Balfour Beatty is planning to recruit members of its staff who have MCIOB status to become in-house assessors as part of its drive to upskill its workforce. The move comes on the back of a £4.4m government training grant which has also helped the UK’s largest contractor set up a brand new training academy.
Balfour Beatty received the funding through the government’s Employer Ownership of Skills pilot scheme. The company will invest a further £9m into establishing the academy and new training opportunities. The focus will be on upskilling the company’s existing workforce in the construction and engineering sectors and will provide the young and unemployed with opportunities that lead directly to jobs.
The so-called Access Incubator programme will train the professionally qualified staff to become assessors and help experienced personnel attain a level 6 or level 3 qualification in either site supervisory studies or construction management, said Sue Flavin, head of Balfour Beatty’s new training academy. “The government funding will allow us to implement our training plans faster and train more people than we would have managed without it. The level 6 opportunity will lead to the Black CSCS card which our staff can then use as part of the route to MCIOB membership.
Flavin added: “The £4.4m funding has been structured over a three-year period to March 2017, during which time we have to train at least 250 people to either a level 3 or a level 6 qualification on the professional technical side. The funding will also allow us to train up 50 assessors, creating our own internal capability to train people within the business.
“We are currently awaiting government approval to go ahead with the design of a trailblazer level qualification in Construction Management, developed with the support of the CIOB, and other professional bodies including the CITB and employers on the working group looking at its development. This would provide experienced people within the industry with a part-time route to study towards professional CIOB membership, or school leavers who have completed A-levels who don’t want to do a degree.
”As part of government requirements for the funding we are linking up with the CITB and other consortium members that won funding to share best practice on higher level qualifications.”
Andrew McNaughton, Balfour Beatty CEO said: “As the economic upturn gathers momentum, ensuring we have a workforce which has the training and skills to enable us to be a leader on the global infrastructure market remains our priority.
“We are delighted the government, through the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot, recognises that the academy approach will enable us to develop and retain some of the best qualified and most knowledgeable people in the industry. We are building a sustainable and flexible workforce which can deliver the innovation and value customers are seeking.
“It also enables us to further our commitment to helping young people and the unemployed get the skills that will enable them to get sustainable jobs.”
As a member of the 5% Club, Balfour Beatty is committed to giving young people and the unemployed a chance to get on the career ladder in those areas where skills are most short. The academy will offer pre-employment programmes to give young people and the unemployed a taste of the industry and then onto apprenticeships or jobs.
