OPINION
constructionmanagermagazine.com
Schools delivery knowledge gap looms Greater knowledge-sharing would boost the delivery of SEND schools, says Peter Whitmore
Caroline Gumble CIOB
Retaining skills is vital to construction THE GOVERNMENT’S CONSTRUCTION TALENT RETENTION SCHEME IS KEY TO KEEPING MUCH-NEEDED TALENT WITHIN THE SECTOR, EXPLAINS CAROLINE GUMBLE
For a few years now the CIOB has been raising awareness of an impending skills shortage in our industry. We’ve raised it with parliamentarians, we’ve supported industry initiatives to attract new talent, we’ve even tried to introduce the benefits of a career in the built environment to children via our Minecraft game. One of the consequences of the pandemic is that, with project slow-downs and cancellations and many companies being forced to make cuts, we face the prospect of losing skills, experience and expertise we already have in our industry at a time when we can least afford it. Therefore, news of the Construction Talent Retention Scheme is very welcome. Launched by the Minister for Business and Industry, Nadhim Zahawi, at the end of July, the Construction Talent Retention Scheme (TRS) is a potentially important partnership between the industry and government to try and keep talent in our sector. At the online launch, he said: “This scheme will help to retain vital knowledge within the construction industry, enabling businesses to rapidly recruit talented individuals and reduce skills shortages at this pivotal time in the nation’s economic recovery.”
The scheme is being run by the Construction Leadership Council which, as many of you will know, is made up of trade and business associations from across the sector, including the CIOB. The TRS is not just an online portal but is also intended to support the redeployment of staff at risk of redundancy and enable temporary employee loans between businesses. It also offers businesses a platform to find the skills they need, for free, and now allows individuals to list their skills and experience and, hopefully, find the right role and stay in our sector. At the time of writing, hundreds of companies have expressed an interest in using the scheme and there are over 350 vacancies listed, all of them direct from employers in our industry. The TRS not-for-profit programme has funding secured until the end of April 2021. It’s my hope that the bounce-back in construction will be as strong as some are predicting and that come April next year we will be back to attracting new talent into sector – which we do still need – and not still focused on an exodus of expertise. ● Employers and individuals looking for a new role can go to: www.trs-system.co.uk/construction. Caroline Gumble is chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).
Some 15% of the pupil population – around 1.3 million school-age students in England – is classed as having a special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) requirement, and the number is forecast to rise. In 2019, the government announced an additional investment of £700m into special needs education to ensure that children and young people are provided with the buildings and facilities that are right for them. However, despite the improved investment, councils continue to face immense pressures in providing care and support and educational provision for children and young people with special needs and disabilities. The Building Better Futures report by Morgan Sindall Construction has set out a new roadmap for the procurement, design and delivery of SEND schools. We wanted to explore what makes a great SEND school, so we brought together experts, partners, clients, collaborators, and influencers from the public and private sectors to look at the factors that make up a truly outstanding SEND school and examine how the delivery pathway could be enhanced. As a main contractor which has recently delivered six SEND schools in the east of England alone, this is a topic we are passionate about. A key research finding is the presence of a looming knowledge gap within the sector around the delivery of SEND schools, with no platforms available for head teachers or those commissioning schools to collaborate or share their learnings and experience. The report calls for the formation of a collaborative knowledge-sharing platform, where headteachers and organisations looking to commission new school buildings can share their experiences – creating an effective method of benchmarking, where examples of innovation and best practice can be explored and communicated within the SEND community. Our objective for this research is to start fruitful conversations which enable the sector to work collaboratively to enhance the pathway for SEND school design and delivery so that it improves the lives of the young people, teachers, carers and families. Peter Whitmore is managing director construction east at Morgan Sindall.
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER SEPTEMBER 2020 | 11
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