Like many who grew up in the 1980s, school for me was the building where I attended each weekday, was moved along corridors by prefects and herded by teachers into classrooms

For the first time since 2008 and the global recession, housing completions in Scotland have exceeded 20,000 per year.

Scotland has a gift for innovation. It’s in our DNA. From penicillin and ultrasound to refrigeration and Watt’s improvements to the steam engine – it is central to our story.

Like many children, I liked ­playing with Lego and creating my own buildings, but it wasn’t until I started watching Grand Designs on TV that I realised how much I was really interested in construction.

Hands up if you’ve heard about the urgent need for new homes?  Chances are most of the business community have seen a headline or three about the UK government’s ambition