39
PRO INSTALLER OCTOBER 2015
PRO SKILLS
@proinstaller1
Industry ‘must work together’
to tackle skills crisis
The CEO of the Construction Industry Training Board has issued a
call for the construction sector to attract fresh talent into its ranks.
Addressing construction firms, SMEs, Government officials and
training organisations
at the Construction Industry Summit, Adrian
Belton examined the
scale of the skills crisis
facing the sector.
He outlined how CITB
is working hard to secure
the future of the industry
by drawing up a comprehensive picture of the most
in-demand skills and by
tailoring training to employers’ needs.
The final day of the twoday London summit focused
on the talented people who
make up the sector and how
they can help to transform
the industry over the next
10 years.
players on the world stage.
Only by working together
with the Government and
training providers can con-
‘Later this month will see the
launch of construction’s first
industry-led career portal to
get people into construction’
It is part of efforts to meet
the objectives in Construction 2025, a joint strategy
by the industry and Government aimed at helping
British construction establish itself as one of the top
struction employers hope
to overcome the challenges
they face, Mr Belton urged.
While steps are being
taken to tackle the issues at
hand, Mr Belton said there
are a number of reasons
why solutions have not yet
been identified.
These include a lack of
information on skills needs
and where the shortage of
talent is having the biggest
impact, while recruiting for
jobs rather than careers has
allowed the best workers to
drift away.
With more than 220,000
construction jobs set to be
created over the next five
years, it will be essential to
bring more young people
into the sector, as well as
finding ways to retain existing talent.
“Later this month will see
the launch of construction’s
first industry-led career
portal to get people into
construction ‘a career like
no other’. We are also working on a new, industry wide
approach to apprenticeships
to determine how we can
make them more effective
and productive than ever
been before.”
Apprenticeships will play
a crucial part in achieving
these objectives, Mr Belton
said, but so too will attracting graduates and upskilling
those already in building
roles or moving across from
other sectors.
www.citb.co.uk
UK building industry “needs
more offsite professional
development”
The UK construction industry will benefit from
increased opportunities for professionals to develop
their knowledge of offsite construction, according to
John Smith of Stewart Milne Timber Systems.
Offsite construction offers
the industry an opportunity
to increase output and performance standards through
enhanced speed of build,
reduced onsite costs, and
flexible capacity.
Head of Technical, John Smith,
believes that as more professionals are given the opportunity to
Pick up the
PRO Installer,
FREE, from
one of over
600 trade
counters.
understand offsite construction’s
advantages and the latest developments which might assist
them, the industry as a whole will
benefit.
John Smith said: “Offsite construction is a modern, energy
efficient and cost effective way of
building everything from homes
to hospitals and office buildings.
It offers increased performance
standards with reduced onsite
costs and less reliance on variables
such as good weather to complete
a building project on time and
within budget.
“The more we can educate construction industry professionals on
the various ways offsite manufacture can enhance their projects,
the more the industry will benefit
from this streamlined, energy efficient and cost effective approach
to construction.”
To contribute to this, Stewart
Milne Timber Systems held a free
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) session at its Witney
facility last month.
John Smith said: “We believe
that offsite construction has an
important part to play in shaping
the UK’s construction industry in
coming years, and will continue
offering CPD opportunities in
future. We expect to see similar
offers from the rest of the industry as more professionals begin
to employ offsite construction
methods.”
ADF PLASTICS LTD