FIS has established a network of FIS Construction STEM Ambassadors to help expose young people the wide range of opportunities available in our sector. We have linked up with STEM Construction and the Built Environment Ambassadors programme to ensure our network is supported by their resources and training and taps in to a wide range of activities which includes school presentations, careers talks and mentoring.

There are around 700,000 annual school leavers, so we need an army of ambassadors to get to all of them!!  The CLC’s Industry Skills Plan includes a commitment to recruit 7,000 Construction STEM Ambassadors, as FIS represents around 10% of the sector, to do our share of the lifting we need 700.  

The STEM Ambassador programme provides vital training, tools and support – giving you confidence that the message is right and we are working (and learning) consistently as a sector.  Becoming an ambassador will also plug you in to the STEM network and will open up opportunities to visit schools and careers fairs (you need to commit to doing at least two of these a year as part of your pledge).

At FIS we are here to help and have members of our team who have completed the training and are actively working as ambassadors, we are maintaining a network of ambassadors and are using this network to better understand how to target our approach and to develop the resources they need to get the message across.

Anyone working in the sector can be a STEM ambassador, from people who have just completed an apprenticeship through to the CEO/Owner.  We need to represent all roles and opportunities available and really this can be anyone working in your business with a passion for our industry who can get this message across and wants to help spread the word (and build your links with local schools and colleges). 

FIS who members who want to understand get cracking simply need to sign up online to become STEM Ambassador and advise marieflinter@thefis.org that you have started your journey. 

Further information on how to get involved can be found in this short film.  If you like to have a chat about what is involved before committing please call Marie Flinter at FIS on 0121 707 0077 or email marieflinter@thefis.org and we will be happy to help.

In the face of long-term skills shortages, employers are being urged to sign up to Talentview Construction, a new dedicated online platform for those looking to secure their first role in construction, which is now live.

Launched on 21 September, Talentview Construction is completely free to use platform which helps candidates to browse a variety of opportunities by signing up to alerts for job and training opportunities and building their own online profile so employers can find them more easily.

Employers are encouraged to list all their opportunities for new entrants, including apprenticeships and work experience, on the platform. Talentview will sit alongside the Construction Talent Retention Scheme providing a ‘one‐stop shop’ for the recruitment and retention of skills across the industry, and you can watch the recent CLC webinar which outlines how the platform works and the steps to sign up.

With more than 600 relevant apprenticeship vacancies already listed and construction colleges around the country preparing to bring candidates on board, employers can register with TVC and use the scheme to promote their range of early careers opportunities.

Even without the growth of ‘green jobs’, it is estimated that the construction industry needs to recruit more than 217,000 new workers between now and 2025 to support its current activity, including the development of exciting new careers in digitalisation and sustainability[i].

Talentview Construction makes it easier for those searching for such a career in construction to join, taking advantage of an exciting array of opportunities, given the sector’s role at the heart of the UK’s economic recovery. Construction already employs about three million people, providing multiple career paths through the sector.

Mark Reynolds, Group CEO of Mace Group and the Construction Leadership Council’s lead on skills, says:

“More than ever, the industry needs a strong pipeline of talent. Talentview Construction is a window on the industry for all those wishing to enter construction as new entrants and career changers. We must make it easier for people to join our sector to support growth and to improve our levels of diversity – but to do so everyone needs to do more to recruit openly and make flexible opportunities accessible through schemes like this.

 “This is exactly what so many businesses have been crying out for, helping them tackle skills shortages and gear up for future growth. Initiatives such as Talentview Construction – part of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme – have the potential to dramatically improve our industry, but we all need to get behind it if it is to be a success.”

Talentview Construction will enable candidates to browse opportunities by signing up to alerts for job and training opportunities, get advice on construction job roles and the best routes into the industry, and build their own online profile so employers can find them.

Employers can use it to showcase their business to talented new recruits on the TVC site, and upload all their early career vacancies, including traineeships, apprenticeships and graduate jobs. They can also search for suitable candidates and directly contact students and apprentices, as well as connecting more closely with schools, universities and construction colleges.

Talentview Construction is the newest offering from the Construction Talent Retention Scheme (CTRS) which was established by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Construction Leadership Council last summer.

Together with complementary sites like CITB’s Go Construct, TVC and CTRS help to create a ‘one stop shop’ sector talent hub for the attraction, development and retention of people and skills within construction and the built environment, as part of the Government’s broader support to business on skills.

