Hot on the heels of the National Apprenticeship Week, it’s time for Scotland to showcase their apprentices.

‘Talent without Limits’ has been announced as the theme, which will celebrate the diversity and value that apprenticeships bring to employers, apprentices and communities across Scotland today. From highlighting the breadth of industries and roles available to the talent and energy apprentices bring into the workplace.

We urge all our FIS members based in Scotland and Approved Training Providers to let us know about any plans they have for the week and refer any stories/case studies that could help to promote the sector  – email details to yasminkauser@thefis.org or call 07741 552080 and DON’T FORGET to enter your apprentices into the FIS Scottish Awards – Apprentice of the Year category. The deadline for entry is 29 February. 

Check out our FIS Apprenticeship hub and watch and read some of the success stories here: www.thefis.org/skills-hub/careers-index/apprenticeships/

FIS Chief Executive Iain McIlwee attended Build UK’s ‘Any Questions?’ event last week, which delivered an informative and thought-provoking debate.

With HS2 being given the ‘green light’ earlier in the week, the event provided the ideal opportunity to think strategically about how construction must change to deliver an infrastructure revolution.

What matters to construction

• The panel was clear that collective culture change was required, with Nick Smallwood (Infrastructure and Projects Authority) pointing out that it starts at the top, giving the industry leaders in the room a clear role to play.
• Procurement took centre stage, from the impact of Carillion’s collapse and the transfer of risk through the supply chain, to the need for greater investment in technology and innovation. This will require a clear pipeline of work and more consistency from clients, which in turn would enable the supply chain to increase efficiency and productivity.
• Processes, people and skills were identified by Mark Farmer (Cast Consultancy) as crucial to winning back public confidence in the aftermath of Grenfell, while Ann Bentley (Rider Levett Bucknall) was passionate about the industry doing more to address the legacy of the fire and demonstrate that new buildings are both fit for purpose and perform as intended.
  Driving demand for more Modern Methods of Construction with its potential to meet challenging housing targets was raised – can this new way of working also address the desire for greater flexibility and job security?
• The panel was unanimous in its view that we should focus on the positives of working in construction, which included well paid roles at all levels when compared to other sectors.
• This led onto discussion of the current levy and training systems, and whether they are delivering the apprentices the industry needs. Peter Lauener (CITB) rose to the challenge, setting out how CITB was moving from being a delivery body to an enabling one, supporting employers to meet their skills needs.
• Finally, with the attention on net zero carbon, it was agreed that collective action is needed in an industry which contributes 40% of carbon emissions, and this will require a concerted effort from the whole supply chain.

After the probing questions and robust responses, the audience was left in no doubt that the current ways of working are unsustainable and the key question for the industry is whether it is truly ready to do things differently. This presents a huge opportunity, with Build UK and its members well placed to offer the leadership and collaborative working environment that can deliver lasting change and transform construction into a world-class sector.

The Scottish Government is now consulting on retentions and appears to favour a statutory retentions deposit scheme (the link to the consultations is here).  One option is supporting a statutory scheme to ring-fence the monies.  The consultation closes on 25 March 2020.

Regarding the Aldous Bill, which has been calling for a retention in trust policy in England, this Bill lapsed prior to the autumn prorogation of Parliament, but a new and similar Bill is being championed in Parliament by Lord Mendelsohn.

In support of this work SEC Group has worked up a scheme that could be used to ring-fence cash retentions.  SEC has been working as part of a consortium (involving a financial services company, a major insurer, a large tier 1 contractor and a software developer) and has now developed the structure for an IT platform that will support a retentions deposit scheme.  This factsheet provides a simple explanation of how the scheme will operate.  This will help to inform policy and future legislation.

The Construction Leadership Council is still favouring support for the Build UK Retentions Roadmap, which is anticipated to yield zero retentions by 2025.

We would be grateful if you could feed any views on this in to iainmcilwee@thefis.org

For more advice from FIS on retentions, visit the FIS Contractual/Legal Knowledge Hub here

One-day workshop: Low-cost automation for SMEs – 26 February

Digital Construction on a Shoestring is an approach to increasing the digital capabilities of companies in the construction sector by deploying low-cost solutions one at a time.

Featuring interactive discussion and demonstrations, the event will showcase the Shoestring approach, which aims to rapidly accelerate digital use by reducing both the cost and complexity of solutions using off-the-shelf technologies and open source software.

The workshop is aimed at:
• Manufacturing SMEs, trade associations and networks
• Low-cost solution providers
• Regional business councils
• Manufacturing systems research groups

The workshop is being hosted at Cambridge University on 26 February and is free to attend – although places are limited. More information is available here.

NHBC launches Building for tomorrow 2020

FIS has been invited to speak at the NHBC’s event for house-building professionals, Building for Tomorrow.  Now in its 29th year of bringing the latest insight and expertise to the industry, the series of eight regional roadshows are being held at venues across the UK from February to April.

This year’s theme is Managing Milestones, Meeting Expectations and Maximising Future Quality and it will see NHBC bring together a range of important topics in a tailored agenda for each roadshow. Speakers from NHBC and across the industry will share the latest technical and regulatory updates as well as providing insight into best practices.

FIS will discuss the subject of quality and how this can be managed along with clients expectations through a process from; writing a specification, agreeing a quality benchmark at the beginning of the build and inspecting the final work. The presentations will be delivered by FIS Technical Director Joe Cilia and FIS Technical Engagement Manager Nigel Higgins.

The Building for Tomorrow roadshows take place as follows:

• Taunton Rugby Club, Taunton – 25 February 2020
• Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge Belfry, Cambourne – 3 March 2020
• Haydock Park Racecourse, Merseyside – 5 March 2020
• Doubletree by Hilton Westerwood, Cumbernauld – 10 March 2020
• York Racecourse, York – 12 March 2020
• National Motorcycle Museum, Solihull – 17 March 2020
• Hilton, Templepatrick – 1 April 2020
• QEII Conference Centre, London – 23 April 2020

Tickets are £275+VAT per delegate for the London event and £215+VAT for each event outside of London. FIS members are eligible for a three for the price of two offer when using code BFT342. For more details, visit https://shop.nhbc.co.uk/product-category/awards-and-events/building-for-tomorrow/, call 0344 633 1000 or email buildingfortomorrow@nhbc.co.uk