CIPHE launches Apprentice Awards Published: 25 May, 2016 To highlight the excellent work of young people who have found their vocation in the plumbing and heating sector, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has launched its Apprentice Awards for 2016. There are three categories that apprentices can
Browser does not support script. Contact us The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has reacted to the publication of the National Flood Resilience Review. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “We welcome the Government’s National Flood Resilience Review, in particular its recognition of the clear need to think more strategically
Savills, on behalf of the joint administrators, James William Stares and Rupert Graham Mullins of Rothmans Recovery Limited, has bought to market The Priory Bay Estate in Seaview, the Isle of Wight for a guide price in excess of £3 million. Set in 48 acres, the estate benefits from a
Illegal gas fitter fined after his brother alerts homeowners to ‘at risk’ installation Published: 10 October, 2016 An illegal gas fitter has received community service after installing a gas boiler and leaving homeowners at risk because he did not commission it. Mark Evans, aged 52, fitted the gas boiler at
If you’re a construction worker and you fall off a ladder then you’re going to know instantly that you’re injured. But if you’re exposed to asbestos on site, you probably won’t realise the damage to your health for many years. As Simon Clark explains in this new film, it took
Skills Minister outlines new plans for vocational education Published: 20 July, 2016 Skills Minister Nick Boles has unveiled a new plan for Post-16 education based on 15 routes into technical education, in order to “harness [the nation’s] talent”. Under the new Post-16 Skills Plan, which follows recommendations made in a
Hundreds of thousands of construction workers are in line for a pay rise and a raft of other benefits over the next two years, it has been announced. Contractors and unions reached the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) agreement following long-running talks. More than 400,000 construction professionals will see their
CIPHE launches Apprentice Awards Published: 25 May, 2016 To highlight the excellent work of young people who have found their vocation in the plumbing and heating sector, the Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE) has launched its Apprentice Awards for 2016. There are three categories that apprentices can enter: Heating (sponsored by HHIC) Plumbing (sponsored be BMA) Vulnerability (sponsored by CIPHE). The winners of this new scheme, which is being supported by the Institute’s Industrial Associates, will receive £500 each plus a trophy. The adjudicators for the awards will be Tracey Richardson and Tony Kite, who are both involved in vocational training and are members of the Institute’s Training & Education Group. They will review photographic evidence and testimonials from lecturers, employers and customers. Winners will be invited to a special Awards Luncheon at the House of Commons on 17 November, where they will be presented with their prizes. Kevin Wellman, CIPHE chief executive officer, said: “The CIPHE has launched its own awards initiative to help raise the profile of apprenticeships by recognising both the technical and ‘soft’ skills of young people starting out in the trade. These awards seek to champion professionalism and best practice at apprentice level and we are appealing to anyone who might be working with an apprentice – from business owners to colleges – to get in touch and enter.” The deadline for entries is 14 October 2016. Full details and an application form can be found on the CIPHE’s website. Source link
Browser does not support script. Contact us The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has reacted to the publication of the National Flood Resilience Review. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “We welcome the Government’s National Flood Resilience Review, in particular its recognition of the clear need to think more strategically about how planning and urban design can help build in flood resilience into communities. “Flood defences on their own are not enough to address increasing incidences of flooding. It is necessary to change our perception of water as a threat to our villages, towns and cities and start thinking about the water cycle at the earliest stages of planning and design processes. “With the right approach, water sensitive urban design will not only help protect communities and businesses, but bring about additional social and economic benefits. We will continue to support Government in piloting this new approach through the Cumbria Floods Partnership, and would welcome the opportunity to help explore and demonstrate what can be achieved in Sheffield as part of Government’s pilot scheme. It is crucial to keep up momentum to ensure we do not continue to see lives, homes and businesses blighted by flooding in years to come.” ENDS Notes to editors: 1. For further press information contact the RIBA press office pressoffice@riba.org +44 (0)20 7307 3761 2. The Royal Institute of British Architects (@RIBA) is a global professional membership body that serves its members and society in order to deliver better buildings and places, stronger communities and a sustainable environment. www.architecture.com Posted on Friday 9th September 2016 Source link
