SPARE a thought for the venue announcer.

It can’t be easy shoehorning in Esh Group Eagles Newcastle when hailing the side’s successes on the basketball court.

A shining light in North-East sport, the Eagles have been the premier team in the British league for the last ten years, with their heroics offering plenty of opportunities for the person on the microphone to master their long moniker.

Relief then, that Esh Group’s chief executive is a little more succinct.

Brian Manning is unflinching in his honesty.

It’s a sincerity that comes from a desire to make the organisation, and thus the wider construction and building sector, the best it can be.

But Mr Manning isn’t just all talk and no action.

Esh, based in Bowburn, near Durham City, like the Eagles, is a real success story.

Last week, the company, which employs more than 1,200 staff across its varied operations, revealed turnover was 43 per cent higher to £277m for the year to December 2014, with pre-tax profits up from £3.2m to £9.5m.

Ask Mr Manning for reasons why and the answer is simple: versatility.

The Esh Group has a number of divisions, which link its services across the public and private sectors with aplomb.

From civil engineering, design and build, fencing and landscaping, and social and private housing, the business covers all the angles.

Its building arm includes the Border Construction business, focused on Cumbria, the North-West and Scotland, and Esh Property Services, which looks after social housing and regeneration.

Bartram Walker specialises in mechanical and plumbing installation and Remedios on brownfield remediation, with Dunelm Homes and Esh Acorn Homes part of its development business.

Such diversity was critical through the economic downturn, and remains equally significant now the construction industry and associated areas are beginning to pick up.

However, for all the hopes of a sustained recovery, Mr Manning is quick to point to worrying examples in the sector, such as Southdale, which collapsed earlier this year, leaving developments in limbo, contractors uncertain, and 30 people without jobs in County Durham.

Reflecting upon Esh’s progress, Mr Manning points to its flexibility, while saying that although things are becoming better; swiping a broad brush stroke over the industry’s recovery is unwise.

He said: “We have always been a strong business, even through the recession, and have shown a big improvement from 2013.

“We’ve had a good year, and market conditions have improved, with housing coming back.

“We have got a good geographical spread and strengthened our position in Yorkshire.

“Border gives us access to the North-West and Cumbria, but we have also opened an office in Livingston, Scotland.

“That means we can do more in Glasgow and Edinburgh, the areas where they are more chimney pots.

“But our spread is not just geographical, it comes from social housing, to fencing and landscaping and plumbing too.”

A key facet in the ongoing success of Esh, which was founded in Esh Winning, is its commitment to younger workers.

The firm is nurturing the next generation of staff, and will soon build a training academy to develop its future workforce.

The site, expected to be open by the middle of next year, will cater for apprentices, with Esh already having taken on about 120 in the last two years, and planning to have at least 150 by 2016.

It also runs the Building My Skills programme to open pupils’ eyes to the world of work and begin preparing them for employment.

For Mr Manning, the message again is a simple one.

But it’s a plea that’s full of meaning and passion, and one that calls on the construction and civil engineering sectors to raise their profiles and become a viable area for youngsters to make a career out of.

He said: “We took on 60 apprentices last year and will do the same again this year.

“We are investing in young people going forward.

“It is difficult out there; we have got to do more to get people in and show it is a good industry to be in.

“We had the recession and people have retired too, so the long-term answer is to get youngsters in.

“The industry needs to be sexier if you like; it must have more appeal to it.

“Children were previously signposted towards further education, which, at the time, was probably the right thing.

“But now the situation has changed, we need to do more with schools to get the message out.

“I’m not putting down further education, but if there is an opportunity for more jobs with education alongside, I think that’s better.

“That’s why we are building the new training academy.

“Our industry has always had the problem of being in either feast or famine mode.

“I have been involved in it for 40 years and it’s always been like that.

“When times are good they can be very good indeed, and it’s a great industry to be part of, but we have our tough times as well.

“We must ensure we attract the right people with the skills; without that, the recovery could be held back.

“The industry has to get its act together so we have enough skilled people to take advantage of opportunities when they come along.”

So then, more workers for its many divisions.

But is the firm contemplating moves for rivals, as it did with Border Construction last year?

Again the answer is simple.

Esh is a North-East company, and it will concentrate on itself, and its local area, doing what it does best.

Mr Manning added: “We are concentrating on the North-East, which is the heartland, as well as Yorkshire, Carlisle and Scotland.

“We could go further towards the North-West; maybe that is an opportunity for us.

“But we think we can do as much of what we do under our own steam.”

As announcements go, the Eagles’ mic man could more than manage that one.