ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV

Hugh Try's stiff upper lip gives way to a wry smile when asked about those posters. The veteran chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board is the man who gave the thumbs up to the controversial advertising campaign that uses references to sex and booze to persuade school-leavers to join the industry. The series of posters, now pasted onto hundreds of billboards around England, includes one of a beefy brickie "laying" in Ibiza and another of a tradesman getting a "whole pub plastered."

The campaign is the most striking initiative to come out of the CITB, the organisation charged with improving the quality of training in the industry. Under Try's six-year chairmanship, it has transformed itself from an ineffective and much-derided body into a dynamic and respected one. "A few years ago there were all sorts of questions about the CITB," he says. "But now it is seen as a force for good." Try, who steps down early next year, views this as his "major achievement."

The industry agrees. "He has been a very good ambassador," says Ian Davies, director general of the Federation of Master Builders. "Together with Peter Lobban [CITB chief executive] he has really improved communication."

Try is not exactly the kind of person you'd expect to find behind a racy poster campaign. Colleagues agree that a big part of the 64-year-old's charm is his gentlemanly manner. He is extremely polite and his measured comments are delivered in the 1950's voice of a BBC presenter. Try is tall and thin and and neatly turned out in a well-pressed suit; even his sandy hair appears to have been ironed into position.

Try himself ventures to describe the posters as "witty". More revealing is the story that, at a recent board meeting, the question was asked whether anyone would want their son to follow the example of the ads and head off to Ibiza. Grave head-shaking followed. But the strategy looks sensible enough, especially bearing in mind the adverts will soon feature in lad mags like FHM and Loaded.

Next on the agenda is National Construction Week, which begins on 15 October and which the CITB will co-ordinate. Try actually describes the prospect of wading into a programme of 300 events across the UK as "super". Neither the mention of taking on the 25,000 schoolchildren who will be participating in this year's activities, nor the photocalls alongside jobbing actors dressed as Bob the Builder can make him flinch.

His tour of duty kicks off with the opening of the £4m ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Craft College in Stratford, east London. "Then I'll be trying to dip in wherever I can," says Try nonchalantly. The record-breaking number of events lined up for this year's construction week is again testimony to the CITB's strong profile.

The board's current target, and the focus for construction week, is the 14-to-19-year-old age group. "We are trying to bring construction to young people, moving away from the perception that anyone who can't get a job can just go and work on a building site."

The adverts and construction week are the spearheads of the CITB's wider drive to solve the industry's ongoing skills shortage. Try has set himself the tough target of attracting 70,000 new recruits over each of the next four years. He is also under pressure from government, with ministers demanding that he delivers. "We have every expectation of meeting our targets, but it won't be easy" he says.

We have every expectation of meeting our targets, but it won’t be easy

One thing lifting his spirits is the current boost in public spending. "We could have an unprecedented seven or eight years with a stable workload. That, more than anything, influences our recruitment messages."

The other challenge is the push toward a fully safety-trained workforce for 2004. "It's a hell of a target, and it isn't happening as fast as we hoped." But Try says that meeting the target will be possible thanks to a "two-pronged approach." At the bottom end of the industry he says that the quality mark scheme, "despite its slow start", will drive safety awareness.

For big firms, he points to the construction skills certification scheme, which asks workers to carry safety passports on site. He brushes aside union concerns that workers are reluctant to volunteer for the testing. "Twenty-two thousand have taken the test so far," he says flatly. And for the rest? "A gentle element of compulsion is needed. We are saying we'll help you, but at the end of the day you have to do the test if you want to work." Securing the commitment of the Major Contractors Group and the Construction Clients Confederation has been a big boost.

In part, at least, their positive response is due to the dedication to construction that Try represents. He was ushered into his family firm, the Try Group, in his late teens and he has been there ever since. Before last year's merger with Galliford, when the two formed Galliford Try, he had been chairman 15 years. During this time he oversaw the work of which he is now most proud: the rebuilding of the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon.

Besides these deep roots in the business, Try has also had as many chairmanships as Pete Sampras has had singles titles. He currently holds the office at the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Centre Trust and the Foundation for the Built Environment alongside his role at the CITB. It is perhaps no surprise that he was awarded a CBE in 1997 for services to construction.