INDUSTRY NEWS Inbrief
The ICOM Energy Association has exceeded its fundraising target of £2,017 for the construction industry charity CRASH with a final total of £2,160. The money was raised through a number of sponsored activities, as well as a collection at the ICOM annual lunch. All of the funds will go towards helping CRASH deliver construction-related projects to help homeless people and hospice charities.
http://icom.org.uk
A new series of BESA accredited courses for ventilation hygiene will be delivered at Swiftclean Building Services’ head office training facility in Southend. Compliance House will be one of few Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) accredited training centres in the UK offering training in Ventilation and Grease Hygiene.
www.swiftclean.co.uk
Managing indoor air quality is an important factor in building design and now Waterloo Air Products is offering a new course, ‘An Introduction to Air Distribution’, covering the principles of air distribution when using mixed flow, displacement and VAV (Variable Air Volume) systems.
www.waterloo.co.uk
International heat pump experts will gather for the fifth time for the The European Heat Pump Summit on October 24 & 25. The summit will be held at the Nuremberg Exhibition Centre and speakers will explore all aspects of industrial and commercial heat pump applications in a wide range of presentations.
www.hp-summit.de
Hudson Contract is encouraging young people to pursue a career in construction with a new video campaign featuring apprentices, employers, Ian Billyard, principal of Leeds College of Building and MP for East Yorkshire, Rt Hon Sir Greg Knight.
www.hudsoncontract.co.uk
Heating manufacturer Remeha has launched a new, enhanced, fully-responsive website tailored to the needs of its customers as part of its ongoing investment into the commercial heating market.
www.remeha.co.uk
Malcolm Moss addresses guests 6 August 2017
RISE IN PLUMBING COURSES FAILS TO ADDRESS SKILLS GAP
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he industry is being flooded by trainees with basic plumbing qualifications rather than higher skills needed to address the skills gap, according to the Building Engineering Services Association. It has criticised a number of
training providers for promoting lower cost plumbing courses to employers at the expense of the wider scoped building services apprenticeships and has urged employers to set their sights higher and get “two apprentices for the price of one”. Many colleges promote plumbing
short courses because they are cheaper to deliver, but employers receive far better value for money if they enrol their staff on more technically demanding training such as the new Trailblazer apprenticeships or an installer, craftsperson, and service and maintenance course, rather than retraining them afterwards as BSE installers according to BESA’s director of training Tony Howard. “The CITB’s Construction Skills Network forecast predicts shortages of plumbers in London, but nowhere else. Also, its research does not differentiate between the skills sets
or address the chronic shortage of building services engineering installers,’ he said. “Employers are still being pushed
towards plumbing instead of pipework qualifications. Why would you accept that? Pilots all undertake the same basic training, but people flying off on their summer holidays this year in an Airbus A320 might be a little nervous if they knew the pilot had only trained on a Cessna.” Mr Howard believes that the same principle applies in the building services sector and challenged employers to look at what they were actually getting for their money. “You shouldn’t think it’s not your money because you aren’t paying the Apprenticeship Levy. You will still be out of pocket if you have to fill the skills gaps left by training providers and pay for the wastage and refits created by unskilled workers.” He added that the regulatory
compliance ‘tick box’ culture that dominates construction-related professions had forced skills down to the level of basic competence rather than focusing on higher skill levels that can contribute to better performing buildings.
“As a result, there is a surfeit of
short courses designed simply to get people into the industry, which has undermined our skills base. We have ended up with lots of people only capable of carrying out basic activities – the plumbing and gas sectors being the worst offenders. “I believe in competency training and assessment, but a short programme or quick course is not the way to set up our future workforce. On the contrary, it is setting people up to fail,” said Mr Howard. BESA argues that, by investing in
training at a higher level, employers can get the workforce they need for the right medium term price. “Apprenticeships work by boosting
economic productivity, growing our skills base and giving millions a leg up on the ladder of opportunity,” he added. “Over 90% of apprentices currently go into work or further training – and they are not building up student debt along the way,” said Mr Howard. BESA is working with building engineering employers to develop targeted Trailblazer apprenticeships in key technical sectors and has started work on developing apprenticeships at higher and degree level.
RIVER CRUISE TO MARK ADCAS ANNIVERSARY
the victims of recent terror attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire. Addressing members and industry representatives who joined
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the celebrations, Adcas president, Malcolm Moss, said the trade association had been formed in 1997 in response to frustration among ductwork contractors that their work was not being adequately recognised in the construction sector. A member of umbrella body the Federation of Environmental
Trade Associations (FETA), Adcas works in close cooperation with other trade associations such as BESA’s ventilation group, CIBSE and BSRIA and as a member of Build UK is in the process of tackling two important issues for members – retentions and standardisation of pre qualification questionnaires. Mr Moss added that with Brexit looming, Adcas would do its best to play its role no matter what the outcome of the negotiations which had the potential to impact both members and what wider idustry as a whole. He concluded: “On a sad note, we are all very much aware of
the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London and the fire at Grenfell Tower. There will undoubtedly be consequences for all stakeholders in the building industry following Grenfell and we should stand ready to play a constructive part.” Donations from both Adcas and guests topped £1,000.
www.heatingandventilating.net
he Association of Ductwork Contractors and Allied Services (Adcas) celebrated its 20th anniversary with a river cruise along the Thames last month and raised over £1,000 for
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