Training Plans ceased on 31 March 2018. Employers have until the end of June to submit a final claim for any outstanding training that hasn’t already been claimed for Grant year 2017/18: https://www.citb.co.uk/grant/grants-for-training/
All short duration training from April 2018 will require employers to only claim courses that meet CITB’s short duration standard or those of a recognised accreditation body eg PASMA. But internal or external courses that do not meet CITB’s requirements (such as first aid, non-construction courses, customer service, toolbox talks etc) will not be claimable: https://www.citb.co.uk/grant/changes-grants-scheme-from-1-april-2018/
Employers will have the ability to bulk upload any training course that matches the new criteria for courses, they can do this on: https://my.citb.co.uk/en-US/
A short video guide is available at https://www.youtube.com/user/ConstructionSkills/videos?view=0&sort=dd&flow=grid
For assistance during this transition period email skills@thefis.org
The consultation of the draft Interior Systems Apprenticeship has now ended. Thanks to everyone who responded. This has now been submitted to the Institute for Apprenticeships.
If you are interested in being involved in the next stage of development, please email skills@thefis.org
The final report following the The Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety has now been published. Below we have highlighted some of the key points.
Whilst some of the recommendations can be delivered in the short term, some will require primary legislation and in the meantime industry must start ‘living’ the cultural shift that is required – the most important element of achieving that will be leadership from within industry.
The above reinforces the Product Process People (PPP) initiative about having evidence around compliance, competency and full test evidence. More guidance will be available shortly and what this means for FIS members, in the mean time download and read the full report here.
Having a skilled and talented workforce is essential to the competitiveness of the construction industry – firms need “the right skills, in the right place at the right time.”
With almost a fifth of those working in construction aged over 55 – the sector needs to develop the flow of new entrants into the industry to tackle skills shortages and deliver future projects. Work Experience is a great way to give people of all ages an initial taste of the industry, provide a stepping stone into longer term work or training.
The Build UK guide outlines how employers can ensure their legal obligations to health and safety are met. The guide is also designed to make it as easy as possible to provide work experience placements, building on the excellent work many will already be doing.
The draft Interior Systems Apprenticeship being proposed for the new Trailblazer Standard approach is now available for consultation. This has been developed with a wide group of employers over the past year and now requires further input from across industry before being submitted to the Institute for Apprenticeships on 23 May 2018.
Please respond with any questions or comments initially to skills@thefis.org
The deadline for response is Tuesday 22 May 2018.
A new £2.1m partnership has been agreed between the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).
The Fit-out Futures programme will address key challenges faced in the finishes and interior sector, including skills shortages, lack of new entrants and difficulty in accessing quality training.
The programme has received £1.5 million in funding from CITB. The flagship project is designed to bring in 1,500 new entrants into the sector by 2020. The Fit-out Futures programme will consist of:
Andrew Smith, president at FIS, said: “Two years ago the FIS Board recognised the crisis in attracting skilled operatives to the fit-out sector and made ‘Skills Development’ one of the three key strategic objectives of the organisation. Our commitment included funding a new team for a limited period to demonstrate to CITB the capability of FIS to deliver the needs of the sector.
“This investment has paid off and FIS has now received funding to the value of £2.1m over the next three years to enable the delivery of large numbers of skilled tradespeople to our sector. Our Skills Delivery director, Helen Yeulet, ably supported by our CEO David Frise, can rightly be very proud of their achievements to date.
“FIS looks forward to the delivery of the project and to further expansion of the scope of activity in this area to support our industry.”
Mark Noonan, industry relations director for CITB, said: “As part of our reform programme we are committed to focusing on areas where industry needs us most, particularly through targeted funding.
“Fit-out Futures is a great example of these principles in action. Working in partnership with FIS we are pleased to be supporting this project to ensure industry is equipped with the skills and training it needs. This is an exciting programme of work and we look forward to seeing the outcomes of this landmark project.”
Steve Coley, chairman of the FIS Skills board, said: “The FIS team has made a formidable coalition with the CITB to bring a new and exciting phase in training and up skilling. We look forward to delivering what we at FIS believe will be the start of a new beginning in how training is managed and provided.”
The way the government funds apprenticeships in England changed in April 2017 when the Apprenticeship Levy was introduced. All employers with a wage bill of over £3 million a year have to contribute 0.5% of their total pay bill towards apprenticeship training (minus a £15,000 annual levy allowance).
