by Iain McIlwee | 11 Mar, 2021 | Skills, Transformation
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) today (Thursday 11 March) publishes the first sector-wide skills plan for construction, developed by Industry.
The Industry Skills Plan for the UK Construction Sector 2021-25 sets out the key skills challenges facing construction and how they will be tackled. The plan sets out a series of clear actions and commitments for both industry and Government to help meet these challenges, grouped under the following four areas:
- Careers
- Standards and Qualifications
- Training, Education and Development
- Culture and Working Environment.
To improve the attractiveness of construction careers and access to them, a Talent View portal will be created, providing a one-stop-shop for new entrants and an industry standard for work experience will be put in place. In addition, up to 7,000 STEM Ambassadors will be encouraged to join the sector-specific Construction and Built Environment scheme, with a target of 1,700 fully supported by 2024.
A set of new construction traineeship programmes, and a pathway from Further Education into construction, will be developed in order to support and boost routes into the industry.
There will be a move to focus of competence by developing new competence frameworks. New training standards will be set in two areas: to support the drive towards Net Zero fossil fuel emissions; and for Smart Construction to develop digital and offsite construction skills. The CLC also supports the drive towards increased direct employment. The plan supports Government mandates on direct employment through procurement.
Mark Reynolds, Group Chief Executive of Mace and CLC member, said: “This is the most ambitious and wide-ranging skills plan the construction sector has ever produced. It should have a far-reaching impact on how we attract, retain and develop people in construction and help deliver upon Government’s home-building and infrastructure plans. “Many of the challenges we address in this plan will require a shared commitment over years, so the hard work starts now to deliver real and lasting change for the benefit of the whole sector.”
Commenting on the Plan FIS CEO, Iain McIlwee stated: “There is some good thinking in the plan and, in the main, it is easy to support and uphold the principles it projects. I do, however, have some concerns over the section on direct employment. We would need to see drastic changes in procurement to enable businesses to employ more. We maybe haven’t got the balance quite right, but with ridiculously short lead times, insufficient allowance in programmes and surge construction when the programme slips, flexibility is essential and that is before you look at the scale and geographic spread of projects in construction and the fact businesses are so easily cast aside in favour of a cheaper quote.
Employment is not the only way to ensure we have an engaged and evolving workforce, indeed the concept of employment has drastically changed in recent times with key tipping points like the introduction of CIS and the death of the final salary pension scheme changing the landscape . We need to be careful of falling into the trap that PAYE is the only way and it was better because we used to employ everybody. I am not convinced construction ever did in the conventional sense (remember the cards?) and there are areas like Health and Safety where we have been able to show marked success. I think we should bring some academic rigour to this part of the plan to better understand the balance and impact on productivity and quality by utilising a freelance contingent and ensure that procurement focusses on how we respect, invest in, manage the competence of and supervise individuals rather than simply how we employ people.”
The plan sets out a series of clear actions and commitments for both industry and Government to help meet these challenges, grouped under the following four areas: Careers; Standards and Qualifications; Training, Education and Development; and Culture and Working Environment. Commitments include:
- Creating Talent View, a one-stop-shop portal for new entrants
- Recruiting 7,000 construction STEM Ambassadors
- Developing an industry standard for work experience
- Producing competence frameworks
- New training standards for Net Zero and Smart Construction
- A pledge to promote direct employment
Details of how to get involved in these commitments will follow in the coming weeks.
by Clair Mooney | 11 Mar, 2021 | CSCS, Skills
Following the introduction of T Levels and a request from the Department for Education (DfE) for employers to recognise formal work experience, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) has asked CSCS to carry out a consultation exercise on how students on industry placements should be consistently recognised by card schemes carrying the CSCS logo. FIS encourage members to complete this survey which may lead to the introduction of a new easily identifiable card based on either the existing Trainee or Work Experience cards already used by a number of card schemes.
by Clair Mooney | 11 Mar, 2021 | Skills
Providing the correct levels of supervision in the Construction and Built Environment (CBE) are critical to ensure that the correct levels of Health and Safety (H&S) are maintained, projects and programmes are delivered on time, to quality and cost overruns are avoided. The Occupational Work Supervision (OWS) qualification, the first rung on the Supervisory and Management ladder, enables employees, with a background in construction and its allied trades and professions to demonstrate their initial competence in the area of supervision.
When the qualification was first introduced there was a need for the OWS employee to have a single focus on the area that they were deemed competent to supervise and a series of endorsements were introduced to demonstrate just that. In consultation with industry and current working practises this need has changed over the years, therefore OWS employees are now required, in some instances, to supervise multi trades. Due to this, the National Working Group (NWG) for OWS has been in consultation with CITB and a proposal to remove the requirement for any endorsements to be listed within the qualification is being planned. This decision means that:
- Employers are responsible for ensuring that somebody holding an OWS qualification is deemed, by the employer, to be competent to supervise the area(s) that they are asking the person to oversee.
- Employers will better be able to plan career progression for their staff.
- It will allow employers to better utilise their workforce across different areas of the business.
- Awarding Bodies will no longer be required to endorse an OWS qualification by the issuance of an endorsement or side letter to the award.
- Card schemes may no longer have a requirement to show endorsements on cards which should reduce the processes required to obtain a card.
There will be no changes to the entry requirements of the qualification, enforced by Awarding Bodies in that any candidate who registers will need to evidence some form of competence within CBE or its allied trades and professions, which can be demonstrated in several different ways.
