The political and social events of 2016 proved that one thing that is constant in the modern world is change. This trend will no doubt continue into 2017, so to help organisations anticipate, prepare and respond to change in order to survive and prosper, the British Safety Council is running a halfday seminar focused on building personal and organisational resilience. The seminar, to be held in Manchester at Double Tree by Hilton Manchester, Piccadilly, on 22nd February 2017, will focus on ways of managing organisational security and safety, as well as workplace resilience and personal wellbeing. The speakers come from a wide range of sectors such as policing and security, government, transport, training and development. Louise Ward, policy, standards and communications director,

Nathan Douglas, Double Olympian and Captain of GB Athletics European Championships 2016

said:“ 2017 is set to be a challenging year with political and economic uncertainty associated with Brexit and a new USA president, as well as growing threats to both physical and cyber security.

However, planning ahead and investing in people can boost resilience of both organisations and individuals so they can respond to challenges as they arise.“ Our seminar speakers, experts in their field, will share tips and advice and inspire the audience by example, especially people such as Nathan Douglas, double Olympian and Captain of the British Athletics team for the European Athletics Championships 2016, who will talk about his experience of building personal resilience.” The seminar will also provide valuable networking opportunities, bringing together not only health and safety professionals from different industry sectors but also security experts and HR professionals, as well as other people concerned with organisational and personal resilience from across the Greater Manchester region.

The timetable for the seminar is as follows:

09:00 Registration

09:30 Welcome and introduction- Louise Ward, Policy Standards and Communications Director, British Safety Council

09:35 Planning for catastrophe- Tom Powell, Head of Audit and Risk Management, Manchester City Council

10:05 The changing face of workplace security- Superintendent Kyle Gordon, C Division Operations, British Transport Police

10:35 Tea / coffee break

11:00 Conflict avoidance( case study)- Dave Mulhall, Head of Safety and Security, TransPennine Express

11:30 Rest, recovery and resilience- Mark Davies, 7 Futures and Nathan Douglas, Double Olympian and Captain of GB Athletics European Championships 2016

12:25 Mates in Mind- Steve Hails, Director of Health, Safety & Wellbeing, Thames Tideway Tunnel

12:55 Closing remarks- Louise Ward, Policy and Standards Director, British Safety Council

13:00 Close

The price of a seminar ticket is £ 120 plus VAT for British Safety Council members and £ 165 plus VAT for non-members. To book a ticket please click https:// www. britsafe. org / sites / default / files / editor / MAE1612 _ Manchester-halfday-seminar-60-year-logo-editable. pdf

www. britsafe. org

Leading contractor Laing O’ Rourke has called for an end to labour-only subcontracting in the construction industry- and a move to direct employment of the workforce. It also wants to see the Construction Industry Training Board( CITB) merge with the Engineering Construction Training Board and play a bigger role. These are among the recommendations in a report that Laing O’ Rourke has produced called:‘ A tenpoint plan to overcome the UK’ s Construction and Infrastructure skills gap.’ The report presents a series of recommendations to government, industry and education providers on how

a unified approach can help to deliver the skilled workforce that our infrastructure and economy needs. John O’ Connor, Laing O’ Rourke’ s human capital director said:“ Our plan highlights that there is a worrying skills shortage in the UK construction and engineering sectors and presents a clear series of practical recommendations to help close the skills gap in the design, manufacturing, engineering and construction spaces.” This ten-point plan provides recommendations which are realistic and achievable and will help tackle the crisis facing the country and the solutions will help advance the skills agenda moving forward.

The report’ s ten recommendations are: 1. Flex the government’ s planned Apprenticeship Levy and reduce delays to approval of‘ Trailblazer Apprenticeship’ standards 2. Create regionally focused skills pipelines 3. Increase availability of Russell Group standard parttime degree apprenticeships 4. Review options for career transitioning apprenticeships 5. Introduce GCSEs and A-levels in Design, Engineer and Construct( DEC) disciplines 6. Foster collaboration between industry and government to deliver a broader range of improved careers advice for construction and engineering

‘ there is a worrying skills shortage in the UK construction and engineering sectors’

7. Commit the industry to measurable improvements in diversity 8. Seize the opportunity of the new Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 9. Support the creation of a single construction and infrastructure skills body 10. Facilitate the ongoing professional development of a directly employed workforce

The supply of skilled workers is vital to the industry in order for it to deliver major construction and infrastructure projects across the country, and with the government’ s recent announcements, investment

and retention is needed more than ever to tackle the mismatch between the supply and demand of new recruits and trained professionals.

www. laingorourke. com