Sarah Harvey has thrived for 30 years in construction recruitment. Find out how she achieved this feat and how the industry has changed over the decades. When I took my first construction recruitment job in 1989, I would never have imagined I would still be in the industry 30 years
The main aims of the Centre of Excellence are to provide opportunities in Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering, with a postgraduate course available and targeted research projects with direct industry involvement. About The Centre of Excellence comprises a large number of academic staff across engineering disciplines who are committed
Welsh Government Minister Kirsty Williams visited Willowtown Primary school in Ebbw Vale to launch the GoConstruct Educate resources, which introduces the construction industry to the school curriculum in a bid to get more youngsters to consider a future career in construction. The Go Construct Educate Programme is a Construction Industry
UK housebuilder Harron Homes has named a new Construction Director to lead its Yorkshire team. Robert Kerr will join the Leeds-based firm with almost four decades experience in the construction industry and on the back of a recent role as Construction Director at a Bradford based housebuilder. The Rotherham man,
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2020, Leeds College of Building has announced it is teaming up with The Guinness Partnership, managers of the new housing development opposite the College’s South Bank Campus. Construction is due to start on the new development near Leeds Docks and the Royal Armouries Museum
Prospective apprentices are invited to a series of seminars at Newcastle College this week to mark National Apprenticeship Week. On Wednesday 5th February, the doors of the college’s Rye Hill Campus will be opened for an Apprenticeship Open Event, offering the chance to meet employers, ask questions and make an
The Torbay-headquartered construction company The Cavanna Group has announced three new appointments to its Board of Directors, completing a ten year succession plan for the family business which was established in 1923 in Torquay. The Cavanna Group’s business operations, which include Cavanna Homes developments across the West Country, are overseen
It’s no secret that the construction industry is currently facing an increasingly large skills shortage. The industry has long suffered from a lack of skilled workers, making it more difficult than ever to hit deadlines due to the shrinking talent pool. This is a big problem for the government, whose
ISG has kicked off 2020 with the announcement of two new senior appointments. The firm has added two professionals to the Engineering Services Leadership Board, with Peter Millett joining as managing director for the Europe datacentre business and Jim McCarthy taking up the reins of a new division in his
Leeds College of Building is now offering the Interior Systems Installer Apprenticeship, focusing specifically on the drylining pathway. This is a Level 2 qualification and typically takes two years to complete. Working in partnership with British Gypsum to deliver the course, it includes the supply of materials, training and keeping
Sarah Harvey has thrived for 30 years in construction recruitment. Find out how she achieved this feat and how the industry has changed over the decades. When I took my first construction recruitment job in 1989, I would never have imagined I would still be in the industry 30 years later. Thriving for three decades in this role is rare, as it’s such a tough, competitive environment to work in. My time in construction recruitment has given me a unique insight on the industry as a whole, and I wanted to discuss the evolution I’ve seen and the changes I still want to see. As we approach the end of an uncertain year, we’re hoping 2020 will be reinvigorated through political clarity. For construction talent, be it permanent or temporary staff, if you do a good job and add value, you win through. Construction An Improved Landscape The industry has undergone a major image transformation over the last 30 years and has emerged as more professional and respectable. The industry we know today is process-led, policy-driven and digitalised. The culture of the late 1980s has been largely overhauled, and as a result, we all work in a more positive sector. Whilst policy is a must in order to mitigate risk, there is a feeling that policy can be more of a tick-box exercise with the clear exception of health and safety. We have seen a complete behavioural overhaul of health and safety, and rightly so. The standards have skyrocketed, meaning workers are happier, more productive and significantly safer in their roles. Equally, 30 years ago, there was no such thing as having records and plans stored digitally. Advancements in technology have enabled plans to be viewed in 3D, making it more efficient to plan and develop construction projects. The concept of construction management software has also revolutionised the industry. It allows different parties to collaborate on projects with more ease, which means they can make necessary changes much faster. We also talk about equality, diversity and inclusion, and wanting to attract more women into construction. Fortunately, how the industry treats its stakeholders is worlds apart from where we were in the late 80s. Industry leaders who are stuck in their old ways still exist, but thankfully, they are now few and far between. They need to be as they actively deter females from the industry and cause