Engaging Academia in the Industry Skills Agenda

1. Engaging Academia in the Industry Skills Agenda David Cracknell Director of Lifelong Learning Construction Industry Council [CIC is a partner in ConstructionSkills Sector Skills Council] Industry structure Industry skills issues Industry Occupational Standards ConstructionSkills skills work targets The involvement of industry stakeholders

2. The Construction Industry Council The representative forum for professional bodies, research organisations and specialist business associations in the construction industry (www.cic.org.uk): development of strategic industry initiatives influencing Government policy strategic alliances – Strategic Forum, nCRISP, Constructing Excellence, ConstructionSkills technical, managerial & professional skills & Lifelong Learning

3. ConstructionSkills • CITB, CITB (NI) & CIC working in partnership • The Sector Skills Council for Construction (www.constructionskills.net) • licensed by Government via SSDA & Skills for Business Network • responsible for targetting the skills and productivity needs of the sector • Employer-led with UK-wide remit & whole industry approach, involving all stakeholders • nb. CIC’s wider context – SummitSkills & AssetSkills

4. Key goals/’people’ issues for SSCs • Recruitment and retention • Reducing skills gaps and shortages • Meeting new demands • Improving productivity & business performance • Increasing opportunities for all the workforce • Improving learning supply

5. CIC ConstructionSkillsStrategic objectives • Development & implementation with partners of the ConstructionSkills Sector Skills Agreement • Develop mechanisms to encourage & support involvement and benchmarking of professional service employers in the ConstructionSkills agenda, to identify education, training & skills needs • Develop programmes that provide access to support for professional service employers that enable them to respond to industry challenges & performance development

6. The industry • 2 million workers • 30% growth over 10 years + continuing demand • 80% + in SMEs • Needs ½ million new entrants by 2010 • 225,000 work in 23,500 in professional consultancy organisations • Tech/managerial/professional annual intake needed c18th+ • Latham, Egan agendas • Industry image

7. Built Environment Professional Services Skills Survey 2003/4 • General management, communication, technical & practical skills gaps • Issues relating to size of firms, region & discipline and skills gaps in existing staff • Difficulties recruiting staff & standard of applicants • Employer investment in training • Issues about individual development through related education, training and industrial experience • Learning from best practice

8. 80% of firms experience moderate problems with the skills of their existing staff • 65% have experienced significant difficulty in recruiting skilled staff • Smaller firms experience less severe problems recruiting skilled staff than larger ones • Firms in different regions appear to have more significant problems in recruiting skilled staff General skills issues

9. Specific skills issues • Technical and practical skills are the largest problem area • IT skills present problems for many firms but there is a difference between existing staff and new applicants • Skills problems with applicants are higher in: • technical & practical • literacy • communications • Problems with existing staff are higher in general & professional IT skills

10. Competence issues • Architectural practices have problems with design & development competencies: • identifying & agreeing project requirements, coordinating design processes & preparing & agreeing detailed designs • Engineering practices also have a majority of issues with design & development competencies: • Including co-coordinating project design processes, preparing design documentation & developing preparing & agreeing project design schemes • Surveying practices have problems with construction & installation competencies: • Including implementing procurement processes & commissioning/completing projects

11. Quality of recruits • The balance between respondents who feel the quality of recruits has increased compared to those believing it has fallen is largely negative • Architectural firms are more positive about the quality of professional recruits • Multidisciplinary firms are more positive about the quality of graduate recruits • 39% of respondents feel that the quality of graduates has stayed the same

12. The view from/of education • Academia is doing a good job, but with a restricting traditional & professional institution-driven silo approach • Industry/professions demand more from students • Mixed views on level & value of employer input to course content • Industry qualification v ability to think creatively • More feedback needed on graduate destinations, adequacy of provision & future demands • Emphasis on research rather than industry-relevant teaching prowess • Too few graduates from HE courses • A non-coherent Industry HE structure – particularly for those with non-cognate backgrounds

13. The Work of CICLifelong Learning • Strategic focus to CIC’s education, training & qualification activities for built environment professionals: • Works in conjunction with SSCs and key Government and industry bodies • Strategy implemented via three Panels covering particular areas of activity: • Occupational Standards Panel • Education Panel • Training & CPD Panel

14. CIC's Occupational Standards remit • Management, development & implementation of Built Environment map and web-based database of Occupational Standards for technical, managerial & professional occupations (www.cicsc.org.uk) • Management, development & validation of the Built Environment framework of higher level NVQs/SVQs (in conjunction with industry and Awarding Bodies) • Validation of Built Environment Vocationally-related Qualifications

15. National Occupational Standards • Define the workplace competence needed in employment • An industry specification of: - occupational functions - range/scope of situations/circumstances - practical evidence that demonstrates competence - structured underpinning knowledge • “Diagnostic, developmental & qualifying” NVQs/SVQs are qualifications based on Occupational Standards that demonstrate competence in a particular occupation

