by Clair Mooney | 11 Aug, 2022 | Skills
CITB has announced an investment of more than £800,000 for the launch of a new employer network pilot project, which could revolutionise the way the construction sector access and receive funding for training in the future. Over 3,800 levy-registered construction businesses will be eligible to benefit from the pilot, offered across five locations in England, Scotland and Wales. While the pilot is open to businesses of all sizes, there is a primary aim to simplify the process for small and micro businesses, helping to place them at the heart of local training provision.
Through the support of established and experienced delivery partners, the pilot enables employers to recognise their training priorities and receive guidance on how best to find and fund the training most appropriate to them. This transformative way of working provides a huge opportunity for employers to not only voice their training requirements, but also play a fundamental role in deciding how funds are used in their local area.
As part of this new model, construction businesses will not need to access the grant scheme, as CITB is supporting the employer network to help organise and fund training directly. Many of the current requirements around training being “in scope” will also be relaxed to ensure the pilots can be as reflective of the employer’s needs as possible. Therefore, training can predominantly be in anything that helps a business work better, whether that’s a construction skill; a health and safety course; a business skill; or a future skill need, such as net zero. The five pilot areas covered are:
- Inverness in Scotland, provided by Scottish Civils Training Group
- Norfolk in England, provided by Norfolk Construction Training Group
- Lincoln in England, provided by Lincoln Group Training Association
- South West Wales, provided by Cyfle Building Skills
- The final pilot is specifically for Civil Engineering firms in the Midlands, provided by CECA Midlands.
If you would like information, advice or guidance on support available from CITB give Marie Flinter a call on 07799 903103 or email marieflinter@thefis.org
by Clair Mooney | 11 Aug, 2022 | Skills
Making sure more adults can gain the skills they need to secure good jobs with higher wages is a key priority for the government. Levelling up skills supports our economy to grow, as well as benefiting both workers and employers. That’s why government introduced the Free Courses for Jobs offer in April 2021. The scheme is proving popular, with data pointing to over 20,000 people having enrolled on courses by May 2022, taking advantage of the opportunity to get in-demand skills for free.
Moreover, nine in ten people surveyed say they believe it will help them progress in their careers, while the vast majority (97%) say they are enjoying their course. Free Courses for Jobs offers adults aged 19 or over access to over 400 qualifications free of charge. It’s aimed at people without a full qualification at Level 3, such as A Levels, diplomas or an advanced technical certificate, or those who are unemployed or earning low wages.
Courses are available in subjects ranging from engineering and construction to adult care and digital, allowing adults to access better job opportunities and boost their earning potential. The scheme also benefits employers, who can support their existing staff to upskill or reskill into a higher-level role in their business without needing to fund the training. Research shows that Free Courses for Jobs has increased uptake of these key qualifications, meaning more adults are making the most of this opportunity to boost their skills free of charge.
by Clair Mooney | 11 Aug, 2022 | Main News Feed
As the deadline for transition from CE to UKCA marking approaches, and in response to continuous industry pressure over capacity and capability, there has been an announcement from the Government regarding some provisions that have been agreed to simplify UKCA marking for products in England, Scotland and Wales.
The full guidance from the Government can be found here, but the principal changes of interest as they relate to construction products are summarised below.
Spares – The UK will continue to accept spares onto the GB market to repair, replace and maintain products to the same conformity requirements in place at the time the original product or system was placed on the GB market.
- Businesses will need documentary evidence to demonstrate the intended use of a product as a spare part.
- This applies to products in stock as spares before the deadline. FIS is seeking further clarity on whether any nuance exists for construction products after the deadline.
Imported Goods – Existing CE marked stock imported into GB under contract before the end of 2022 will not need re-testing and re-marking.
- Products imported into GB for further manufacture or processing, will not be considered as placed on the market.
- FIS is seeking further clarity on the definition of “further manufacture or processing”.
Re-Testing Costs – Manufacturers whose products are tested under AVCP System 3 by an EU notified body before 31 December 2022 can use this evidence to obtain a UKCA mark without having to retest through a UK approved body.
- All new testing after this date must be done through a UK approved body.
