CIOB Academy launches with call to ‘train or die’

The CIOB has officially launched its new Academy today offering “real world” practical courses to the industry, as a former CIOB president called on the industry to “train or die”.

The Academy is aiming to differ itself from other vocational training in the marketplace by offering courses where the training can be applied immediately on the job. Courses have been put together and are conducted by those actually working in construction.

Among the first courses on offer are those in digital construction, building conservation and accident investigation, led by professionals with in-depth industry experience. Each syllabus, tested against expert focus groups, provides practical and relevant learning for specific job roles.

James Wates, chair of the CITB and former president of the CIOB, spoke at the event, stating that the built environment and medicine had a lot in common. “Professionalism in construction is as important as it is in the medical industry, people need to continuous improvement and training in order to maintain high standards,” he said.

He added the Academy would continue to offer opportunities and training to reach this higher level of professionalism and also cited the recent Farmer report Modernise or Die, saying that construction was one of the least trained industries and it needed to “train or die”.

The first courses include “Delivering construction performance through BIM”, which will be taught by Shaun Farrell, BIM and senior project manager at Turner & Townsend, and a Construction Conversion certificate, aimed at those with a non-construction background and taught by Richard Breen, member of the board of directors at Accession Homes.  

As well as technically-led subjects, the Academy will also offer courses in areas such as contract negotiation, report writing, project planning and contract management.

The Academy is being headed up by Holly Walton who said the ethos for the institute will be to provide excellent training for the industry, by the industry.

Speaking at the launch, she said: “The Academy will set a new benchmark in training standards. It has been created in response to strong demand from CIOB members who are looking for a consistent quality offering from a brand that they can trust.

“We’ve been working closely with our industry partners to create relevant and practical course content that tracks the latest industry developments. All our courses will be delivered by experienced professionals who understand what it takes to get the job done. Over the next few months, we’ll also be reaching out to our global membership with online offerings and some free CPD sessions.”

The Academy will be headquartered in the CIOB’s London office in Holborn, however the CIOB announced today that it is in talks with Wolverhampton University to potentially use that as a base for those not based in the capital. There are also hopes to expand internationally in future.