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CIBSE has announced a landmark donation of £1.2 million from The Manly Trust to support the development of its new Skills Hub at its headquarters in central London, UK, now officially named The Manly Trust Skills Hub.
This is the largest single donation CIBSE has received in its 129-year history as a registered charity and represents a major investment in the future of the building services engineering profession.
The Manly Trust’s contribution will play a central role in shaping a space designed not only for today’s professionals, but for future generations of engineers. The Manly Trust Trustees have expressed a strong interest in ensuring the Hub delivers long-term impact, particularly in equipping emerging professionals with the skills needed to work with AI, digital tools and rapidly evolving technologies across the built environment.
The announcement follows the official opening of CIBSE’s newly redeveloped headquarters recently, a milestone moment for the Institution and the wider industry. The building has been reimagined as a dynamic centre for learning, collaboration and professional development, offering a range of modern, purpose-built spaces designed to support the needs of a changing profession.
The space features a modern conference space for lectures, conferences and industry events, providing a platform for high-level knowledge sharing. Dedicated training facilities support professional development, helping engineers build skills for a low-carbon, digital future. Flexible, collaborative workspaces where CIBSE members can drop in, work, meet and make it their office in London, while connecting, learning and engaging with peers across the industry. Together, these spaces create a vibrant hub for CIBSE members and the wider built environment community to connect and advance the profession globally.
The Manly Trust Skills Hub sits at the centre of this vision, acting as a focal point for skills development and innovation. It will enable CIBSE to expand its educational offering and provide hands-on learning opportunities that reflect the realities of modern engineering practice.
David Manly, Trustee of The Manly Trust, said: “The Manly Trust was set up over 30 years ago to assist in the development and education of engineers across different sectors of engineering, but particularly in building services, and any project courses, programmes within those areas we’ve looked to support. When we heard about the CIBSE Skills Hub it just seemed that the vision for it and vision for the Manly Trust were aligned – there was a natural synergy”.
CIBSE CEO Ruth Carter said: “We are deeply grateful to The Manly Trust for this extraordinary donation. Their support is truly transformational and enables us to accelerate our plans to create a world-class facility for learning and development. The Manly Trust Skills Hub will play a vital role in preparing engineers for the challenges and opportunities ahead, ensuring they have the skills needed to deliver safe, sustainable and high-performing buildings.”
The donation forms a cornerstone of CIBSE’s Building for the Future fundraising campaign, which aims to secure investment in facilities, education and resources that will benefit generations of engineers to come.
