skills

TRAINING ACADEMY EXPANDS ITS COURSE OFFERING

The new courses will ensure employees are kept up to date with the latest health and safety legislation, improving an employee’s knowledge of safe working practices to create a safer working environment for all.  The new health and safety courses include everything from electrical safety and accident reporting to driver

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SIGNIFICANT, £2.5 MILL EXPANSION TRANFORMS BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOL

SIX NEW classrooms and a 690 m2 sports hall at Henlow Church of England Academy, Bedfordshire have now completed, completely reimagining the 600 pupil school’s teaching facilities and sports opportunities. PCMS Design designed the modern, new extension to the original school site, with Building Services Design (BSD) providing mechanical and

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West London Construction Academy Is Open

A purpose-built construction academy, one of the first of its kind in the UK, has been launched by Berkeley and West London College. The West London Construction Academy has officially opened in Southall Waterside and it aims the tackle the U’s construction skills crisis and address the exodus of talent

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Latest Issue

BDC 321 : Oct 2024

skills

ESS ambition is to shape the future of industry by becoming the training partner of choice

Building on our 10-year leadership position as one of the UK wide training providers, we go beyond just delivering basic training, we maximise clients training opportunities with ‘best-in-class’, product packages and tailor-made service models as a requirement. ESS recognises that building the leadership and expertise of tomorrows workforce, will foster a culture that develops, supports, and motivates people. Market trends require more than one training option to develop a skilled workforce.      Apprenticeship’s, NVQ’s, CITB Courses, eLearning, Classroom, and nationwide On-Site training are all part of ESS extended customer reach. We view change in the marketplace as an opportunity to grow local and regional SMEs workforce alongside, larger companies, Major plc’s, and County Councils.    Through our UK alliances, our teams continue to do an outstanding job delivering a full range of training courses throughout the year. ESS have the ability to develop and produce innovative training packages, services and solutions that satisfy emerging customer training requirements. There are millions of pounds in funding and grants available for apprenticeships, adult education, training and NVQ’s in construction sector, but employers, especially SMEs are not taking advantage of it.   We have an outstanding portfolio of training courses aligned with market trends available to you and your teams. View upcoming public courses by month and year  https://essentialsiteskills.co.uk/training-calendar You can book all courses online by following the links. Alternatively, contact: 0115 8970529 to talk with one of our expert trained advisors direct, they can assist you findinganalternative location or date and even arrange for bespoke packages more suited to your requirements. Our ambition is to shape the future of industry by becoming the training partner of choice nationally.  We look forward to working with you! Building Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction & Property News

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TRAINING ACADEMY EXPANDS ITS COURSE OFFERING

The new courses will ensure employees are kept up to date with the latest health and safety legislation, improving an employee’s knowledge of safe working practices to create a safer working environment for all.  The new health and safety courses include everything from electrical safety and accident reporting to driver awareness and food allergy awareness.  Sontay, a leading manufacturer of sensing devices that can monitor and report on a building’s conditions, established its Academy in 2014. Since then, it has evolved to become more than just a specialist training academy for the Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) and Climate Control Industry. It now offers more than 130 courses in everything from Human Resources to Business Compliance, including, now of course, Health and Safety. Commercial & Marketing Director, Stacey Lucas said: “We are delighted to build on the success of the Academy by expanding the role that the Academy plays. We can only do this because we have worked hard to develop training partnerships and by talking to people in the industry, we were able to identify knowledge gaps. As a company we want to upskill not only our staff but those who want their staff to be able to understand and manage risk helping to keep everyone safe.” The Sontay Academy has partnered with a market-leading provider of online Health and Safety and Compliance Training. All courses are completed through an online Learner Management System. Candidates are issued with a certificate upon completion of the course. 

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UK’s First Ever College ‘Academic Partnership’ Announced for National Apprenticeship Week

