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James Wates
Commissioner at the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, Deputy Chairman of Wates Group
James Wates has worked in the construction industry all his life, starting on site as a schoolboy during holidays.
He read Estate Management at college after which he joined Wates Construction as a management trainee, progressing through line management and running sites before taking on a General Manager role in 1989. Since then he has progressed through the company to Deputy Chairman of the main Group Board.
Outside the Group he is involved with several industry bodies.
He is Chairman of ConstructionSkills, Chairman of the UK Contractors Group, a Vice Chairman of the CBI Construction Council, Senior Vice President of the British Council for Offices, Past President of the Chartered Institute of Building and a Commissioner for the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
In addition, he is a Trustee of the BRE (Building Research Establishment) Trust, a Governor of Emanuel School, Vice Chairman of Queen Elizabeth’s Foundation for Disabled People and he also sits on the London Regional Council of The Prince’s Trust.
Finally, he is a patron of the Wates Family Enterprise Trust. James was awarded a CBE in the 2012 New Years honours list for his services to construction and the Charitable sector.