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Skills & Employment
Building the Industry of the Future – The CPA Skills & Employment Tool Kit
Building and developing the industry of the future means the construction plant sector accessing the skills and talent it needs. It is vital the industry can grow, nurture and retain its workforce as construction enters a new age of innovation, development and growth.
What is the CPA Skills & Employment Tool Kit and Why it is Needed?
The Skills & Employment Tool Kit has been developed with CPA Members, to help identify where skills gaps exist in the current workforce. From discussions with member companies, the Tool Kit acts as a guide in two ways. For students, career advisers and people interested in a career in construction, infrastructure, plant and the plant-hire sector, it acts as an introduction to what opportunities exist and how a person can find our more and take advantage of them.
For companies, it highlights best practice, demonstrates how businesses have developed their workforce, accessed, and recruited new talent and the steps they have taken.
This is just a start. The Tool Kit will be updated and developed as we move forwards. Why we need it is increasingly important. The impact of Covid-19 on the labour market will continue to have huge implications. With many people losing their jobs from other industries, the construction plant sector can showcase its value as a career destination of choice to a host of new, potential entrants.
Working in a Professional and Critical Part of Construction
The UK construction plant sector is one of the most advanced and professional in the world, yet it suffers from an ongoing and chronic skills shortage. Unaddressed, it will have a real and profound impact on the industry in the years to come. This is even more important as the UK has now left the EU and the wider economy deals from the impact of the Coronavirus pandemic.
Accessing the global talent pool means companies competing with peers from around the world. Developing and growing our own domestic workforce is critical to the long-term future and success of the sector.
CPA Skills & Employment Tool Kit
Skills and Employment Opportunities
The plant industry faces significant skills and employment challenges. There are notable key occupation shortages including Plant Operators, Plant Fitters/Mechanics, and LGV Drivers. The industry requires a range of training and skills development options to address these issues.
Thankfully, the industry is now working collaboratively to address several of these challenges and there is now a range of training and career development options for the industry to utilise and support the skill shortage challenge they face.
Apprenticeships
The plant industry has a range of apprenticeships that will encourage new talent to take up a career in plant and include construction plant operative, hire controller, lifting technician and construction equipment mechanic.
Pre-Apprenticeships
Alongside apprenticeships, the industry can take advantage of Pre-Apprenticeship and structured work placements. More colleges/providers are providing introductory plant courses, particularly in the West Midlands, due to flexibilities around adult funding.
Further opportunities for accessing talent are available through the new T-Levels (Technical Levels) which have been created by the Government as Technical equivalents to A-Levels. A Construction T-Level has been launched with several pilots around the country.
From September 2020
DESIGN, SURVEYING AND PLANNING FOR CONSTRUCTION
From September 2021
Government Initiatives
There are two new Government initiatives to support employment in the UK which the construction/plant industry can benefit from:
Talent Retention Scheme (TRS) - Where people who, left unemployed by Covid-19, can register on the TRS (Employment Portal) and find other employment opportunities.
Kickstart - Where the Government provides funding to employers to take on a 6-month work placement (with 25 hours a week) giving employers access to new talent and the potential for long-term employment.
Skills Development
Another challenge for the industry is the continued need to upskill the existing workforce to ensure a more productive and healthier workforce. Key areas are mental wellbeing, health, soft skills, technical, communication and leadership training.
Latest News & Useful Links
The skills landscape never stops moving. Making sure you are up to date and ahead of the latest changes, news and developments is vital. Please see below the latest announcements from the CPA, government and various other training providers, stakeholders and partners covering and impacting on skills and training in the construction plant sector.
National Initiatives and Schemes
CITB Regional Training Group
The CITB is responsible for 88 training groups situated across the UK. Each group is responsible for training in a particular construction sector and area.
Construction Youth Trust
Works with the industry in showcasing the different types of role in construction, providing training programmes and work experience for young people.
Construction Talent Retention Scheme
The talent retention scheme is for both employers and employees looking to find the ideal candidate and job for those within the construction sector. Candidates can upload their CVs to the site, with companies posting jobs and roles on a daily basis.
Supply Chain Sustainability School
Works with the construction industry in showcasing the role of the built environment, centred on five key areas - Sustainability, LEAN, Building Information Management (BIM), offsite construction and management.
