CITB Partnership with CCS

The CITB announced in January that they had partnered with CCS (the Considerate Constructors Scheme) in order to “improve the image of construction”. The partnership, which is active as of January, is seen as a milestone to help attract, develop and maintain skilled workers; both existing construction employers/works and potential entrants.

Why Is This Partnership Essential?

The construction sector has seen a lot of turmoil in recent years, especially with uncertainties over Brexit and how this will impact both the workforce and new landmark projects moving forward. Whilst it is by no means seen as an unattractive sector to work in, it’s also apparent that there needs to be more incentive to either stay in or become a construction worker.

How will the Partnership Work?

There are a number of areas the two organisations intend to work on in partnership to raise the profile of construction and what it can offer to workers and businesses, with the first step being for the CITB to share it’s Go Construct resources with over 9000 CCS UK projects.

- New research will be undertaken to better understand how the construction sector is perceived by the public and potential entrants. This will then enable better understanding of the recruitment needs to ensure a continual high influx of skilled workers
- Joint networks of construction business will be created, to showcase career opportunities
- The partnership will also reach out directly to potential new entrants into the sector.

What is Go Construct?

Go Construct exists to showcase the career opportunities in the construction sector and is funded by the CITB levy. The three aims of the Go Construct website are to:

- Inspire new workers to consider a construction career
- Discover what a construction career is really like
- Experience the industry for themselves

It is aimed to help employers, job seekers and career/educational professionals.

What is the Considerate Constructors Scheme?

A non-profit founded in 1997, the CCS manage the Code of Considerate Practice (CCP) for the construction sector, which has been designed to ‘encourage best practice beyond statutory requirements.’ The primary concern for the CCS is any area that may impact on the image of the sector as a whole, including the workforce, the environment and the general public.

The CCS work by monitoring registered sites, companies and suppliers to ensure they are adhering to the CCP. They also display posters on construction sites to encourage scheme registration, of which there are three types; Construction Site, Company and Supplier.