Skills training plan for next generation of offsite workers

The CITB is drawing up plans for offsite construction courses.

The move comes as a new report reveals how the use of offsite methods is set to soar across the industry.

Faster, Smarter, More Efficient: Building Skills for Offsite Construction shows that 42% of construction industry employers with over 100 staff expect to use offsite methods in five years’ time.

Of those 100% said they expected the use of precast concrete panels to increase and 91% anticipated the use of precast concrete frame to rise.

Nearly 50% of construction industry clients also expect the use of offsite construction to increase over the next five years.

Offsite construction currently accounts for just 10% of industry output and the CITB has identified a yawning training gap.

Steve Radley, Director of Policy at CITB, said: “Successful offsite management hinges on the effective integration of both onsite and offsite functions – and this requires a comprehensive understanding of both aspects.

“Our next steps will focus on the delivery of the required employer training, knowledge and soft skills.

“We will also work with other stakeholders – such as in design and manufacturing – to apply existing training in a construction context.”

Offsite supporter Mark Farmer said: “Any strategic shift towards pre-manufacturing and offsite construction creates an immediate requirement to define our future skills needs through collaboration between industry, educators, training providers and government.

“This is crucial to ensuring we can transition to a higher productivity, digitally enabled industry which inherently attracts more of the young talent we so desperately need.

“It should also set out clear opportunities for the existing construction workforce and indeed workers from other industries to reskill through a new family of career pathways.

“I welcome this report from the CITB and hope it adds to the current growing momentum for industry change.”

from Construction Enquirer http://www.constructionenquirer.com/2017/04/19/skills-training-plan-for-next-generation-of-offsite-workers/

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