Go Construct
The national service for people looking for career in construction, Go Construct is led by the Construction Industry Training Board with the support from allied trade associations.
National Careers Service
This provides a brief overview of the construction plant-hire industry, with further information on a limited number of roles and entry level requirements.
Careers Enterprise Company
Works with schools and colleges across England, with employers to promote careers advice and inspire school children to the world of work.
CPCS
The Construction Plant Competence Scheme (CPCS) provides skills cards for a wide range of plant specifically and focuses on the construction and allied industries. Launched in 2003, the scheme has since issued over 300,000 cards across the construction plant sector.
NPORS
NPORS is one of the UK’s accreditation and registration bodies, working across numerous sectors. Although concentrating on carding for construction plant activities, they also cover industrial to agricultural, ports and marine industries.
Other plant carding schemes in construction include the International Powered Access Federation IPAF and the Association of Lorry Loader Manufacturers and Importers ALLMI for these specialist categories of plant.
Regional Initiatives & Schemes
Local Enterprise Partnerships
Each of the 38 LEPs across England, support economic growth and development in their regions. Working with local authorities and the private sector, each LEP supports and promotes the development of businesses - with funding streams and information on how companies can upskill their workforce, funding and careers advice.
CITB in Wales
Provides the latest information and advice for companies and individuals looking to access skills and courses in the construction sector in Wales - as well as the latest information on CITB in Wales.
Skills Excellence in Wales
A Welsh Government funded initiative led by Coleg Sir Gar and secured by the Skills Ambassador Network (SAN). The SAN was established in 2011 and consists of a dedicated network of colleges, work-based learning providers and employer-led organisations.
CITB in Scotland
The CITB’s representative body in Scotland, providing advice, updates and support networks.
Skills Development Scotland
Acts as the Sector Skills Council and industry training board for the Scottish construction sector. Develops a wide range of modern apprenticeships in specialist areas.
My World of Work
Online toolkit and service for people looking for careers advice and job training in Scotland.
CITB in Northern Ireland
The sector skills council and training board for construction skills in Northern Ireland. It provides case studies and how to get into the plant-hire industry.
Retaining Skills and Talent - Why it Matters and What it Means
Accessing talent is one thing. But it does not end there. Making sure employees are engaged and feel secure in their role and part of the company is essential in developing a successful business. Creating a workforce that is motivated, feels valued in what they do, is positive about working for your company and limits employee turnover is important if the company is to develop further.
Reaching out to employees to understand what makes them work for a company, helps create a culture where employees are willing to stay in the business. In a sector where highly skilled and experienced employees are valued and sought after by competitors, there are a range of steps companies can take in retaining staff.
This can include:
- Employee surveys. Taking regular insights of employees at all levels to find out how they are feeling, how satisfied they are in their role, what changes they would like to see and what they think of the company will provide clarity and a range of views.
- Providing support and engagement with employees. Show them how you want the business to develop, ask them for their ideas on how this happens and get them to understand your vision of the business and the role they are playing.
- Providing training opportunities and finding out what direction employees want their career to take.
- Recognising and celebrating company success - highlighting best practice and creating an inclusive culture.
- Conducting exit interviews when people leave the business. Find out why they are leaving the business and what they think of working for you. This will help identify trends and themes for you to address if there are any.
Mentoring Schemes are Only One Part of the Process
When developing a mentoring scheme, it is important the business is aware of what they are going into, what each individual wants to get out of it and how it is going to add value to the overall skills and training programme. Establishing the purpose and goals of the mentoring programme, creating clear terms of reference, accountability and assessment is key to making it a success.
Creating a Mentoring Scheme - Adding Value Across the Organisation
Developing a mentoring scheme can be an effective and cost-efficient way of sharing knowledge while also developing new skills for both the mentor and mentee. Organisations are finding that mentoring schemes can help change organisational culture, produce new ways of thinking and working and act as an effective way of sharing and developing institutional knowledge within a business.
The workforce within the construction plant sector is one of the most experienced and professional in the entire construction industry. Yet this workforce is one where the demographics show the average age of an employee is nearer retirement age than starting out in their career. This institutional knowledge and experience needs to be shared with people coming into the industry. This is where mentoring schemes can help bridge this gap.