good staff members to look for better prospects elsewhere. Where We Need to Build a Better Industry Culturally, the industry has improved, but there are issues that still need to be resolved. I think the way parties interact with each other has remained largely unchanged with confrontation still rife. Because of this, the industry loses talent that doesn’t cope well in harsh cultures. Being overly tough just isn’t the right approach for today’s talent. The industry has been very slow to adjust here, despite claiming otherwise. Staff retention hasn’t improved massively over the years, but if we adapted the same zero tolerance approach to poor management as we do to health and safety, workers will be more inclined to stay in their roles. People often tell us they feel like they’re in a straight-jacket, unable to offer ideas or honest feedback for fear of it putting a black mark against their name. Similarly, there are widespread comments that people feel like their appraisals are rushed and merely part of box-ticking process. Whilst policy is key to compliance and risk mitigation, there needs to be a greater level of sincerity around policies. We have to take them more seriously instead of using them to simply satisfy legislative criteria. I can still remember how fondly professionals spoke about their careers in the late 80s and 90s. Despite how far the construction industry has advanced, it doesn’t feel like workers these days have the same sense of team spirit and respect for each other. There seems to be a worrying sense of disillusionment with how they’re treated, with company politics and what many consider to be overkill on process. Talented professionals feel stifled and that their roles are now less skilled with the growth of automation processes. I knew many site engineers, site managers, quantity surveyors and the like who are now senior industry leaders. It seems the generation of yesteryear had a real appetite to progress, but these workers are now within a few years of retirement. As a general observation, I think those who have come through the industry in the last ten to fifteen years don’t have the same desires. This is concerning as it poses a potential problem for sourcing future leaders and begs the question as to why people don’t want these roles. It’s highly unlikely they don’t want an increase in salary, bonuses and kudos. It’s more than likely they don’t want to deal with the complicated processes, backstage politics and blame culture that many perceive comes with career progression. Towards the end of the 80s, late payment was rife. We still hear about poor payment issues today, which is leading to the same business failures we saw three decades ago. Payment has improved on the whole, but I feel it may have regressed in 2019. We talk about fair treatment and timely payment, but there are still behaviours that fly in the face of these principles. Recruitment: The Success and Failures of the Industry The recruitment industry has also evolved a great deal during my three decades in the business. When I first started out, recruitment was completely paper-based, and sales offices were smoke-filled dens of relentless, high-pressure sales activity. The role was purely phone–based and job boards were unheard of. The way in which jobseekers look for new roles now has certainly changed. Over the last few years, I have witnessed the rise of job boards, applicant tracking systems, portals and social media — LinkedIn in particular. Previously, advertising was mostly confined to industry magazines, and anyone looking for a different job would need to look at
The main aims of the Centre of Excellence are to provide opportunities in Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering, with a postgraduate course available and targeted research projects with direct industry involvement. About The Centre of Excellence comprises a large number of academic staff across engineering disciplines who are committed to addressing industry challenges associated with construction processes. This groups has many years of experience in providing insight into practical problems and have access to state-of-the-art testing facilities that allow exploration into simple and complex problems. People Research The main aim of the Centre of Excellence is to undertake research that will support the Temporary Works Forum (TWf) in driving “long-term change and waste reduction in the way we construct”. The Centre of Excellence at City, University of London, supported by the Temporary Works Forum (TWf), have two doctoral research projects on-going, please see the descriptions below: 1. Safety of Working Platforms for Tracked Plant Formed from Construction Demolition Waste. The key design criterion for working platform design is whether it can safely support the application of an extremely high monotonic load applied eccentrically through the tracks of plant. Thus, the design criterion is stability. The BRE guide idealises this load case as load acting over an equivalent area, rectangular in plan, which lies on layered ground. The depth of the upper layer, the working platform, is determined by assuming a punch through failure mechanism in this layer and conventional bearing capacity failure in the subgrade. Designers following this method then need to determine the appropriate angle of friction to be used in the calculation of the resistance of the platform material (construction demolition waste) to punching failure. The aim of this approach is to provide a conservative design method given that insufficient data exists. This research is being carried out by Greta Tanghetti under the supervision of Dr Richard Goodey. 