To mark National Apprenticeship Week 2019 (4 – 8 March), an international engineering association announced it is forming the first ever academic partnership agreement with a further education college in the UK. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), which has 92,000 members globally, attended the Hunslet Campus of Leeds College of Building yesterday (Tuesday 5 March) to launch the partnership. The agreement, usually reserved for higher education institutions, is designed to advance the capabilities of the next generation of engineers. Until now, ICE academic partnerships have allowed undergraduate and postgraduate students, both on-campus and globally, to complete part of their professional engineering training while studying at university. Now, students at a further-education level will be able to access the same pathway to attaining a professional qualification and have the opportunity for broader connections with employers. During the launch event, five ICE ‘QUEST Technician Scholarships’ were awarded to top Apprentices at Leeds College of Building (Ruth Watson, William Rose, Tim O’Connor, Joshua Clarke, and Chris Meredith) and one to a student from Leeds Beckett University (Amy Farrell). These highly sought-after and well-respected Quest Scholarships are considered in industry to be a benchmark of excellence and are only awarded to candidates who display exceptional abilities and potential. Penny Marshall, Regional Director for ICE Yorkshire and Humber, said: “This exciting new agreement opens up opportunities for students to engage directly with industry. QUEST Scholarships are a sign of true excellence. Winners need to be both good leaders and team players; with ambition, determination and the ability to act and think independently. The 2019 scholars are all very talented and deserving winners. Their enthusiasm, determination and dedication clearly impressed the panel of judges. There’s no doubt they all have promising careers ahead of them.” Vicky Patterson, Curriculum Manager for Technical and Professional Apprenticeships at Leeds College of Building, said: “Since being named as BTEC Apprenticeship Provider of the Year in 2018, Leeds College of Building has solidified its position as a leader in the sector. Now, getting chosen by ICE for the first ever UK college academic partnership agreement, we are in a better position than ever to go above and beyond our normal duties to enhance the Apprentice’s experiences and ensure that we produce the most creative and brilliant young Technicians and Engineers of the future.” To find out more about Apprenticeship opportunities, visit the Apprenticeship Open Event on Thursday 7 March, 5-7pm, at the Leeds College of Building North Street Campus.

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SIGNIFICANT, £2.5 MILL EXPANSION TRANFORMS BEDFORDSHIRE SCHOOL

SIX NEW classrooms and a 690 m2 sports hall at Henlow Church of England Academy, Bedfordshire have now completed, completely reimagining the 600 pupil school’s teaching facilities and sports opportunities. PCMS Design designed the modern, new extension to the original school site, with Building Services Design (BSD) providing mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering support for the project. “The six classrooms and sports hall are a standalone block,” explained Adam Middleton, senior electrical engineer at the national M&E practice, BSD. Adam continued: “The new sports hall comprises four new Sport England compliant courts, which are to be used for both the school’s own netball, basketball and hockey teams as well as for community hire; making it an incredibly inclusive space – and one which will support not just the school but the wider Henlow population. “There are also attached changing rooms as well as a 88 m2 storage facility.” BSD provided technical support to PCMS Design to ensure that the delivery of the M&E engineering services for electricity, gas, water and the fire alarm system ran smoothly and to specification. “There were a couple of challenges on this project; time constraints meant that the scheme had to be completed for the beginning of term but, through working closely with the delivery team, we managed to complete the project on time and on budget. “The new building is a standalone building, separate to the main school. Services had to be provided to the new site and connected to existing services without impacting on the school’s day to day operations,” added Adam. The sports hall has a standing seam zinc roof, which is curved to the hall and pitched to the storage room, as well as architectural louvres which allows for air flow through the area. Alex Bond, PCMS design director and project manager said: “PCMS Design engaged BSD to advise on the performance specification for the mechanical and electrical installation on a large educational sports hall and classroom block project at Henlow Church of England Academy. “We found its services to be invaluable in the early planning stages, and throughout the specification process when specialised M&E skills and knowledge were needed.” Head teacher Caren Earp said: “Thanks to the incredible design team, we now have a fantastic new building which is going to be of huge benefit to our children, increasing the number and range of opportunities for sport that we can now offer.” The project was funded by Central Bedfordshire Council and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).

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West London Construction Academy Is Open

A purpose-built construction academy, one of the first of its kind in the UK, has been launched by Berkeley and West London College. The West London Construction Academy has officially opened in Southall Waterside and it aims the tackle the U’s construction skills crisis and address the exodus of talent from the industry. More people are leaving the construction industry than joining it, threatening productivity and growth, according to recent figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. With a shortage of homes, it is vital that the sector tackles the skills crisis head on. If it does not the workforce will decrease by 20–25% in the next decade. “The West London Construction Academy aims to address the industry’s skills gap for the long term by inspiring the next generation and preparing them for the world of work, including giving them the best chance of securing a placement at the end of their apprenticeships,” said Berkeley Group Chief Executive Rob Perrins. Berkeley Group, together with West London College and trade partners, have designed a new ‘By Industry, For Industry’ curriculum. Apprentices will gain on-the-job experience alongside classroom and online learning, bridging the skills gap for the long term and allowing students to earn as they learn. The courses available are services vital to the industry, such as bricklaying, plastering, dry-lining and carpentry and are open to anyone aged 16 and above. All apprentices will benefit from individual support from business champions and mentors. Apprentices graduating from the academy will be given the best chance of securing employment at the end of their courses – putting their skills to use straight away. A number of positions will be available with Berkeley and its supply chain at Southall Waterside itself. “West London has a number of major projects either planned or underway, from Southall Waterside and HS2, to Crossrail and Old Oak Common; training local people will be integral to the success and timely delivery of these projects – and will be an incredible opportunity to build experience and establish desirable skills. West London College is thrilled to be in the position to offer such an incredible facility to the industry,” said Karen Redhead, Chief Executive at West London College.

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