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It seems it鈥檚 impossible to wipe the grin from Steve Hindley鈥檚 face. Having his photo taken, he refuses to countenance the idea that he could be snapped with anything other than a broad smile. 鈥淭he person that sold Midas [Len Lewis] to me told me to always smile,鈥� he says, looking cheerful, 鈥減articularly on camera. But I think sometimes when I turn it on I frighten people with it!鈥�

A look at the newspapers will tell you there鈥檚 not much to be happy about at the moment. The economy is back in recession, because of a collapse in construction output in the first half of the year, and the government鈥檚 efforts to spawn growth seem to be struggling. But Hindley, chair of regional contractor Midas, remains optimistic, despite the relentless diet of bad news, capped most recently by ONS figures showing output down 7.4% in the three months to May on the year before. He thinks he鈥檚 got a plan to get the economy out of this dire situation, and, in the form of the CBI, an organisation with the ear of government in order to get the changes made. So what鈥檚 his prescription?

It starts with an acceptance of how bad things have got. Mark Farrar, Construction Skills chief executive, predicted this month that more than 45,000 jobs in construction will be lost this year, and output is already down 5.3% from the first four months of the year. With Midas based in the West Country, it鈥檚 a reality not lost on Hindley, though, as we see later, he seems to be steering his firm safely through the worst of it. 鈥淭his is my fourth recession - though clearly the worst by far. It鈥檚 extremely tough,鈥� he says.

It tends to be in the public sector that the people doing the procurement are judged on their ability to procure - not on the outcome of the job

The CBI though, for whom Hindley chairs the Construction Council, has stood behind the coalition鈥檚 austerity measures, despite the cuts to construction programmes to get the UK budget deficit under control. This leaves the body without much wriggle-room in terms of its message to government for how to get the sector moving. Nevertheless, I meet Hindley at a jobs summit in central London where he鈥檚 launched a roadmap to boost jobs without - quite - asking for a Plan B from chancellor George Osborne.

The plan does, however, involve the CBI for the first time acknowledging that the government鈥檚 focus on bringing private investment into infrastructure is not going to be enough on its own. The government, it says, needs to bring forward money from later in the parliament to spend on repair and maintenance work, the part of the industry where it is quickest and easiest to turn on the spending tap.

It鈥檚 also the part of the sector which is most employment intensive, generating twice as many jobs as infrastructure work for every pound spent. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not asking for extra money - it鈥檚 bringing stuff forward that is in the pipeline already. The Homes and Communities Agency has made its agreement with housing associations for the next year - let鈥檚 find a way of accelerating it. There are [councils] that are sitting on funds that could be brought forward in to individual projects.鈥�

While he won鈥檛 say exactly how much spending should be brought forward, it鈥檚 not the only thing he鈥檚 asking for. The public sector should be using this spending to encourage training, and make sure that the industry isn鈥檛 left with a skills gap when the economy turns around. Contractors should be told that their bids for public sector work will be judged on their commitment to creating opportunities for employment and training young people, particularly apprenticeships. He supports the government鈥檚 procurement reforms but says further reform is needed to stop large national-level frameworks from cutting out the SMEs.

鈥淭here is a need with frameworks, and I think governments understand it, to make sure there are some bandings so that it gives some of the smaller companies opportunities,鈥� he says.

Our ambition is growing at the rate that our customers want to give us the work

Hindley also believes people responsible for procuring a project should be responsible for seeing its outcome. 鈥淚t tends to be in the public sector that the people doing the procurement are judged on their ability to procure - not on the outcome of the job,鈥� he says.

Another of his frustrations is the failure so far to find a way to inject private funding into infrastructure projects. Chancellor George Osborne finally addressed this issue with a new strategy announced this week, and while it has been a long time coming, Hindley nevertheless resists the temptation to be too critical.

His instinct is clearly to gain influence by being seen as helpful to government, rather than barracking from the sidelines. He says: 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to be critical but we鈥檙e essentially looking for new solutions to the same old problems and whatever comes next will have to be different.鈥�

鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of a time when I have not been frustrated with the speed at which governments react. But things are changing, things are moving.鈥�

There鈥檚 another reason for Hindley鈥檚 cheer. Midas, which has over 400 staff and is set to report turnover of 拢200m this year from its Bristol base, is on the up. A long-time Mowlem employee who started his career building Spaghetti Junction in 1971, Hindley jokes he arranged to buy Midas from founder Len Lewis in 1998 because 鈥渕yself and a colleague decided that they didn鈥檛 pay us enough of a bonus each year for the results we gave.鈥� It鈥檚 now 10 times the size and growing.

鈥淎m I happy being in the mid-size? Yes I am. Our ambition is growing at the rate that our customers want to give us the work,鈥� he says. But? 鈥淚 suspect that long after I鈥檝e gone, Midas will be an international contractor and the next generation in that business will take it on to greater things.鈥�

It is ambitious. And maybe a bit optimistic? 鈥淵es I鈥檓 an optimist,鈥� he says, chuckling. 鈥淚鈥檓 a contractor, you have to be.鈥� For the sake of the industry, let鈥檚 hope his optimism about Midas and the sector is justified.