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Now he has to prove that taking the confederation's message to the outside world gives him better credentials for the post than the in-depth industry knowledge he lacks, or the lobbying experience and fresh approach an outside candidate might have brought. That, at least, is how Ratcliffe sees his qualifications and his job description. "There's a lot of continuity with the old job. Unless I spend 90% of my time on raising the external profile, I'll be very disappointed."

The 46-year-old former civil servant certainly seems to have the right sort of affable personality to win friends and influence people. In-depth experience of Yes, Minister and its lessons in the art of flattering ministers while shepherding them in the right direction means he can skilfully cover up the gaps in his interviewers' knowledge as well as his own, or switch register from tub-thumping rhetoric to light-hearted banter.

Yet being chief executive is about more than presenting the acceptable face of contracting. As Ratcliffe acknowledges, "there's a big agenda. I've got a clear idea of the priorities, and I'll be judged on whether I can deliver them". The eight trade federations under the confederation umbrella, which in turn represent 5000 companies, will expect results on the construction industry tax scheme, VAT, health and safety, and the endemic image and recruitment crisis.

Environment is high on Ratcliffe's priority list. "It's not just Twyford Down, but the site next door that's producing noise and dirt." He divides the battle into two fronts: hand-holding smaller contractors into making small changes in their working practices that will have a cumulative effect, and setting the larger contractors tough benchmarking targets on sustainability.

I’ve got a clear idea of the priorities, and I’ll be judged on whether I can deliver them

For the smaller firms, he talks of how the Considerate Constructors scheme has built up a network of more than 750 on-site advocates. "If we can get guidance together on practical issues like not pouring diesel down drains, we can email it to them instantly." He also offers the heart-warming tale of how a small London contractor with a joinery shop realised that waste sawdust could be donated to the pet-shop down the road.

The confederation will be playing catch-up in the e-commerce stakes, with a six-month research project to analyse the opportunities and threats of consumer sites such as improveline.com, and materials trading portals. But, unpromisingly, the confederation seems to have a problem with its own website: the "what's new" section is woefully out of date. "I shall go and hit someone round the head," he threatens.

If some plans are well thought out, others appear to take shape as he speaks. For instance, he hopes to throw the full weight of the confederation's resources behind the Construction Industry Training Board in its campaign to influence school-leavers and the school curriculum. Initially, he talks along conventional lines of expanding a programme of school visits. But then he slips into lateral thinking, with talk of a more efficient focus on careers advisers, and a website for the older brothers and sisters of Bob the Builder fans.

But in his attitude to post-18 education, Ratcliffe seems to be swimming against the unstoppable tide of current policy. "People are pushed towards university in a way that didn't happen when I was at school. It seems very popular these days, but is it the right thing?" Given the continuing expansion of higher education, the right question is surely how the confederation can work in a system where the one-time site-trained managers now enter the workforce four years later and with a degree.

We get subs on issues like CIS and VAT, not subtleties of internal relationships

Ratcliffe's own background – joining the civil service after A levels – has clearly informed his thinking. His career in the junior and middle management ranks took in insurance at the Department of Trade and Industry, a trade role at the British embassy in Vienna, and speech writing for Michael Heseltine. He has the advantage of understanding the mechanics of Whitehall, such as the need to pinpoint and offer help to individual civil servants writing speeches for ministers.

"I can still pick up the phone to friends and ask who I should speak to. It makes life easier when you're not cold-calling." But in other respects, he has abandoned loyalty to Whitehall and its masters. Take this comment, for example: "It's sad that the DETR has spent 18 months coming up with a grand scheme to outlaw cowboy builders that won't work unless the Treasury creates a level playing field on VAT. It's 18 months of work down the drain – joined-up government at its best."

Ratcliffe is at pains to mention smaller contractors, the 3000-strong constituency that has often felt sidelined by the majors. Tensions have led to reports of dissatisfaction at the National Federation of Builders, and a review of the services provided by the confederation, which Ratcliffe will now implement. But he does not see nursemaiding his eight charges as a priority. "We get subscriptions on issues like CIS and VAT, not the subtleties of internal relationships".

Observers are split on the issue. "He can't influence anyone if his own troops aren't marching in line," says one insider. "The confederation is already unrepresentative of the industry, and it risks becoming more so." But Alan Crane, chairman of the Movement for Innovation, puts the opposite side of the argument. "Concentrating on the big external issues is the best way of keeping it together. The trade federations don't want a bureaucrat who is looking into their internal affairs."