Savills, on behalf of the joint administrators, James William Stares and Rupert Graham Mullins of Rothmans Recovery Limited, has bought to market The Priory Bay Estate in Seaview, the Isle of Wight for a guide price in excess of £3 million. Set in 48 acres, the estate benefits from a private beach and houses a total of 44 bedrooms. The Grade II listed country house offers 18 suites/bedrooms, with additional letting accommodation in converted barn and cottage developments. There are two restaurants within the property, as well as tennis courts, a six hole golf course and a helipad outside. The self-contained nature of the estate with it’s extensive grounds and view over the Solent has makes it an ideal destination for weddings and conferences. Situated to the south of the village of Seaview, Priory Bay is 3.5 miles from Ryde and the ferry links to Portsmouth. Seaview is a popular tourist destination, on the eastern side of the Isle of Wight and benefits from strong summer trade. Martin Rogers, head of UK hotel transactions at Savills, comments: “The Priory Bay Estate offers a unique opportunity to the buyer, it’s location and heritage sets it apart from other hotels on the island. It offers a range of income streams from the two restaurants, and weddings and conference facilities, providing year round business.” The affairs, business and property of Peartime Limited t/a The Priory Bay Hotel (in Administration) are managed by James Stares and Rupert Mullins the Joint Administrators, who act as agents of the Company and without personal liability. Source link
Illegal gas fitter fined after his brother alerts homeowners to ‘at risk’ installation Published: 10 October, 2016 An illegal gas fitter has received community service after installing a gas boiler and leaving homeowners at risk because he did not commission it. Mark Evans, aged 52, fitted the gas boiler at a property on Denys Road, Torquay, after he was recommended to the homeowners by a family friend. Mr Evans installed the boiler but did not commission it, left the homeowners with no paperwork and did not register the gas boiler with the Local Authority, all of which are legal requirements, heard Exeter Crown Court on 6 October. The homeowners arranged for a Gas Safe registered engineer to check on the installation, as they had concerns over the standard of Mr Evans work. Unbeknown to the homeowners the engineer they had arranged to visit turned out to be the brother of Mark Evans. He had concerns over the installation and told the homeowners to contact Gas Safe Register. The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) launched an investigation after a Gas Safe Register inspector found substandard workmanship and classed the installation as ‘At Risk’, which means there was a risk to life. Mark Evans of Sladnor Park Road, Torquay pleaded guilty to two breaches of gas safety regulations and was sentenced to an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years, ordered to serve 100 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay £3,541.00 in costs. HSE inspector Simon Jones said: “Mark Evans put lives at risk by undertaking gas work which he was neither qualified nor registered to undertake. “He knew he should not have done the work but continued anyway blatantly disregarding the law, the law that is there to protect members of the public. “After a gas boiler is installed it has to be immediately commissioned to ensure that it is working safely but Mark Evans made no such check and so left the homeowners with a potentially dangerous boiler for a considerable period of time with him knowing that the boiler had not been commissioned.” Further information about gas safety can be found on the HSE website at http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/. Picture courtesy of Shutterstock/Sebastian Duda Source link
If you’re a construction worker and you fall off a ladder then you’re going to know instantly that you’re injured. But if you’re exposed to asbestos on site, you probably won’t realise the damage to your health for many years. As Simon Clark explains in this new film, it took 35 to 40 years after his apprenticeship for his symptoms to appear. Around 5,000 asbestos-related illnesses are reported each year. Even though there are now preventative measures in place to reduce asbestos exposure and, in turn, the number of people affected by it, unfortunately this number is increasing. Why? The latency period: the fact that an asbestos-related illness can lie dormant for several years without any symptoms. Exposure to asbestos can affect the lungs and cause serious illnesses (for example mesothelioma, lung cancer, asbestosis and diffuse pleural thickening). Buildings constructed prior to 2000 almost certainly have asbestos in some shape or form and there is no such thing as ‘safe asbestos’. In the past there was a lack of awareness about the health hazards the material can cause. Now, thankfully, the industry has stringent preventative measures to reduce exposure. Mandatory training ensures that current and future construction workers are aware of the dangers and how to protect themselves and employers are aware of the regulatory safety requirements. As employers, in order to keep staff safe from asbestos, you are expected to: Ensure that information about the location of asbestos is made available to the workforce and others who may be affected Provide staff with suitable training, relevant to the level of work being carried out Develop suitable control measures to manage exposure and provide appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) where required (for example, helmets, visors, hoods or other forms of respiratory protective