2. The strength and stability of steel reinforcement cages in their temporary state. The contributing strength of a steel reinforcement cage to that of a reinforced concrete column, beam, slab or wall is well understood. However, the strength and stability of that same cage during its assembly, handling and whilst lifting into position prior concreting is not. Whilst a number of guidance documents exist for industry to consult, they contain no real guidance for their technical assessment. This poor understanding of the behaviour of these highly flexible structures, coupled with changing industrial practices involved with their construction, means that there continues to be accidents from stability collapses and tie failures during the temporary state. The aim of the project is to establish the strength and stability of reinforcement cages in their temporary state to make suitable recommendations and assessment methodologies to improve industry guidance and best practice leading to a safer construction environment. This research is being carried out by Konstantinos Kalfas under the supervision of Dr Brett McKinley. If you are interested in contributing to either of these projects please contact the Director of the Centre of Excellence Dr Andrew McNamara. Facilities Civil Engineering Laboratory We have access to an array of recently refurbished facilities, including exceptional laboratories. The Geotechnical Centrifuge Facility is the centrepiece of the Civil Engineering Laboratory which also accommodates a large flexible laboratory space used for centrifuge model preparation, model testing at 1g, concrete testing and teaching. Adjacent to this are concrete mixing and casting facilities, a temperature-controlled soil element testing laboratory and a concrete durability laboratory. Read more about the Civil Engineering Laboratory’s facilities Structures Laboratory In addition we have access to a Strong Floor and loading frames including new strong-wall being developed for lateral loading of column and tall structures. This particular facility has seen £800K investment in equipment for teaching and research including high flow computer controlled hydraulic loading for static, cyclic and dynamic & hybrid testing with ring-main, static compression up to 12MN and 50kN tension testing for steel materials. Wind Tunnel The Department of Mechanical Engineering & Aeronautics have also initially agreed to the use of their Wind Tunnel Laboratory facilities. These are renowned for being newly upgraded and leading-edge facilities. Education New MSc in Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering Our new MSc degree, the first and only of its kind in the UK, provides a specialist qualification for those involved in the design and construction of temporary works and addresses industry need for such a professional qualification. The Temporary Works Forum (TWf), which promotes best practice within the UK construction industry*, has designated City, University of London as a Centre of Excellence in Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering and collaborated in the development and delivery of this new masters. For more information on our MSc degree please see our Post-graduate courses page or contact the Director of the Centre of Excellence Dr Andrew McNamara. The first cohort of students on the new MSc Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering with Bill Hewlett, former chairman of the Temporary Works Forum and Andrew McNamara, programme director and director of the Centre of Excellence for Temporary Works and Construction Method Engineering.
Welsh Government Minister Kirsty Williams visited Willowtown Primary school in Ebbw Vale to launch the GoConstruct Educate resources, which introduces the construction industry to the school curriculum in a bid to get more youngsters to consider a future career in construction. The Go Construct Educate Programme is a Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) funded project awarded to major construction contractor Bouygues UK. CITB and Bouygues UK have worked with a consortium of partners from the construction industry, education sector, Careers Wales and learning technology company Aspire 2Be to develop the resources, which will be available to every school, teacher and pupil across Wales aged from five to 16. The GoConstruct Educate resources will cover numeracy, literacy and digital competency skills, and provision is also made for Welsh Baccalaureate and alternative education. Teachers will be provided with a series of contextualised learning projects which include an overview for each project, along with a set of progressive lesson plans and numerous interactive resources to use with each year group. The resources will all be available on Hwb, the education online platform which is available to all 1456 schools in Wales. As well as GoConstruct Educate, the other GoConstruct elements are Experience – where students use the much-loved game Minecraft to learn about building and planning; and GoConstruct Engage – in which construction professionals across a wide range of roles and business will visit schools to talk about their career pathway. Go Construct Engage links in to both projects to enable industry experts to come into the schools and bring the resources to life. On launching the resources, Minister for Education, Kirsty Williams said: “I’m grateful to the CITB and their partners for launching Go Construct – Experience, Educate and Engage resources, using these within the classroom and as part of work experience will help schools to recognise and utilise the opportunities the construction sector can offer our learners.” CITB Chief Executive Sarah Beale said: “CITB is delighted to have funded and co-developed Go Construct Educate in collaboration with Bouygues UK and a consortium of industry partners. “The programme is a milestone in Welsh education. It means construction modules will be part of the Welsh curriculum for the first time. Go Construct Educate will make the teaching of construction modern, informative and fun for all. It will mean boys, girls, teachers and parents in Wales fully consider the wide range of career opportunities in construction, thus helping industry with the skills challenges it faces.” Pupils at Willowtown Primary showed the Minister how they have been using some of the GoConstruct Educate resources to help them in class including constructing a bridge and using Minecraft to plan a building. Emma Thomas, acting Headteacher at Willowtown Primary school said: “We are very excited to host the launch of Go Construct Educate. We are proud to be a STEM learning network school and ensure a STEM rich focus is at the heart of all our topics. We want to future proof our learners and give them skills that will help them succeed. “Engaging with the Go Construct Educate project fits perfectly with our STEM ethos. We ran the Go Construct Educate project successfully across the school last year and found that it was an excellent way to engage with the new curriculum. The resources are clear and detailed for teachers to use and they are purposeful and interactive for the children.” Julie Timothy, Corporate Social Responsibility Manager at Bouygues UK South West and Wales said: “One of Bouygues UK’s core business aims is to highlight how diverse and dynamic the construction industry is, to fill a growing skills shortage and ensure that the industry has nurtured a talent pipeline for the future growth anticipated. “Go Construct Educate presented us with a fantastic opportunity to achieve some of those goals by introducing children to construction from a young age and change misconceptions about the industry as a whole. There are so many career paths and opportunities within this sector – including a massive 2,000 different job roles – and yet it’s not something pupils often hear about during school hours. “To that end, we want to make sure that the lesson plans and projects are progressive, digestible and above all else that they weave seamlessly into the new curriculum, making it as easy as possible for teachers to engage their students. “Bouygues UK is thrilled to be bringing GoConstruct Educate to schools across Wales, and with our official launch just around the corner, we’re really looking forward to seeing its impact on the Welsh construction industry for years to come.” Simon Pridham, Education and Performance Partner at Aspire 2Be said: “The investment CITB has assigned to Go Construct Experience, Educate and Engage in Wales is absolutely tremendous, this really is a game changer for schools in Wales. As a former Headteacher and Government Adviser, I wish these resources and opportunities had been available a number of years ago, when I was leading a school.” Aspire 2Be has been working in conjunction with Welsh Government to ensure that the GoConstruct lesson plans and any resources used are aligned with the new curriculum in Wales. This means that each module will be integrated in various school subjects, to align with the Science, Technology, Engineering, Art & Maths (STEAM) and will cover the Six Areas of Learning and the Four Purposes. Ahead of its official launch, schoolchildren from all over Wales were invited to road-test the three GoConstruct Projects in ‘Buildathon’ events at Coleg Cambria in Deeside, Parc y Scarlets in Llanelli and Sophia Gardens, Cardiff. The pupils were assigned roles as project managers, architects and construction managers and were asked to design and build a rugby or cricket fan village using Minecraft. Former Wales rugby player Rupert Moon also attended these events to talk to the children about the importance of experiencing different careers from an early age.
UK housebuilder Harron Homes has named a new Construction Director to lead its Yorkshire team. Robert Kerr will join the Leeds-based firm with almost four decades experience in the construction industry and on the back of a recent role as Construction Director at a Bradford based housebuilder. The Rotherham man, who is known as Bob, was attracted to Harron Homes because of the high specification of the properties it builds and the opportunity the role offered to develop the construction and customer care teams to further improve customer satisfaction. Noel Adams, Managing Director for Harron Homes Yorkshire, said: “Bob’s wealth of experience means he was an obvious choice for the post. “Our operational area boasts some of the UK’s most attractive locations, some of its richest history and some of its most charming communities. “I am proud to say that the company has experienced great success over the past two decades years bringing high quality, family homes to these areas and with Bob’s input we look forward to playing our part in meeting the continued demand.” Harron Homes is currently building a range of executive new homes across Yorkshire, from Harrogate to Barnsley and Huddersfield to Howden, including a number of new developments due to launch in 2020 in Pocklington and Carlton.