FIS is seeking to understand the level of uptake, awareness and understanding of the Apprenticeship Levy specific to the construction industry one year after its launch. With this in mind we have completed a very short survey, which we would appreciate your response to. It should take no longer than 2 minutes to complete.
Apprenticeship Levy – have your say
We are collating responses from FIS members and all wider construction industry CITB levy payers registered in England. Your response will provide evidence of the current undertakings of the Apprenticeship Levy. The results will be published on our website at the end of June 2018 and feature in number of publications and online news platforms.
All responses will be held in confidence and under all FIS data protection policies. This survey will close on Friday 15 June 2018 at 5pm.
For further information on the apprenticeship levy or advice and guidance please contact FIS project manager Amanda Scott amandascott@thefis.org
We have received the following email from the Construction Products Association regarding false claims on some products that they meet the CPR and have false CE marks on their products.
If you have any evidence of products on the market where you believe this is happening please contact Duncan King duncan.king@constructionproducts.org.uk
The Devon, Somerset and Torbay Trading Standards Service have elected to run a project through 2018 around enforcement of the CPR. They have contacted CPA asking for a steer on construction products that appear in the market with which there are issues with CPR compliance. These may be specific products or sectors within the scope of the CPR. As this is a specific request from a Trading Standard office and is the first indication CPA has received of a TS office wanting to be proactive in this field, we feel that we must respond with some definite information. Therefore, members are asked to email Duncan King (duncan.king@constructionproducts.org.uk) of current issues they have with enforcement of the CPR and products appearing in the market place that you consider are breaking CPR legislation.
In addition, TS would like to contact member’s companies in the Devon and Somerset area with a view to supplying them with tailored advice they can use to when explaining why other products are not meeting the legislation.
After the Lobbying (Scotland) Bill received Royal Assent in April 2016, the Lobbying Register website was launched in October 2017. It was also announced that the Act would come into force from 12 March 2018, impacting any individual or business who engages in ‘regulated lobbying’.
From 12 March, individuals or businesses engaged in regulated lobbying will be required to record details of their activities on the new online lobbying register. The Register is also searchable by anyone with an interest in finding out about regulated lobbying activity that has taken place.
Regulated lobbying includes activity which takes place face-to-face with MSPs, members of the Scottish Government, Scottish Government Special Advisers or the Scottish Government Permanent Secretary and which relates to Scottish Government or parliamentary functions.
In the run-up to the Act coming into force, the Scottish Lobbying Registrar’s team has produced a 5-step guide to help businesses establish whether or not what they are doing falls under the terms of the Act.
Ultimately, the Scottish Lobbying Act will increase transparency in how businesses engage with key political stakeholders in Scotland. With the right procedures in place, businesses will be able to continue their lobbying and gain more systematic insight into their political engagement.
NBS Research is carrying out this research on behalf of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). It is about how you use guidance to help you understand and comply with the Building Regulations, and in particular how you use the Approved Documents.
The survey can be found here – please complete by 6 March 2018.
If you would like more information on Dame Judith Hackitt’s Independent Review of Buildings Regulations and her Interim Report it can be found here.
FIS became a CITB consensus federation for the first time this year and conducted its first survey of members on the future of the levy in September. The result of the survey reflected feedback from members over a sustained period, with 60% voting to reject the CITB levy proposal.
CITB and the levy is however likely to continue as a majority of the construction industry have accepted CITB proposal.
Only a small number of federations and companies have rejected the offer and the advantages of FIS gaining consensus status is clear, in that we are now able to register our own distinct vote on the subject. This allows us to press your message and views to CITB and government in a much more effective way.
There are some important lessons to be learned from our members rejecting the levy proposal. Firstly, it is clear that CITB is not serving the interests of members, with only 35p in the pound paid in levy being returned to members, despite a growing skills problem in the sector. For this reason FIS has backed BuildUK’s urgent call for reform of CITB.
Secondly, it is evident that SMEs are not engaging with training and skills because of the complexity of the process and the perceived cost of training. We will continue to work with CITB and training providers to make this process as “frictionless” as possible for contractors. Initiatives such as Coursesight which allows you to book courses, receive CITB grant payments and updates the CSCS card automatically will continue to be promoted.
The FIS Skills team are a dedicated resource set up to help members get the skilled workforce they need.
As a first step contact skills@thefis.org to find out how to get more from the CITB training levy.