For the mentor, they have an opportunity to gain new skills and development in their role, while also reinforcing the benefits of working in the plant sector. For the mentee, they get a greater insight and perspective on their role and future career prospects. They can ask questions, share experiences, and find out first-hand how they might develop their abilities.
Both mentor and mentee must be comfortable working with each other, be aware of boundaries and what they want to get out of the scheme. It should help their careers and add value to the wider aims of the business, both in sharing institutional knowledge but also developing new entrants to the industry by giving them greater perspective and depth.
Allied to a wider skills and training programme that allows for continuous professional development, a mentoring scheme when properly applied, can be a valuable part of any business that is looking to grow and invest in its workforce.
For further information on developing mentoring schemes and the areas to consider, visit the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) website at www.managers.org.uk
Skills Based Survey & Consultations
Research Report – Plant operator supply and demand
In 2017, the CPA completed a major research project to examine the supply and demand of plant operatives across the construction industry. This study for the identification of skills supply and demand engaged CPA members UK-wide, as well as training providers and contractors. The project was initiated by CPA, and funded by CITB under the Flexible Funding scheme. A key purpose of the report was to gain clarity over the number of plant operators in UK construction and to challenge the published figure of around 40,000 as detailed in CITB’s Construction Skills Network Forecast.
The CPA study indicated a total UK plant operator workforce of around 289,000. The CPA have noted that construction plant is on the critical path of all infrastructure and building projects and skilled and competent operators are required if projects are to be delivered safely, on budget and on target. Plant owners, operators and contractors therefore needed to forecast and manage labour supply, including recruitment and retention of the existing workforce over the next 5-10 years. The findings from this study mean that the numerical importance of plant operators as an occupational group matches their importance on site. Instead of being low in the rankings of occupation by volume, there was evidence to show that plant operation as an occupation is one of the top five in construction.
This research suggests that one reason for this discrepancy is the reliance on standard classification codes for company activity and occupations. These do not necessarily match the real world of work in construction, and many employers appear not to fully understand them. The underreporting remained unquestioned until CPA raised the query and suggested to CITB that the Construction Skills Network report should explain the nature and significance of the published figures.
Given the potential scale of the underreporting, this is essential for policy and planning purposes. The CPA study also indicated that recruitment is a key challenge for plant hire companies. Around 40% of respondents said recruitment is very difficult or fairly difficult. 28% of respondents had hard-to-fill vacancies in the last year. The most common areas for recruitment were found to be earthmoving (26%), cranes and lifting (19%) and materials handling (5%). Skills and knowledge of potential candidates was said to be the biggest barrier in relation to recruitment of plant operatives.
Three key barriers in relation to training were found to be the cost, the time off the job required to undertake training and the quality of training available. Analysis of construction plant qualifications indicated that there were currently 65 relevant NVQ qualifications applicable to plant operatives, ranging from NVQ Level 2 through to NVQ Level 5, covering all aspects of plant equipment. However, the survey found that the level of apprenticeship training in the sector was at the time low, potentially reducing its attractiveness as a career option compared to other construction occupations with more well established apprenticeship programmes. Over 80% of respondents stated they did not employ any apprentices currently. The report findings suggested that there are fewer young people in the construction plant sector than the economy as a whole, with more than four in 10 (43%) construction plant workers aged 45 and over and fewer than one in 10 (8%) aged 24 or under.
Several themes emerged when respondents were asked about the biggest challenges facing the construction plant sector over the next five years. The recruitment of young people into the industry to replace a largely ageing workforce was seen as a challenge by many, and there were concerns around the attractiveness of the industry to young people. Other challenges included the increasingly competitive environment, lack of skills on-site, Brexit and budget cuts. The CPA noted that this research was and remains a valuable guide for identifying the areas of importance and priority in the plant hire community. One of the key findings of the survey is the difficulty of recruiting skilled and qualified plant operators and the CPA have since undertaken a number of initiatives to address this, such as a plant skills strategy forum, careers events and development work on new apprenticeships.
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CPA Plant Operator Supply and Demand Report Nov 2017 Skills & Training, Skills Based Survey & Consultations skills-training skills-based-survey-consultations pdf