Speaking at the Oxo Tower in London, Curtis urged members and the wider industry to focus on areas where they could directly influence compliance with the Building Safety Act. “When faced with something truly seismic, truly transformational, you have to break it down into manageable pieces,” he said. “For someone working in our industry, that means looking at what parts of a project or process they can influence.”

Curtis, who serves as group services manager at Briggs & Forrester, was elected to lead BESA for the 2025/26 term. He used his inaugural address to launch the Association’s new Member Pledge, which commits signatories to embed competence into all aspects of their operations, as well as encourage supply chain partners to do the same.

“It’s easy to call on government to act,” he said. “But we have a measure of control and influence over the people we employ, directly and indirectly, and a responsibility to use that influence to bring about change for the better.”

Curtis challenged companies to assess their readiness: “Are we compliant? Is everyone who works for us competent to do the specific job for which we have appointed them? And can we prove it? Have we rooted out behaviour that can lead to unsafe buildings?”

He also highlighted the role of digital processes in improving planning applications and called for greater investment in training to address persistent skills shortages.

With over 35 years at Briggs & Forrester, Curtis brings deep experience in contract management and people development. A graduate of the University of Northampton and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), he has long championed the next generation of engineers.

He warned that an ageing workforce and declining training provision pose a serious threat to sector growth. “Many centres have stopped delivering building services courses due to historic low demand, and many suffer from a critical shortage of trainers and assessors,” he said.

Curtis pledged to expand BESA’s ‘Skills Legacy’ programme, which encourages experienced engineers to support apprenticeship delivery. “Engineers often undervalue their own knowledge, but it has huge untapped value for colleges and students,” he said. “Sharing that expertise is a powerful way to give back, and a fitting cause for my presidential year.”