Dates for your Construction Commitments training
Date added:
01 June 2010
If you're from a building and construction-related firm, now's your chance to take advantage of an important training scheme. This two-day, heavily funded course will help you and your colleagues or employees become aware of the government and industry’s six Construction Commitments – and stand a better chance of winning work with principle contractors delivering public sector work..
Take a look at our specially commissioned video to see what the Construction Commitments are all about (click to activate):
The Construction Commitments have been jointly designed by government and industry experts to help the UK showcase the best of its construction practices. They focus on client leadership, procurement & integration, design, sustainability, commitment to people, and health & safety.
It is going to become increasingly important for public sector organisations and construction firms across the UK to show their compliance and awareness of the Construction Commitments. A joint industry and government report in 2009 gave public-sector clients a target: that 35 per cent of their construction supply chain should, by 2010 (that's now!), be Construction Commitment-compliant, rising to 60 per cent by 2012.
The public sector awards thousands of minor-works construction contracts every year – and also holds the purse strings for billions of pounds’ worth of regeneration investment set to transform the West Midlands region in the next decade. The report calls for local authorities and other public sector organisations to recognise the significance of their spending power in boosting its local economy and make contracts transparent and accessible for small to medium sized construction firms.
Recognising the implications of the Construction Commitments to the West Midlands supply chain, finditinsandwell and finditinbirmingham have joined forces to help as many businesses as possible to become aware and compliant – and have designed a valuable two-day training programme to support them through the process.
Having successfully completed the training course, construction firms will be listed on finditinsandwell and finditinbirmingham's secure online directory as a qualified and capable sub-contractor which is working towards compliance with the six Construction Commitments.
“Regeneration is not just about buildings. It's about regenerating communities, creating and sustaining local jobs, generating apprenticeships, training opportunities, work placements and career choices for our residents. And to achieve this it’s vitally important that supply opportunities are provided for the West Midlands business community,” said Councillor Bob Badham, cabinet member for transport and regeneration for Sandwell Council.
“That’s why we’re appealing for construction firms to come forward and sign up for this valuable training. Their work underpins a huge supply chain, from manufacturing building materials, waste management and subcontracting services, right through to landscaping, interiors and facilities management. So as compliance with these Construction Commitments becomes an increasingly important factor in construction buyers’ decisions, we need to make sure our region’s construction firms are first out of the blocks in being ‘tender-ready’, putting them in good stead for winning contracts.
“We effectively want to remove any risk or reason that contract decision-makers from the public or private sectors may have for not using West Midlands based suppliers, manufacturers and subcontractors - and give local firms the business skills needed to be in with a fighting chance of winning work.”
Sandwell and Birmingham is blessed with a capable pool of construction firms, and this scheme will ensure that council buyers and principle contractors get access to their details and assurance that they meet the latest construction industry standards.
Peter Watson, managing director of West Bromwich based civil and ground engineering contractor Forkers Ltd (one of the companies to take part in a successful pilot of the training programme), said, "We are pleased to be one of the first subcontractors in the West Midlands to sign up and complete the Construction Commitments training and we are confident that this new comprehensive supplier accreditation scheme, which is tailored to clients' requirements, will enable us to further demonstrate our capability, expertise and quality and give public sector clients increased confidence to choose regional competant contractors who can demonstrate that their construction commitments compliant for future projects.”
The following dates have limited spaces available:
Friday 22 October and Friday 29 October 2010
Friday 12 November and Friday 26 November 2010
Friday 03 December and Friday 17th December 2010
Friday 14 January and Friday 28 January 2011
Friday 11 February and Friday 25 February 2011
Friday 11 March and Friday 25 March 2011
Each session takes place from 9am to 4pm, with lunch included, at Sandwell Council's Training & Enterprise Centre in Southbank, Cradley Heath. It costs just £100 per company for the two-day course. More details will be supplied when you sign up.
To register, contact Steve Massey at Sandwell Council on 0121 569 2105 email stephen_massey@sandwell.gov.uk or Stuart Horton at Birmingham City Council on 0121 303 0005 e-mail
stuart_horton@birmingham .gov.uk Or you can contact course facilitator Roy Casey at Success Train by emailing roy@successtrain.co.uk