equipment) Arrange for medical surveillance, where legislation or policy requires it Provide supervision to make sure the control measures are being used properly. In turn, employees should: Follow any system of work that the employer has in place Wear their PPE correctly Stop work, keep away and warn others if they think they have discovered asbestos Never assume that all of the asbestos located in a building has been found Attend surveillance, if requested to do so by their as and when employer requires. Personally, I think company culture is the key to continuing to stamp out asbestos-related illness. A crew I know was working on a refurb in a commercial building when they saw an asbestos removal crew coming in. A member of the refurb crew soon noticed fibres and reported them to the site manager. The crew were immediately told to drop their tools and get off site. Stories like this show just how important it is to make sure all workers feel empowered.Asbestos awareness, coupled with the self-assurance to stand up and say when something doesn’t seem quite right, really can save lives. To find out more about asbestos-related illness and how to prevent it please visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/ The find out about the CITB CDM Wizard App, to help keep you and your workers safe, please our Construction (Design and Management) Regulations pages. Source link
Skills Minister outlines new plans for vocational education Published: 20 July, 2016 Skills Minister Nick Boles has unveiled a new plan for Post-16 education based on 15 routes into technical education, in order to “harness [the nation’s] talent”. Under the new Post-16 Skills Plan, which follows recommendations made in a report into technical education chaired by Lord Sainsbury, 16-year-olds will have to choose between 15 high quality routes rather than the 20,000 they are currently faced with. Despite the high number of courses currently provided by 160 different organisations, the report argues young people have no clear indication of which course will give the best chance of a job. They will now have to decide between academic options and technical ones aimed at a set of skilled occupations, with standards being set by employers. Each course will be offered by a single course provider – the winner of an exclusive license in a competitive process. Lord Sainsbury’s report found that the current system is confusing and failing to deliver the skills required by the country’s employers, with significant implications for the UK’s productivity, economy and competitiveness. It has been announced that the first routes will be made available from 2019 – a claim that has been dismissed by critics as “wildly optimistic”. Mr Boles said: “Britain has all the ingredients needed to compete with other skilled nations, but we must create a technical education system that can harness that talent. This cannot be the government’s job alone; we must work with employers and post-16 providers to unlock the potential in this country. “The skills plan is the next step towards that goal, building on the progress we have already made by investing in apprenticeships, and creating a skilled workforce that is the envy of every other nation. This won’t just help our young people get the best jobs but it will also boost our economy, benefitting us all.” Graeme Dryden, head of technical at APHC, commented: “We are pleased that government has recognised the need for an urgent shake-up of vocational education. Recent research by APHC revealed that 86% of people believe that school leavers should be encouraged to consider an apprenticeship as an alternative to higher education. By not providing young people with this option we are failing the next generation as well as disadvantaging the wider economy. Whether 2019 is a realistic target for the implementation of these changes remains to be seen.” Source link
Hundreds of thousands of construction workers are in line for a pay rise and a raft of other benefits over the next two years, it has been announced. Contractors and unions reached the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) agreement following long-running talks. More than 400,000 construction professionals will see their pay rise by 2.5% from July 25 this year and by an extra 2.75% in June 2017. This is significantly higher than inflation rates, which were measured at 0.3% in May. The two-year pay deal secured increases in industry sick pay and subsistence allowance. In addition, construction workers will be able to take an extra day’s holiday from 1 January 2017. Changes are also to be made to the way that travel allowances are calculated. The system will now look at the number of miles travelled, rather than kilometres. Unions GMB, Ucatt and Unite welcomed the deal, but added that they would now be working on securing additional benefits for workers. Areas they are now set to work on include the London Living Wage, rates of pay, and the impact on supply chains. Gary Lean, employer’s secretary to the CIJC, said the agreement stands to benefit all parties involved. He said: “We have concluded a most robust series of negotiations which have resulted in another two-year agreement which is not only good for all of those who work in the industry but also for clients and employers. “All parties now have certainty for the next two years and employers and unions have maintained a harmonious relationship. We regard this as good news for all parties.” To find out more about the rewards and benefits of working in construction, head to GoConstruct. Source link
