Skills Development
Fostering demand by promoting and instilling a culture of training, life long learning and continuous professional development is at the heart of the cross government/industry Strategy for Sustainable Construction.
Construction Sector Unit works with the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), the professional institutions, and the various industry bodies to encourage more businesses to adopt a formal approach to skills development at all levels: management, technician, and trades. Our aim is generally to influence policy development, and facilitate associated interventions. The SSCs lead on developing and implementing skills development strategies, but other organisations, such as the RDAs and industry improvement organisations, also support or administer skills programmes for the sector.
The trade bodies also have an important part to play, and many of them having specific programmes in place to promote training. These include the National Federation of Builders, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association; the National Specialist Contractors Council and the Federation of Master Builders. The trade bodies are also working together, with the unions, Government and ConstructionSkills, in a Cross industry Apprenticeship Task Force, to address specific needs in that area.
Clients, professionals and project engineers each have a part to play in shaping the skills that project teams need. Life long learning and continuous professional development feature prominently in the Sustainable Construction Strategy. All the relevant professional institutions provide guidance to members to ensure they adhere to their professional obligations.
A wide range of products and services are available from training providers serving the industry. Information and guidance tailored to the needs of the various construction industries is available from the Sector Skills Councils (SSC), or from Businesslink and Train to Gain.
BERR welcomes the construction industry's drive towards a qualified and competent workforce, and the associated Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) and equivalent schemes. Further information about CSCS is available from their website.
Investors in People
BERR is keen to see more construction companies, especially small firms, commit to the Investors in People (IiP) standard. Eligible companies wishing to develop their Training Plans, or similar structured approaches to training can get advice and assistance from ConstructionSkills.
Diversity, including women in construction
There has been increasing focus on the fact that there is a huge, largely untapped source of quality workers for the industry. The industry's workforce is mainly male, with a low proportion of people from the ethnic minorities, although there are regional variations. Detailed analyses have been compiled and are available from ConstructionSkills. SummitSkills is also doing work in this area.
There are many opportunities available for women in construction, and a number of organisations exist specifically to provide training and placements for women in the industry. The SSCs have information about their own programmes to tackle the issue, and the Constructing Excellence People Zone also provides useful information.
Sector Skills Councils
The Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are the lead bodies in developing and implementing strategies to address the skills needs for their industries. The four main SSCs covering the built environment are:
ConstructionSkills - building and civil engineering
SummitSkills - electro-technical, heating, ventilating, air conditioning, refrigeration, cabling, lighting and plumbing industries
Asset Skills - facilities management (part of wider footprint)
Proskills - building products (part of wider footprint).
Construction Sector Unit engages with the SSCs primarily on broad skills policy issues such as sustainable construction, and future skills challenges.