FIS invites members to visit us at UK Construction Week which is being held between 10 – 12 October at the NEC in Birmingham. FIS will be exhibiting within the Surface and Materials Show on Stand M360.
The Surface & Materials Show will showcase the latest surface and material solutions for architects, interior designers, developers and industry professionals looking for cutting-edge innovations within the materials sector. Last year over 30,000 visitors attended the exhibition including 650 exhibitors covering all aspects of the sector.
Book your free place by registering, using our unique registration link https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
As well as welcoming members and visitors to our stand M360, we have a packed agenda for the duration of the three-day show.
15.30 to 16.30: Hub 2
David Frise (FIS CEO): CPD Workshop – Current Building Practice is broken, we need a system reboot.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
16:45 to 17:45: Surfaces and Materials Stage
#iBuiltThis2017 competition – announcement of winners of the #iBuiltThis2017 competition followed by a champagne reception and canapes.
Register at: https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
10:45 – 11:15 – Surface and Materials Stage
David Frise (FIS CEO) – FIS Skills presents Fit-out Futures Programme as the solution to the sectors skills gap.
Register at: https://ukcon-2017-visitor.reg.buzz/?invite=AKARD7XTJ7
11.30 to 12:30 – Hub 1
David Frise (FIS CEO) – CPD Workshop – Current Building Practice is broken, we need a system reboot.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
15.30 to 16.30 – Hub 1
Joe Cilia (FIS technical manager) – CPD workshop – A guide to specification of products.
Register at: www.ukconstructionweek.com/site/building-safety
The British Council for Offices (BCO) has commissioned Sentinel, Perkins+Will and Elementa Consulting to undertake a major research study “Wellness Matters: Health and Wellbeing in offices and what to do about it”. This aims to provide definitive guidance on how to enable Health and Wellbeing across an office building’s lifecycle.
The study will review existing Health and Wellbeing measurement and certification and identify the most recent and relevant medical evidence justifying a proactive approach to Health and Wellbeing in the built environment.
Industry feedback and consultation is vital, therefore BCO would like to hear your views by the end of June.
To complete the survey visit http://surveys.pringlebrandonpw.com/s/BCOWellnessMatters2017/
Nevill Long is hosting a Spray Readymixed Finishing breakfast event, with Knauf, on 7 July at its Plymouth branch. FIS members are invited to attend free of charge.
Two live demonstrations of the Knauf Airless Finish will take place at 8 am and 10.30 am. Each session will include:
• Full demonstration of Knauf Airless Finish, showing how fast, clean and efficient the system is
• An opportunity to use the spray machine and see the benefits of a premixed finish
• Free breakfast for everyone who attends
• Machine set up and finishing, with experts on-hand to offer advice on spray machines
The event will take place at Encon Plymouth – Unit 4, Langage One, Western Wood Way, Langage Science Park, Plymouth PL7 5BE
To register your interest, please email PlymouthSprayDay@Encon.co.uk with your details, and which session you would like to attend.
FIS has launched a BIM training package, based on its BIM Toolbox, that will allow specialist contractors to demonstrate their BIM capability and complete core PQQ requirements with confidence.
Contractors completing the training will gain an understanding of the processes and terminology required for achieving BIM Level 2 – by understanding the requirements laid out in PAS 1192-2 and other BIM documents published by BSI and the Construction Industry Council.
The training will enable participants to demonstrate their BIM capability to main contractors and prequalify by completing the PQQ requirements in the relevant sections in PAS 91 and CPIx forms with appropriate evidence of compliance.
The programme will enable provide specialist contractors with the knowledge to embed practical BIM procedures and processes into their business via four options:
• A standalone BIM quality management system
• Integration of BIM procedures into your exiting ISO 9001 management system
• UKAS Accredited ISO 9001 certification with integrated BIM procedures
• An integrated management system that will secure Triple ISO certification (quality management, environmental management, health and safety management) with integrated BIM procedures.
The programme consists of a mixture of meetings and online sessions to explain the BIM process and provide ongoing feedback until completion.
For more details, contact Andrew Foy on 07528 571357 or andrew@foycertification.com
Nominate individuals you feel have made a difference to your organisation and our sector. Award entrants will be judged by a panel, led by the FIS President. The awards are free to enter and entries must be received by Wednesday 30 November 2016.
Winners will be presented at the President’s Lunch at Plaisterers’ Hall on 7 February 2017.