16. The significance ofOccupational Standards • Programme to improve industry performance • Set by industry people for industry people • Define industry competence & knowledge requirement & its occupational profile • Incrementally changed; balancing current best practice, innovation & future skills needs • Shared industry tool with multiple uses • Focus for vocational education, training, qualifications & people development • A means of international benchmarking • Framework for higher level NVQs/SVQs

17. Progression throughOccupational Standards “An opportunity exists to form an underpinning system for the whole industry, with Occupational Standards being the common currency, enabling clear paths of development & progression for individuals and a competent workforce to serve the needs of clients, users and the community”

18. Recognising competence

19. Progression ProjectPotential linking model

20. CIC's work on Occupational Standards • Development of (Standards, Training & Education for Progression) guidance for application of industry Occupational Standards (www.cicsc.org.uk) for: • employers and employees (User’s Guide) • education and training providers (Matching projects) • Professional Institutions (structured CPD framework and Progression project – inter-relating academic, vocational & professional qualifications) • the industry, its performance initiatives, clients and supply chain (Standards of Competence to Improve Performance project)

21. CIC ConstructionSkillsImage & Recruitment (1) • recruit target numbers of high quality students to further/higher education courses • Develop & co-ordinate collaborative careers promotion for the higher level of the sector through collaboration with stakeholders, ‘Positive Image Campaign’, ‘ambassadors’ & joint schools activity, promoting diversity • Develop Construction & Built Environment GCSE • www.bconstructive.co.uk one-stop shop careers website • Inspire Scholarship Scheme - £1m with matched funding for Construction Degree undergraduates

22. CIC ConstructionSkillsImage & Recruitment (2) • Support development & implementation of Foundation Degrees, AMAs & GAs • Develop & implement GraduateCommon Learning Outcomes (also Intermediate CLOs) for sector higher level education programmes & subsequently, to develop cross-discipline programmes & joint accreditation criteria • Support to industry education initiatives including Accelerating Change in Built Environment Education (www.cebe.heacademy.ac.uk/learning/acbee) • Statistical analysis (UCAS) + Graduate destinations • Promote career progression through inter-relationship & articulation between education, vocational (NVQ/SVQ) & professional qualifying programmes & CPD

23. CIC ConstructionSkillsQualifying the Workforce & Continuing Development (1) • Management & updating of Built Environment higher level Occupational Standards & NVQ/SVQ Framework to reflect industry needs • Develop international benchmarking of Built Environment higher level Occupational Standards • Working to align an all-embracing Sector Qualification Strategy with the QCA Framework for Achievement, QAA/HEFC and European Qualifications Framework • Work with CITB & others to promote changes to industry demand-led education funding

24. CIC ConstructionSkillsQualifying the Workforce & Continuing Development (2) • Review, update & promote structured industry CPD significance, requirements, practice, guidance and support • Support the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (www.cscs.uk.com) with respect to professional services and the enhancement of industry competence & health & safety • Supporting the development of health & safety competence, in particular that issues are addressed in design qualifications • Supporting the development of other key competence areas eg. sustainability, management etc.

25. CIC ConstructionSkillsImproving Business Performance Develop, update & provide mechanisms & guidance to support employers in: • benchmarking their competence and performance & assessing where improvement can be made • providing signposting to a range of business & procurement improvement support tools (including Investors in People) • pan-industry Construction Productivity Capacity and Skills Observatory • Management & Leadership Framework • Building the Capability of Consultancy Practices to Take Up and Utilise IT to Improve Business Performance – audit tool • Construction Knowledge Exchange

26. Future development needs • Employer/school engagement • Courses should focus on product (outputs rather than inputs) & on emerging industry practice • Cross-disciplinary education for the Built Environment first – specialise later • More effective mentoring, training & work placement programmes • Employer-professional institution Approved Training Schemes for post graduation • Network of provider/industry Lifelong Learning Networks to develop skills & knowledge in a practical workplace/ supply-chain environment • Live project-based structured training approaches for the supply chain

27. Employer action • undergraduate sponsorships & work experience (linked to academic programmes) • supporting Construction Ambassadors • offering ‘expert’ input to enrich design and delivery of F/HE courses • revewing adequacy of induction, training and support for newly qualified graduates • developing structured training culture • adopt guidance/benchmarking tools to drive competence & business performance • work with SSCs

28. Professional Institution action • to work more closely together at both national and regional level to exchange information, share common issues and tasks • to review accreditation requirements and processes • to promote the Construction Ambassadors Programme • help drive the inter-relationaship of academic, vocational and professional qualification structures • adopt structured, output-focused competence-based CPD • work with SSCs

29. Further/Higher Education action • through collaboration to ensure a regional sufficiency of provision to meet projected demand • respond to industry skills needs in course provision • Incorporation of industry requirements in design and delivery of courses • incorporate Graduate/Intermediate Common Learning Outcomes • develop good practice by including work based learning as an assessable element of courses • improved tracking of undergraduates and graduates • work with SSCs

30. Partnership for Action • Doing things better? • Doing things differently? • Doing things together? Will only work if we • each take responsibility • make it an integral part of the way we do business What will your contribution be?