising in leadership coaching.
Prior to her career in consultancy Dorothy was a senior officer in local government where she advised on policy, strategy development and organisational transformation. Dorothy is currently the chair of the Academic Review Panel for Irish Times Training and holds no other public appointments.
Aiden Sloane
Aidan Sloane is an educational representative board member with over 20 years’ experience working across public and private sectors at Executive and Non-Executive Director level. He is a director at Belfast Metropolitan College and holds a first class BA (Hons) Degree from the University of Central Lancashire and a MSc in Executive Leadership from Ulster University.
Aidan has experience within Further and Higher Education, Apprenticeships and Skills Training at international, national and regional level. He leads the Corporate Services Directorate at the college to support the delivery of a broad curriculum, as well as the training and apprenticeship strategy, with key specialisms in strategic development, commercial and financial planning and digital transformation.
Aidan leads on the development and implementation of strategies to support an economically relevant and innovative curriculum across a broad range of industries, providing technical support and guidance to employers through the Department for the Economy programmes including further and higher education pathways, apprenticeships, traineeships and assured skills academies. He holds no other public appointments.
Geraldine Gordon
Geraldine Gordon is an employer representative board member with over 30 years’ experience in the construction industry. She is a chartered director and chartered surveyor and a fellow of Institute of Directors.
Since 2015, she has been engaged as a mentor for SMEs on Invest NI’s High Calibre Leadership Programme, an entrepreneur in residence for Catalysts Springboard Programme and was chair of the Institute of Directors NI Education and Skills Committee. In 2020 she was appointed a non-executive director of CFM Ltd, a leading NI facility management company. Geraldine is founder of a skills-based SaaS Product designed specifically for construction to support workforce optimisation and build skills or the future. She holds no other public appointments.
Julie McKeown
Julie McKeown is an employer representative board member and since leaving formal education, Julie has spent her working life in the construction industry and now has over 30 years’ experience. She is currently employed by the family business - Henry Brothers Ltd.
Julie sits on the Henry Group Board, holding the role of Group HR Director and oversees the Group IT and Training and Development departments. She plays a key role in the company’s overall strategic direction and strategy by providing direct leadership in ensuring the health, wellbeing, and continued development of all staff and plays a key role in driving the company’s corporate responsibility and social value strategies. A member of the IoD, Julie is currently undertaking the Timoney Advanced Leadership course.
Julie is also an independent member of the Mid Ulster Policing and Community Safety Partnership (remuneration of £60 per meeting plus travel expenses incurred).
Duane McCreadie
Duane McCreadie is an employer representative board member with over 17 years’ experience in constructing and delivering major construction infrastructure within the UK. He has been responsible for the delivery of £500m of construction projects within Education, Commercial & Leisure, Stadia, Residential and Health Care Buildings.
Duane has a BSc (hons) in Construction Management, as well as being a chartered professional with the Chartered Institute of Building (MCIOB). He is employed as a construction director in Northern Ireland, with a global construction group who operate in over 20 countries. He holds no other public appointments.
Jonathan Payne
Jonathan Payne is an employer representative board member with over 30 years’ experience in the Construction Industry and has spent 23 years as a Managing Director. His current role is the managing director of Mascott Construction (Europe) Ltd.
Jonathan is a qualified Quantity Surveyor with a diverse range of experience in the key functions of a construction and development, including strategic management, risk management, operational management, financial management, contract administration, business development and corporate governance. He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building (FCIOB) and is the vice-chair of the Northern Ireland CIOB hub. He holds no other public appointments.
Shauna Young
Shauna Young is an employer representative board member with 20 years’ experience working within the financial and construction industries as a Responsible Business Manager. She is part of the senior management team at McLaughlin & Harvey, one of the UK’s largest privately-owned building and civil engineering companies.
Shauna is a voluntary member of CEF People and Skills and BITC Corporate Responsibility Leaders, regularly contributing to Women in Construction forums and she chairs the Scape Framework Ethical Working Group. She has a BSc in Business, Finance & Investment, a BSc in Quantity Surveying and Construction Management and is a Chartered Construction Manager (CIOB).