To coincide with National Apprenticeship Week 2020, Leeds College of Building has announced it is teaming up with The Guinness Partnership, managers of the new housing development opposite the College’s South Bank Campus. Construction is due to start on the new development near Leeds Docks and the Royal Armouries Museum later this year. This will be the largest development in Guinness’s 130-year history and will provide 928 homes as the basis for a dynamic community for local people and residents. Guinness is committed to working with the College to develop opportunities for students, including career talks, employability skills, site visits, work placements and apprenticeships. Two areas that the housing provider is looking to focus on are addressing the national skills shortage and diversity in the workplace – key elements of the College’s strategic objectives. This year is the 13th annual National Apprenticeship Week, coordinated by the National Apprenticeship Service, which is an annual week-long celebration of apprenticeships across England and is a time to recognise and applaud apprenticeship success stories across the country. The College currently has 2,500 apprentices on programme, with 2,250 of these training in Leeds, and a large number of apprentices progressing from the College’s 16-18 study programme provision. Strong links with organisations that can support students with their career choices (such as Guinness) is vital. Derek Whitehead, CEO & Principal at Leeds College of Building, said: “Whilst classroom and workshop studies are essential, there is no doubt to the importance of site visits, work placements and job opportunities. Projects such as these give our students incredible insight into new developments within the industry; they benefit immensely from seeing what life is like on a live site”. Catriona Simons, Chief Executive of Guinness, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Leeds College of Building to promote high quality training through apprenticeships in the community we serve in Leeds. Apprenticeships are a key way of promoting skills development and increasing diversity across the construction and housing maintenance sectors. This partnership will enable students to gain real experience and insight into the careers available, while contributing to the delivery of affordable homes in the Leeds area.”
Prospective apprentices are invited to a series of seminars at Newcastle College this week to mark National Apprenticeship Week. On Wednesday 5th February, the doors of the college’s Rye Hill Campus will be opened for an Apprenticeship Open Event, offering the chance to meet employers, ask questions and make an application. Lee Tennant, Head of Apprenticeships at Newcastle College, said: “Apprenticeships are vital to the future of skills and employment within the region. Helping young people find their path into skilled careers and from the other side, businesses sourcing the right people for their workforce, are among our key aims at Newcastle College.” An apprenticeship sees students employed within a business, doing a real job, while being supported through nationally accredited training. Anybody over the age of 16 can apply for an apprenticeship. This week’s national campaign has a Look Beyond theme, which celebrates the diversity of apprenticeships. With more than 30 apprenticeship routes on offer, there is something for everyone at Newcastle College. During the Apprenticeship Open Event, which runs between 3.30–7.00pm, presentations and Q&A sessions will be held to discuss a range of career paths. To mark the end of National Apprenticeship Week on Friday 7th February, the Newcastle College Apprenticeship Awards will be held at St James’ Park. The awards will celebrate and recognise apprentices who have made a significant contribution to their workplaces. Among the categories this year are the Personal Achievement, Special Recognition, and Outstanding Apprentice of the Year awards. Mr Tennant added: “This event helps us to highlight the importance of apprenticeships and shine a light on the powerful differences they can make to individuals and companies across the North East.” Sign up for the Newcastle College Apprenticeship Open Event. For more information on apprenticeship courses at Newcastle College, visit https://www.ncl-coll.ac.uk/school-leavers/subject-areas/apprenticeships Picture caption: Pictured are winners from the 2019 Newcastle College Apprenticeship Awards
The Torbay-headquartered construction company The Cavanna Group has announced three new appointments to its Board of Directors, completing a ten year succession plan for the family business which was established in 1923 in Torquay. The Cavanna Group’s business operations, which include Cavanna Homes developments across the West Country, are overseen by Managing Director Keith Miller who joined the company in October 2017. Alongside Keith on the Board are Andrew Addison who has been promoted to Operations Director, having previously served 12 months as Head of Operations. David Green who has been with Cavanna Homes since 2001 is promoted to Development Director and Scott Murray joins the firm as Group Finance Director, replacing Brian Bargent. Brothers Jeremy and Jonathan Cavanna and their cousin Martin Cavanna, who are third generation members of the family business will remain on the Board but have moved to non-executive roles within the Cavanna Group which remains entirely family-owned. Keith Miller said: “2020 marks a significant milestone in Cavanna’s history as we complete the transition from a family owned and managed business to one that is now managed and directed by non-family members. While the Board of Directors are responsible for driving-forward this very successful company, we are answerable to the Cavanna shareholders, for whom the way in which we do business “the Cavanna Way”, embedding the family ethos in everything we do, is paramount. “We are also pleased to have fourth generation Cavanna family members in the business and look forward to supporting their growth and success in the company.” Paying tribute to the Cavanna family, Keith said; “Cavanna Homes charts a remarkable story of business success from humble beginnings when PD Cavanna arrived in Torquay with the tools of his trade and £200 of his family’s life savings, to a multi-million pound business which achieved national recognition as winner at the Housebuilder Awards 2019. “Over the past three decades, Jeremy, Jonathan and Martin Cavanna have laid solid foundations for the future, having grown the company by a factor of one hundred under their leadership. Their legacy is a strong family ethos, professional standards and a commitment to achieving the highest level of customer and staff satisfaction. “It is an honour and a privilege for me and my fellow directors to take this company to its centenary year and beyond. With the excellent team here at Cavanna Homes we will keep the company safe and profitable well into the future.” Cavanna Homes employs 139 staff from its Torquay headquarters and around 250 contractors working on development sites across Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. In 2019 Cavanna Homes produced a turnover of £50.9million on 169 open market sales and 59 affordable homes. This year the firm will be building new homes in 14 locations including city, coast and countryside developments. In addition to the day to day business, Cavanna staff raised over £15,000 in 2019 for Children’s Hospice South West and have nominated the same charity for their fundraising efforts in 2020. The company was recently named the UK’s Housebuilder of the Year 2019 at the national Housebuilder Awards in the medium category for housebuilders building between 200 and 1,500 homes a year.
