{"id":874193,"date":"2025-09-19T21:12:34","date_gmt":"2025-09-20T02:12:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/platform-for-change-connollys-scaffolding-mission\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T21:12:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-20T02:12:34","slug":"platform-for-change-connollys-scaffolding-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/platform-for-change-connollys-scaffolding-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"Platform for change: Connolly\u2019s scaffolding mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Wayne Connolly\u2019s earliest memories are of a cramped terraced house in Didsbury, Manchester. The Connolly Scaffolding boss grew up in the 1980s in a large Irish family, with no hot water, an outside toilet and a bedroom carved out of a bathroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI came from a very poor home<\/span>,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe had a two up, two down terrace with an outside toilet. My mum and dad rented, and they had seven children in that house. We had no hot water. The bathroom was my bedroom.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Four decades on, and Connolly is enjoying a very different situation in his home city. As president of the National Access and Scaffolding Confederation (NASC), he has presided over the second \u2013 and bigger \u2013 annual ScaffEx exhibition at the Manchester Central Convention Complex.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From garages to gantries<\/b><\/h3>\n

Although construction ran through his family, Connolly initially avoided working in the trade. He trained as a car mechanic and, at 22, borrowed \u00a37,000 to open his first garage. By 30, he owned five across Manchester.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAll my family were in construction\u2026 I said, \u2018No, I\u2019m never going into construction. No chance,\u2019\u201d he recalls. But after selling the garages, Connolly found himself drawn to scaffolding. It was a decision that would shape the rest of his working life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now he leads a scaffolding event that has drawn suppliers, contractors and trade bodies from 26 countries.<\/span><\/p>\n

He says ScaffEx was born of frustration: \u201cScaffolding is often treated as the poor relation in construction. We wanted to put it on the map, and that\u2019s what ScaffEx is about.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The show gives suppliers a chance to demonstrate innovations, and employers the opportunity to view new products. \u201cYou don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know,\u201d Connolly says. \u201cPeople walk the floor and realise there are better ways of doing things that can change a business overnight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He says that despite the challenge and complexity of scaffolding work, the trade is rarely offered as an option in further education. Students aged 16 to 18 \u201ccan study plumbing, joinery or roofing at college, but scaffolding rarely features\u201d, he says, adding: \u201cThat must change if we want the next generation to see this as a profession.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The issue is not unique to the UK, and this month\u2019s ScaffEx saw the launch of the International Access and Scaffolding Association, a body uniting groups from the United States, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connolly was elected chair of the new body for its first two years. \u201cIn America and Australia, scaffolding has only just been recognised as a trade. Our job is to support them, stand shoulder to shoulder and help raise standards globally,\u201d he explains.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connolly is also chair of the CISRS scaffolder training scheme, owned by NASC, and is currently driving through reforms to what he describes as \u201crinse and repeat\u201d methods.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not moved with the times,\u201d he says. \u201cDigitalisation has passed us by, and we cannot go on like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The NASC has invested in blended training, combining practical instruction with online learning.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no reason scaffolding cannot embrace that,\u201d he says. \u201cIt gives learners more time on practical skills and allows those who struggle in a classroom setting to progress at their own pace.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

However, bringing all training centres along has not been a doddle. Connolly emphasises that the NASC board has listened to feedback, revised its language and made concessions where possible, but stresses that compromise must not result in delays to the reform of provision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe cannot have splinter groups. We must move forward together. Change is hard, but it is necessary,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n

Connolly also highlights the pressures threatening the next generation of scaffolders \u2013 not least from recent government tax changes. \u201cThe payroll tax changes have been a huge blow,\u201d he says. \u201cFor my own company, it costs \u00a3180,000 a year. That makes some businesses think twice about hiring apprentices. But without them, we will have no future workforce.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He argues that getting the shape of scaffolding training right is crucial. \u201cA scaffolder can earn \u00a350,000 a year and more. But we have to reach teenagers at the right age, and we need training centres in places they can get to on the bus. Many young people cannot afford cars or insurance. If the training is not accessible, we lose them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Looking forward<\/b><\/h3>\n

ScaffEx will return next year. For the boy who once slept in a Didsbury bathroom, leading an international exhibition on scaffolding in Manchester was a symbolic moment. \u201cIt has come full circle,\u201d Connolly reflects. \u201cThis is my home city, and to see scaffolding finally celebrated here makes me proud. But this is just the beginning. We must build on it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Colin Marrs<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wayne Connolly\u2019s earliest memories are of a cramped terraced house in Didsbury, Manchester. The Connolly Scaffolding boss grew up in the 1980s in a large Irish family, with no hot water, an outside toilet and a bedroom carved out of a bathroom. \u201cI came from a very poor home ,\u201d he recalls. \u201cWe had a<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":874194,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2509,23466],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-874193","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-change","8":"category-platform"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874193","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=874193"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/874193\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/874194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=874193"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=874193"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=874193"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}