The free-to-use site launches on 21 September, supported by a national media campaign to engage young people and other new entrants considering apprenticeships for next year, as well as graduate roles and other ways into the industry.

Employers can sign up at https://talentview.org/construction or contact Christian Warden on 07903 701503 for a demonstration of the new scheme.

https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/news-events-and-blogs/britain-builds-back-construction-will-need-216-800-new-workers-by-2025-to-meet-demand/

Construction employers have backed CITB’s Levy Proposals to support skills and training across England, Scotland and Wales, by way of the Consensus process.

The provisional result will now be taken to the Secretary of State for Education to make the final decision on the issue of a new, three-year Levy Order which, if approved, would be issued for 2022-2025. This will see the Levy continue at the following rates at 0.35% for PAYE and 1.25% for Net paid (Taxable) CIS Sub-contractors.

CITB will now get on with delivering this year’s Business Plan and working with industry to agree its forward plan. In doing so, it will listen to the feedback it received on how it can communicate its plans and impact more clearly and ensure its support is relevant, accessible and easily understood.

Overall, 66% or two thirds of the total number of Levy-paying employers agreed to the proposals, with 63% agreeing when measured by the total amount of Levy paid. This result was based on submissions from the 14 Prescribed Organisations (trade bodies representing employers across the industry) and an independent survey of 4,000 employers who were not members of POs. Eleven of the 14 Prescribed Organisations supported the Levy Proposals.

Apprenticeships and Skills Minister Gillian Keegan said:

“My thanks go out to both the staff at the CITB for facilitating a complex process and to the employers, other members and reps for your active participation.

“This last 18 months have been unusually challenging for the construction sector and that is why the CITB decided to delay the consensus process from 2020 to 2021. I recognise that Covid-19, one of the key factors for the postponement, has not gone away. Therefore the sector’s willingness to engage with the CITB is even more valuable.

“The next step in the process to progress the Levy Proposals towards a Levy Order now rests with me, before doing so I will be considering the Proposals in detail.

“I know that the CITB will relish returning its entire focus to delivering skills provision for the construction sector at a time when it is more crucial than ever. I also want to welcome Tim Balcon in his new role as CITB CEO from 1 October and thank Sarah Beale for the great work she has done for many years in leading the CITB.”

Peter Lauener, CITB Chair, said:

“Construction has been through a tremendously difficult couple of years. CITB moved quickly to support employers by freezing Levy collection last year, cutting bills by half this year, and putting the right support in place.

“We will carry on with delivering our current plans and get started with shaping our future ones. I want to thank everyone who participated in the Consensus process this year – your input is invaluable and will help shape CITB’s support for you in future.”

Sarah Beale, outgoing CITB Chief Executive, said:

“At an extremely tough time, construction employers have demonstrated that they still believe that the Levy and grant system is critical in addressing the industry’s skill needs and their support for the Levy Proposals. In developing our future plans, we will listen hard to what employers told us in how we can ensure that the Levy works for them and provides support that is relevant, easy to understand and accessible.”

Tim Balcon, new CITB Chief Executive, said:

“It’s good that so much of what employers are asking for is already in the Business Plan, so we need to make support easier to access and understand and to keep the sector better informed.

“CITB is committed to maximising the value of the Levy for employers, providing practical and financial support for everyday training needs as well as tackling long-term skills needs.”

Commenting on the announcement, FIS CEO Iain McIlwee said:

“This is clearly not what the majority of our members voted for, but we now need to focus on the positives and start looking at how we work better with CITB as a sector to increase our levy utilisation. Whilst the FIS was one of the three prescribed organisations to vote “No”, we did see a higher proportion of members claiming levy in this return and supporting concensus and there is recognition in CITB that there are clear priorities to mobilise resources more effectively to support the growing skills shortages that we face in the finishes and interiors sector. We will continue to offer our free one to one skills clinics to members that focus on reviewing your levy return and ensuring that you are getting all you are entitled through the process and focussing all our efforts on how we can better utilise our levy to attack the shortages that are emerging in key areas.”

Details of the FIS vote are available here

To access the FIS Skills Hubs click here

 View the official letter from CITB

For a summary on all FIS Campaign to Attack Skills Shortages click here