It’s no secret that the construction industry is currently facing an increasingly large skills shortage. The industry has long suffered from a lack of skilled workers, making it more difficult than ever to hit deadlines due to the shrinking talent pool. This is a big problem for the government, whose plans to build 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s is becoming more of a pipe dream. In fact, according to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the lack of skilled construction workers is at its highest point since 2007. In order to get back on track, the industry needs to recruit over 200,000 more workers by 2020. Below, industry experts at Vizwear explore what problems the skills shortage in construction is causing for the government’s homebuilding targets — and what companies can do to help fill key positions. What’s causing the skills shortage? The main problem that’s contributing towards the skills shortage is that as a whole, the construction industry is still battling with an image problem. “The industry needs to attract a fresh workforce to keep up with demands”, says Daniel Ure from online PPE retailer Vizwear. “But for many on the outside, the thought of working in construction still conjures up images of wolf-whistling workmen on building sites. To attract a new stream of workers, the industry needs to shake this negative image and show how the industry has developed.” It’s not just the difficulties of attracting new employees that are causing a skills shortage, though: it’s also due to the current workers. Data from the 2011 census showed that in the construction industry, one in five employees were aged over 55. This means that by the early 2020s, when the industry should be hitting its homebuilding targets, most will have reached or be close to retirement age. An ageing workforce and an uphill recruitment battle are a combination that could have a detrimental effect on the industry. What steps can be taken to close the gap? The biggest barrier facing the construction industry is presenting itself as a desirable career path to potential employees. Although often seen in a bad light, there are fantastic opportunities to be had in construction, including mechanics, engineering and electronics. There are a number of ways that construction companies can reach out to the right candidates and ensure them that a career in construction is exactly what they’re looking for. 1. Increase education To ensure that the future workforce in construction is vibrant and engaged, young people need to be re-educated about what construction is really like A survey created by L&Q Group discovered that only one in ten children between the ages of 16 and 18 would consider a career in construction, fearing that the industry would be ‘challenging and unexciting’. Although around 50% said that they were interested in a Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) career, the construction industry simply wasn’t appealing enough. Interestingly, though, the students who said they would consider a construction career said that their reasoning was due to the excitement of the role. Working closely with schools and colleges to promote the industry is a great way to show young people that there are a number of avenues their career path can take in construction. By setting up a formal work experience programme, you can attract future workers with real, hands-on experience to give students the chance to experience the industry for themselves. 2. Don’t neglect training By offering proper training programmes, construction companies have the opportunity to help close the skills gap with new talent. It’s not just labour-intensive roles that are suffering from the skills shortage — there is also a demand for tech and digital skills. But rather than looking externally for these roles, use it as an opportunity to upskill your current staff. Nurturing talent within your business is great for morale; plus, you’ll help to develop your team’s careers, skill sets and better utilise ambitious and forward-thinking workers. The training involved with upskilling current workers can be as simple as one-on-one mentoring, or you can make use of the wide range of online and practical courses available for skill development. There are also government-funded schemes available to help train future construction workers. For instance, we are currently in the middle of an 18-month fund set up by the government, launched with a budget of £22 million. This scheme launched 20 on-site hubs, of which people looking to join the industry, as well as people switching careers, can apply their knowledge in a real-world environment. 