CIBSE has officially unveiled its newly redeveloped headquarters in the UK and announced a £1.2 million [approx. USD 1.6 million] donation from The Manly Trust to support a new Skills Hub. The facility has been named The Manly Trust Skills Hub.
The donation is the largest single contribution CIBSE has received in its 129-year history as a registered charity. It will support the development of a space focused on skills development, learning and professional development for building services engineers.
The Manly Trust Skills Hub is intended to support education for current and future professionals, with a focus on AI, digital tools and rapidly evolving technologies across the built environment. CIBSE said the hub will help expand its educational offering and provide hands-on learning opportunities linked to modern engineering practice.
The redeveloped headquarters includes a modern conference space for lectures, conferences and industry events, as well as dedicated training facilities. It also offers flexible workspaces where CIBSE members can work, meet and connect with peers across the industry.
David Manly, Trustee of The Manly Trust, said: “The Manly Trust was set up over 30 years ago to assist in the development and education of engineers across different sectors of engineering, but particularly in building services, and any project courses, programmes within those areas we’ve looked to support. When we heard about the CIBSE Skills Hub it just seemed that the vision for it and vision for the Manly Trust were aligned – there was a natural synergy”.
CIBSE CEO Ruth Carter said: “We are deeply grateful to The Manly Trust for this extraordinary donation. Their support is truly transformational and enables us to accelerate our plans to create a world-class facility for learning and development. The Manly Trust Skills Hub will play a vital role in preparing engineers for the challenges and opportunities ahead, ensuring they have the skills needed to deliver safe, sustainable and high-performing buildings.”