The Construction Industry Council is seeking partner firms to compete for government funding to boost training in key skills such as BIM and sustainability.
The CIC is leading the industry in a bid for funding under the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ Employer Ownership of Skills pilot, which has just been opened for a second round of bidding. The Employer Ownership of Skills pilot is a competitive fund open to employers to invest in their current and future workforce in England. Employers are invited to develop proposals that raise skills, create jobs, and drive enterprise and economic growth.
Government will invest in projects in which employers are also prepared to commit their own funds in order to make better use of our combined resources. Under the pilot a selected consortium of firms will arrange training courses with colleges and training providers, with their investment match-funded by the BIS.
The first round of funding was led by CITB-ConstructionSkills and focused on contractors and trade skills, but now CIC plans to target the wider professional spectrum of the built environment.
“We have had a steady stream of expressions of interest from employers including architects, engineers, planners, facilities managers and also contractors,” said Andrew Link, commercial manager at CIC.
“However, we are hoping for more and would encourage any company who works in the built environment who spends anything on training to be in touch and we will work with them to maximise any investment they make.”
BIM will be one of the main training issues to be covered by the funding bid, as well as the diversity of the workforce, the low carbon agenda, and developing future leaders of companies and preparing them for modern industry.
“There are varying levels of awareness, knowledge and implementation of BIM in the Industry, which is something employers have asked us about and we will address this,” Link added.