3. Look for skilled workers in the right places Ensuring that next-generation workers are knowledgeable about the industry is vital, but there are other skilled groups that are waiting to be snapped up by the industry. For example, over 14,000 leave the military every year, meaning the construction industry has a pool of highly trained individuals with transferable skills at their disposal. There are a number of companies that have already reaped the benefits of military leavers, and even provide specialist training and learning credits to get them fully trained as soon as possible. Military leavers offer the unique opportunity for construction firms to hire workers that can effectively follow instructions, work well as a team and can keep calm under pressure. It’s a unique opportunity that is too good to pass up. 4. Address the gender imbalance Part of the problem is that construction is a historically male-dominated industry. Between 2007 and 2016, reports found that the number of women workers in construction only rose by 0.7%, resulting in an incredibly low 12.8% total. But it’s not just workers in the industry, nearly half of construction workers claimed that they have never had a female manager. Whatever the role, women in construction are being overlooked. As women make up half of the population, it seems crazy that the industry is ignoring so much potential talent that it sorely needs to help fill the skills gap. Educating female students is a crucial
ISG has kicked off 2020 with the announcement of two new senior appointments. The firm has added two professionals to the Engineering Services Leadership Board, with Peter Millett joining as managing director for the Europe datacentre business and Jim McCarthy taking up the reins of a new division in his role as managing director for customer operations. Commenting on the appointments, Bart Korink, Chief Operating Officer for ISG’s Engineering Services business, said: “I’m delighted to announce the addition of Peter to our leadership team and Jim’s new role in our new customer operations division. “Peter joins from Jaguar Land Rover, bringing with him over 30 years’ experience, expertise and insight in construction. “His client knowledge will prove invaluable in helping us continue to build our data centre contractor experience in Europe and provide the best customer service in the industry.” In his role within the latest ISG division, Jim will also lead the deployment of a new, dedicated customer operations team alongside business development director, Richard Irwin. “Our global datacentre, science and health sectors continue to show good growth,” Mr Korink added. “Moving forward, we want to continue to be contractor of choice for datacentre delivery across Europe and expand our customer base across Europe and Asia. “Key to this function will be building our scalability and capability in new geographies, implementing successful win work strategies and managing key client account relationships to inform future tendering opportunities. “Jim has a wealth of experience working with our key datacentre clients after delivering a number of key projects for our datacentre business in Europe. “Under his leadership, we will be able to create a stable, resilient platform that enables us to achieve our ambitions and support the growth of the wider business.”
Leeds College of Building is now offering the Interior Systems Installer Apprenticeship, focusing specifically on the drylining pathway. This is a Level 2 qualification and typically takes two years to complete. Working in partnership with British Gypsum to deliver the course, it includes the supply of materials, training and keeping apprentices up-to-date with product development. If you are interested, get in touch with the Apprenticeship Team on 0113 222 6041 or email wbl@lcb.ac.uk For full details click here. Key facts Where will the apprentice study? Leeds College of Building Funding band: £1400, non-levy employer contribution £700 Apprentices start: Sept 2020, however early demand could bring the first wave forward to February 2020. Apprenticeship Training Costs: If you are an apprenticeship levy-payer you could fund this course through your levy payments, and for non-levy payers you will be required to contribute 5% of the course cost. If you are a non-levy payer and have less than 50 employees and take on a 16-18 year old apprentice the course will be free. Regardless of whether you are a levy/non-levy paying company, you can claim a one-off incentive of £1,000 for taking on a 16-18 year old apprentice. The college will also support apprentices from out of the area by accommodating them free of charge in a city centre hotel whilst they are in college and also help with the travel costs. With around 60,000 Dryliners active in the UK, Drylining must, as a trade be one of the UK’s best kept secrets. Everybody knows what a plasterer or a carpenter is, but you often get blank looks when you talk about drylining. The fact is that drylining is now emerging as one of the key trades in construction. It is encouraging to see leading colleges like Leeds evidencing this by getting behind it. We now have a new Apprenticeship Standard, new providers and the new funding allows real flexibility about age of apprentices. We are also seeing significant increases in the CITB funding available for companies who take on apprentices – this is over and above the funding that you can get to cover the training. This is a huge opportunity to make 2020 the year of the apprentice, for the sector to embrace this standard as a catalyst for change, to revisit how we invest in training and work with colleges and providers to put drylining firmly on the careers map. Iain McIlwee, FIS chief executive