Shauna uses her background in surveying, finance, and economics to design and deliver industry-leading people development programmes that create employment and learning opportunities for successful career pathways and is a STEM Ambassador. She holds no other public appointments.
Kevin Smyth
Kevin Smyth is an employee representative board member who has worked in the construction and off-site construction engineering sectors for over 35 years with a career path from trade to director level. He is currently employed by 3 Interiors Contracts limited and Timbermark Manufacture Limited as a Safety Health Environmental Manager with ISO system management responsibilities.
Kevin has served as chair of Proskills, former sector skills council and has worked for both Southern Regional College and Belfast Metropolitan College as a part-time lecturer. He is a graduate member of the Institute of Occupational Safety & Health and holds a PGdip in Occupational Health and work based learning from Queens University Belfast.
Over the last 20 years Kevin has been an approved training instructor for the CITB, National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health, Institute of Occupational Safety & Health and the construction industry CSCS scheme.
He holds no other public appointments.
Ciara King
Ciara King is an employee representative board member with 10 years’ experience in the construction industry. She is head of training and development at Errigal Group providing and delivering traineeships, apprenticeships, undergraduate degree programmes and certified training to the wider workforce.
Ciara is a STEM Ambassador and this year received the Princess Royal Training Award on behalf of The Errigal Group for Excellence in Training Standards across the UK. A graduate of Ulster University and NUI Galway, Ciara’s qualifications are in Leadership, Management & Communication. She also sits on the skills board for the Finishes and Interiors Sector in the UK.
Having developed a training academy at Errigal Group Ciara has overseen the delivery of 400 NVQ’s to operatives in the industry. As an advocate for women in construction, she is focused on advancing the opportunities within the construction industry for young females. Ciara has been heavily involved in the community and voluntary sector for the past 20 years and holds no other public appointments.
Lynsey Graham
Lynsey Graham is an employee representative board member with over 15 years’ HR experience gained in the private, public and voluntary sectors during which she has been involved in medium and large organisations with multi-jurisdictional reach. She has a Bachelor of Education in Business and Management and a Master of Science in Human Resource Management, as well as being a chartered member of the CIPD.
Since May 2019 Lynsey has been head of HR for Edgewater Contracts and Specialist Joinery where her role involves HR Strategy, Training and Development and Health and Wellbeing.
Lynsey has been working in the Construction industry for over 10 years, having previously held roles with H&J Martin and Lagan Specialist Contracting Group. She holds no other public appointments.
Noel McKee
Noel McKee is an employee representative board member with over 40 years’ experience within construction and is currently Business Development Manager for Mascott Construction (Europe) Ltd, with responsibility for development of the business and market expansion across the UK and Ireland.
He is currently a Trustee of the Chartered Institute of Building and has been an active member of the CIOB since 1997, previously holding positions including Chair of CIOB in Ireland, Members Forum Employers Representative for Europe and served on the CIOB Business Development Board.
He is a member of the Construction Employers Federation People and Skills Task Force, set up to determine priorities, implications and opportunities in addressing the skills shortage and promoting construction as a career of choice.
Noel is an active member and advocate for the Women in Construction Network and more recently involved with the Construct-Ability network for people of all abilities, raising awareness of the positive contribution of people with disabilities in the industry. He holds no other public appointments.
Gerard Graham
Gerard Graham is an employee representative board member who has worked with a range of construction companies in Northern Ireland. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Construction Engineering & Management from Ulster University, as well as a MSc in Computing and Information Systems.
Gerard commenced his career working for a leading manufacturer where he was based in The Netherlands conducting a market research project whilst developing new business opportunities for the company. He then moved into the construction industry where he has worked for contractors and property development companies in site engineering, compliance management and business development roles
He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building and served a two-year term as chair of the CIOB Belfast Hub committee (2018-19), he currently serves as a committee member and sits on the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) Procurement & Risk Taskforce Group, and judges the annual CEF Construction Excellence Awards. He holds no other public appointments.