We’re pleased to announce that Future Works has agreed to acquire SITEWORKS, the specialist training organisation working to raise professional standards across the furniture installation industry.
At Future Works, we work with manufacturers, industry bodies and wider networks to address shared challenges and help drive innovation across the furniture sector. SITEWORKS brings an important new dimension to that work, focused on the people responsible for delivering furniture installation on site.
The acquisition will provide SITEWORKS with additional investment, operational support and greater industry reach, helping it accelerate its work to establish recognised professional competence for furniture installation and strengthen the voice of the people working within the profession.
Investing in an essential part of our industry
Furniture technicians play a critical role in delivering successful workplace and fit-out projects. Yet, unlike many other trades working on construction sites, the profession has historically lacked the same level of role-specific recognition, defined competence pathways and industry-wide standards.
SITEWORKS is working to change that. Led by Strategic Director Beth Harrison, it is leading the development and implementation of the Specialist Furniture Technician competence framework and associated assessment and qualification pathways, working collaboratively with representatives from across the industry.
Bringing SITEWORKS into Future Works creates an opportunity to build on that progress, giving the organisation greater stability, resources and reach as it moves into its next stage.
“Future Works is a service led, non-competitive innovation venture, investing in sustainability, technology and internationalisation. We believe in SITEWORKS and recognise the value it will add to the industry and we wanted to provide a secure home and structure for this business in the future. Together we have a growing ambition to drive professionalism and improve standards for furniture technicians.” - Martin Stocks, Managing Director, Future Works
An industry-led approach
SITEWORKS will continue to be led by Beth Harrison, overseeing its strategic development and day-to-day delivery, alongside Lauren Christie, who will head up operations, and Clare Wilson, who will be responsible for competence and assessment. Importantly, its commitment to an industry-led, impartial and collaborative approach remains unchanged.
The independent industry Steering Group that has helped shape the Specialist Furniture Technician competence framework will remain separate from both SITEWORKS and Future Works. Its role will continue to bring together representatives from across the sector to provide industry insight, challenge and collective oversight.
The framework itself will continue to be shaped through industry collaboration rather than determined by any single organisation.
“I cannot think of a better partnership than with Future Works. A likeminded company that is industry led, impartial and collaborative. For SITEWORKS the acquisition provides more opportunity, enabling us to take our ambition beyond the initial competence framework for furniture technicians. To raise awareness for better working environments and take the work we have started further, faster and with greater impact.” - Beth Harrison, Strategic Director, SITEWORKS
A bigger ambition for furniture technicians
The ambition for SITEWORKS goes beyond training alone.There is a wider opportunity to help increase recognition of furniture installation as a skilled profession and give those working within it a stronger voice.
That includes supporting higher and more consistent standards across the industry, developing clearer professional pathways, and helping clients and the wider construction and fit-out sectors better understand the expertise and value that furniture installers bring to a project.
SITEWORKS also wants to contribute to the wider conversation about the conditions in which installation teams work – including the pressures experienced on site and their potential impact on mental wellbeing.
Over time, the ambition is to bring more of the industry together around shared standards, best practice and professional development, helping create a stronger and more recognised furniture installation profession.
With Future Works’ investment and support, SITEWORKS can now accelerate that ambition while retaining the collaborative, industry-led approach on which it was built.
For Future Works, that is exactly the kind of industry progress we exist to support: bringing people and businesses together, investing in ideas with the potential to create meaningful change, and helping build a stronger future for the furniture industry.
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