In order to collate any further views from industry, CITB would welcome feedback by completing the ‘have your say’ form by clicking here. The comments for this will close on 31st March 2021.
When this is implemented employers will be responsible for ensuring occupational work supervisors, gangers, team leader and/or forepersons hold the required qualifications and have a verifiable background in the occupation or occupations they are supervising. Don’t get caught it’s easy to make the necessary checks on CSCS cards using GoSmart: https://www.cscs.uk.com/applying-for-cards/checkcards/
by Clair Mooney | 11 Mar, 2021 | Skills
Several industries where project-based employment is the norm have struggled more than most to comply with the 12-month minimum apprenticeships rule, but their fortunes could be about to change. Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak announced in last week’s Budget a £7 million fund to run so-called “portable” or “flexi-job” apprenticeships in sectors such as creative and construction.
This “new approach” will involve organisations applying for money to start new agencies which employ apprentices and place them with multiple employers. It is targeted at those industries that cannot offer a long-enough placement with a single employer for apprentices to meet the government’s minimum 12-month duration requirement. In the TV and film sector, for example, most roles are freelance and usually only run for two to three months.
The flexi-job model was lauded by prime minister Boris Johnson during a speech on adult skills last year, after a meeting between ministers and his influential skills advisor Professor Alison Wolf decided the government should press ahead with its introduction. It also featured briefly in this year’s Further Education white paper.
The scheme will become the third agency-type model for apprenticeships, following Apprenticeship Training Agencies (ATAs) and Group Training Associations (GTAs), which have been established for many years but have arguably become neglected by policymakers. The Department for Education, which is responsible for the scheme, has promised a consultation on the proposals.
Levy problems ‘particularly stark’ for construction sectors supported by LOSC
Flexi-job apprenticeships are being specifically targeted at industries and sectors where work is often patchy. Workers in the finishes and interiors sector, for example, who are finishing off one high-end contract will often wait weeks before starting on the next contract.
FIS has discussed and draw attention to the problems the sector faces in labour shortages and these are “not unique, but it is particularly stark”. About 40 per cent of finishes and interior sector workers are LOSC, and it is only “if you’re lucky that your jobs will join up, whereas when you’re an apprentice, you have to have a minimum 18 month contract with one employer. So, you can’t move around.
This issue has led to reports of a serious underspend of the apprenticeship levy. With the restrictions on training during 2020 it is unlikely employers in the finishes and interiors sector have seen a return on the apprenticeship levy they have paid.
CITB runs its own Shared Apprenticeship Scheme which has supported 300 apprentices so far. CITB have stated to their credit, the government has recognised the problem and is acting to help the construction industry utilise apprenticeships more easily.
The Skills for Jobs white paper, published in January 2021, acknowledged that creative and construction face “barriers in making full use of apprenticeships,” due to their “varied and flexible employment patterns”.
It added that “sectoral apprenticeship agencies may offer one solution, giving constant employment to an individual during the life of their apprenticeship which allows them to move between work placements and continue their training”.
by Clair Mooney | 8 Mar, 2021 | Membership, Skills
FIS has recently appointed Catherine Bullough to project manage the BuildBack and Kickstart Programmes. Catherine has over 17 years’ experience of working with the construction industry, having previously worked with CITB in both an operational and strategic capacity. Catherine was the Partnerships Manager with the Industry Relations Team, working with construction employers and stakeholders to ensure that the construction industry had the supply of skills that it needed across the South and South West of England
Originally hailing from “the Lang Toun” of Kirkcaldy, Fife, and gaining a mining technology qualification, Catherine headed south to study at Manchester Poly originally embarking upon a career with the Police and Trading Standards before moving into the field of learning and development.
Catherine will be working as part of the Skills & Training team at FIS; with a keen focus upon helping the sector recruit and retain new talent; enabling on-site solutions to help finishes and interior employers recruit and train; creating new opportunities through extended partnership working and identifying funding opportunities to support the sector.
Catherine is an APM qualified Project Manager and remains a keen Raith Rovers supporter!
Skills and Training Lead George Swann said; “We welcome Catherine and value the wealth of knowledge and experience she brings to the FIS team. In the short time Catherine has been here she has played a leading role in the implementation of the FIS KickStart programme and we should be seeing individuals placed with employers in the next few weeks. Catherine is preparing for the first cohort of FIS BuildBack candidates and we look forward to reporting success in placing these candidates with employers”.
by Clair Mooney | 5 Mar, 2021 | Skills
Monday saw the opening of the consultation into CITB Levy proposals, in which they’re suggesting a return to pre-Covid rates in the way they raise the Levy for the next three years. CITB is asking for feedback on its plans to help get construction back on its feet and play a leading role in the country’s economic recovery.
Following their decision to apply a 50% Levy rate for this year, CITB is now proposing returning to 2019 levels from 2022. CITB will support smaller employers even further this year by increasing the threshold, making an extra 5,000 exempt from paying the Levy. Employers in scope to CITB are eligible for grant even if they do not pay the Levy. You can get full details on the CITB proposals by clicking here.
CITB Levy registered employers can take part in the consultation, which runs until Sunday 11 April, by clicking here. You can also register for one of their virtual events explaining the CITB proposals here. Consensus will take place from Monday 14 June to Sunday 15 August, with more information available here.
