by Clair Mooney | Nov 27, 2018 | Main News Feed
To enable a smooth transition for UK/EU activities in mid-process at the end of the Implementation Period, specific rules need putting in place to ensure the orderly continuation of activities between the two parties. This CPA information paper summarises some aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement of importance to CPA members. View the full document here, under the ‘Construction Products Association’ tab.
by Clair Mooney | Nov 26, 2018 | Main News Feed
CITB is seeking influential industry representatives to apply to become a Trustee of its Board.
Construction skills are critical to the economy and this is a particularly important time to join the Board. Trustees have collective responsibility for CITB’s strategic direction, monitoring delivery and business performance, maintaining proper financial oversight and ensure effective Board governance. The Board is accountable to the Secretary of State for Education, the Charity Commission and more generally to Construction Industry stakeholders. Trustees will bring their specific knowledge and expertise to the Board. They seek to deliver the statutory functions of the Board in the best interests of the Construction Industry as a whole and must make decisions independent of any affiliation to their own business or sector interests.
The Board formally meets at least four times a year at locations throughout the UK. All Trustees are expected to undertake occasional UK travel to relevant stakeholder locations.
Full details on this vacancy can be found online at https://publicappointments.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/appointment/construction-industry-training-board-trustee/
by Clair Mooney | Nov 21, 2018 | Main News Feed
Following the success of our third Scottish Awards Lunch in September, we’re delighted to be continuing with the Scottish Awards scheme and Lunch in 2019.
The awards aim to demonstrate the quality of work and range of projects that are carried out in Scotland. All FIS contractor members are eligible to enter and the deadline for entry is 28 February 2019. All projects must be in Scotland and completed between 1 January 2018 and 31 December 2018.
Entries will be visited by two FIS award judges, who will determine the winners in the seven contract categories. In addition, the awards include a category for Apprentice of the Year (who must be training in Scotland).
The winners of the awards will be announced and presented at our Scottish Awards Lunch which will take place on 27 September 2019 at the Principal Edinburgh Hotel, George Street, Edinburgh.
Award Categories
- Interior Fit-Out
- Partial Fit Out
- Drywall Construction
- Plasterwork (general and heritage)
- Suspended Ceilings
- Partitioning
- Judges’ Award (for projects which do not fit into categories A to E or are unusual and/or innovative)
- Apprentice of the Year (Apprentice must be undertaking their training in Scotland)
by Clair Mooney | Nov 20, 2018 | Main News Feed
Last week, at World Skills UK Live, FIS launched its new work experience programme aimed at lining up suitable employers and FIS Approved Training Providers to help college learners get real industry experience – introducing BuildME.
It’s no trade secret that an aging workforce, widening skill gap and a decline in interest from younger generations are amongst the biggest challenges that face the construction industry today. The recent Construction Skills Network (CSN) report shows that the wider industry will need 36,000 new recruits per year from 2017 to 2021. In some specialist occupations the need for new workers remains acute, with wood trades and interior fit-out highlighted as areas of particular concern. There is also the ongoing challenge of replacing an ageing workforce, which will become more pressing if Brexit stems the flow of mainly younger workers from abroad.
The programme aims to match interested employers with suitable candidates and simplify and support the employer through the process. Focus is on basic construction, plastering, drylining, carpentry and joinery, interior systems and painting and decorating courses from Level 1 to 3, but FIS is committed to ensuring that good students from across construction find employment within the industry.
BuildME helps the employer (via a dedicated helpline and toolkit) to create a structured two-week work experience placement designed to give the candidate a real look into the industry, to see how their skills will be used, to work amongst their future colleagues and to meet with an employer who could serve as a first reference, or better still, a potential employer themselves. This work experience also has a whole range of benefits for an employer including the ability to trial a potential new hire or apprentice and create mentoring experiences for current staff.
Iain McIlwee FIS chief executive “We do need to do more to attract talent, but we also need to identify and eradicate waste – an obvious example being the huge proportion of those who start Level 1 Diploma’s in the construction sector that never work in industry. The beauty of this programme is its simplicity. The candidate gets some real-world experience and in the process, we help to remove the fear of the unknown and to dispel some of the many myths associated with working in construction.
From the employers’ side, who wouldn’t want to pick from the cream of the crop and to ensure talented individuals, worth hanging on to, are not allowed to drift out of the sector. By simply removing the time and complexity associated with creating work experience opportunities, BuildME opens the doors (literally!) for employers to address this wastage and ensure the monies and resources spent on new entrants in construction trades is a genuine investment for the whole economy.”
If you’d like to hear more about BuildME or for more information about any of the current programmes being led by the Skills Team, please email skills@thefis.org call 0121 707 0077 or visit www.thefis.org/skills-hub/sector-training/buildme/
by Clair Mooney | Nov 16, 2018 | Main News Feed
The Minutes of the 2018 AGM which took place at the FIS Conference at Worsley Park Marriott Hotel can be downloaded here.
by Clair Mooney | Nov 16, 2018 | Main News Feed
FIS launched its hugely successful #iBuiltThis2019 competition at the WorldSkills UK Live event at the NEC in Birmingham.
#iBuiltThis is a visual campaign, image led aiming to celebrate the skills, talent within the construction industry and showcase projects people have built in relation to the built environment. FIS chief executive Iain McIlwee said “we chose to launch the competition at WorldSkills UK Live because the event is all about helping young people go further, faster in their careers, gaining the skills that employers need most. Not to mention the Skills Show is the UK’s largest careers show, attracting over 72,000 visitors each year and engaging with colleges and young people here will help us to get some exciting entries for the 2019 competition”.
This simple competition is designed to promote careers in construction and get young people, the construction industry and the public to participate and show how proud they are of their contribution to the UK built environment in a fun, exciting and light-hearted way.
To encourage young people to get involved, the competition has been divided into three age groups with some fabulous prizes to be won: 13 and under (for the 2018 competition the prize was a family trip to Legoland with an overnight stay at Castle Hotel, 14-18 (an iPhone X) and 19 (a getaway for two adults in one of Canopy & Stars exclusive properties in the UK). We would like entrants to share a picture of themselves with an image of a completed project they have built, or helped to build and enter on the competition platform when it opens.
Encouraging photos of new buildings of any type, whether they’re made from Lego, Meccano, sand or even chocolate. Images of iconic buildings and breath taking fit-out and interiors will be used to inspire people to see construction as a career of choice. The entries received will be diverse in both built environment images and the roles involved in their construction and images will be used to educate new entrants afterwards.
The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony at UK Construction Week between 8–10 October 2019 by TV personality and architect George Clarke.
Nathan Garnett, Event Director of UK Construction Week said “it is the simplicity of this initiative that makes it so brilliant. Anybody can enter, it embraces all forms of social media and it reminds us of the simply joy in making stuff and at the same time how construction is building our future. There was a great crop of entries in 2018 across the different age contests from Lego builds to intricate brickwork and relaxation spaces innovatively designed and built. What better place to host this than at UK Construction Week, which is all about showcasing this brilliant industry. I was particularly delighted to see so many of the 2018 competition finalists and winners attend with their friends and family so they got to see some of the innovation and progressive thinking that is driving our sector forwards.”
To find out more on how you can partner with us email skills@thefis.org or visit our website at: https://www.thefis.org/skills-hub/i-built-this-2019/