Reduce Re-Testing Costs – The UK will allow certificates provided by non-UK conformity assessment bodies (CABs) issued before the end of this year to be used as a basis for UKCA marking certification.
- The goods must still bear the UKCA marking, and will need to undergo conformity assessment with a UK Approved Body at the expiry of the certificate or after 5 years (whichever is sooner).
There is no clarification at this time if the EU intends to mirror any of these simplification measures, so it is assumed that there are no relaxations on the use of EU notified bodies and/or CE marking goods that are being sent to the EU.
Please take some time to review how this will impact your businesses and let us know what outstanding questions or inconsistencies remain so that we can feed these back to Government.
FIS has created how-to guidance for its members which can be Conformity Marking – how-to guidance.
by Clair Mooney | 10 Aug, 2022 | Sustainability
Last year, the Cabinet Office issued a Public Procurement Note stipulating that government contracts procuring goods and/or services with an anticipated contract value above £5 million per annum will require suppliers to provide evidence of carbon reduction plans. The PPN applies to all Central Government Departments, their Executive Agencies and Non Departmental Public Bodies. Essentially, evidence of a carbon reduction plan becomes one of the selection criteria for bidding suppliers.
Whilst large companies will be aware of this Procurement Note, it is becoming apparent that big suppliers (clients and contractors for instance) are cascading this requirement down through their supply chains and it is reaching SMEs. It would be useful to hear if you have experience of this and how you are meeting this requirement – email details to flavielowres@thefis.org
The PPN includes a template at Annex A for a basic Carbon Reduction Plan confirming the supplier’s commitment to achieving Net Zero by 2050 and setting out the environmental management measures they are taking and which will be in place throughout the duration of the contract.
You can see the 10 page Procurement Policy Note here.
by Clair Mooney | 9 Aug, 2022 | Main News Feed
The Recovery Loan Scheme, which originally launched in April 2021 to help businesses recovering from the pandemic, has been extended to 2024.
The maximum loan size remains at up to £2m, and the principle behind the extended scheme remains unchanged: the government will underwrite 70% of lender liabilities, at the individual borrower level, in return for a lender fee. Lenders must ensure that the benefits of the government guarantee are passed through to businesses.
Full details of the scheme are available on GOV.UK.
by Clair Mooney | 9 Aug, 2022 | Market data
The latest weekly update from CPA is available to members here. The updated issues are in Pages 1-6 of the weekly update whilst subsequent pages have existing data and information that remain relevant. This update includes:
- Bank of England Monetary Policy Report (August 2022)
- S&P Global/CIPS UK Construction PMI (July 2022)
- ONS UK Construction Materials Prices (June 2022)
- ONS Construction Employment by Age-Demographic (2022 Q1)
- ONS Construction Employment by Gender and Occupation (2022 Q1)
- Taylor Wimpey Half Year Results (August 2022)
by Clair Mooney | 8 Aug, 2022 | Main News Feed
The Gypsum Products Development Association (GPDA) who represent the Gypsum based building materials industry have issued an update on the use and limitations of drywall specifications and standard details which can be accessed here.
by Clair Mooney | 5 Aug, 2022 | Main News Feed
Now that Making Tax Digital for VAT has started to bed in, we can expect to see HMRC starting to impose penalties for failures to comply with the detail of the legislation; so now is the time to make sure you have checked your process. More information on how to avoid penalties for Making Tax Digital for VAT is available here.
by Clair Mooney | 4 Aug, 2022 | Main News Feed
The New Hospital Programme (NHP) is hosting an Industry Day on Tuesday 20 September to outline how businesses across the supply chain can play a role in the biggest hospital building programme in a generation. With a target to develop 48 hospitals by 2030, the NHP will set out how it is building better, faster and greener ahead of the forthcoming procurement launch of the NHP’s Framework Alliance. Places are limited and members can register their interest to attend either in‐person at the Vox Conference Venue in Birmingham (B40 1PU) or online.
The NHP has previously published the NHP Supplier Guide outlining what it requires from its supply chain, along with the first NHP commercial pipeline which provides visibility of current and future contract opportunities up to 2024.
