And so with the end of summer comes the new academic year which we hope will see the best of the next generation making construction related choices; otherwise recent news about the falling intake of young people into industry may only worsen in years to come.

Of course there will be a number of individuals that may not have achieved the grades they wanted and are looking at alternative career paths, which is a good time for employers to consider traineeships and apprentices.  We shall keep our ear to the ground regarding funding and other initiatives over the coming month and let you know.

Happy Building
Chrissi

!!!!!!!!!!!!!NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Construction facing 'retirement timebomb'

   First published by CCINW

A warning over a 'retirement timebomb' facing the construction sector in Greater Manchester was issued today.
Figures from CITB-ConstructionSkills showed the number of teenagers employed in the industry has fallen 52 per cent since the recession began in 2008, while one in six workers is due to retire within a decade.
The number of workers aged 55 or older has risen by 65 per cent since 1990, while those aged 24 and under has declined by more than 40 per cent during the period.read more......

We have developed a matrix looking at how different roles in industry see each other. Whilst meant as a light hearted break from the norm we feel it also makes an important point regarding  the fragmentation of the industry and would welcome your suggestions regarding  how to better work together. click here for larger image

This new report from CMI reported by the BBC, looking at the gender pay gap is interesting and the increased salary of female staff in the first year suggests women’s higher university grades are being recognised. The drop as careers progress could be down to a number of factors too numerous to list here but the key point would be to ensure you are recognising ability and potential so that you are not losing talent – male or female.

If you haven’t been affected by the recent riots it would be unlikely if you haven’t heard about them, Constructing Equality took to the streets last Tuesday to help clean up our city; along with the hundreds of other volunteers we managed to undo a lot of the damage, but of course there is still much to be done.

So we would appeal to you as built environment professionals to take a look at Riot Rebuild which aims to coordinate volunteer work to restore some of the damage done by the riots by tapping into the skills, resources and generous spirit of the construction sector. 

So if you have anything at all to offer please do.

The insightful film has a look at the issues surrounding the decline in public toilets in particular the affect this has on women and those with families to care for.

We feel it gives an insight to how important a female perspective can be planning stage.

!!!!!!!!!!!!RESEARCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Evaluation of the Equality Act 2010 Evidence Dossie

This report looks at some of the questions raised by the 2010 Equality act, how they have been answered by academia and what gaps remain. 

We feel this is a good resource for both students and those looking to implement a more robust diversity strategy.

We have just come across this study from CABE the former government advisor on architecture looking into minority ethinic representation in the built environment professions, which is a little on the old side having been published way back in 2005, nevertheless we feel it is not without merit and highlights some good points that those interested in integrating their workforce might be interested in.

The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards (2004–2008)

A little old but a strong desk top study of the effect of female representation on boards and returns on equity;

The main critic surrounding this research is “did the women aid the profit or was it just that more forward thinking companies would always be ahead”. Personally I feel the fact that all companies that had 30% + female representations showed more positive figures speaks volumes about the benefits of gender balance in the board room.

Whilst this report on THE SITUATION OF LGBT GROUPS IN THE LABOUR MARKET IN EUROPEAN MEMBER STATES is not sector specific we felt it contained some best practice and examples of how people from the LGBT community (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans) community experience the workplace that would be of use to some of the more forward thinking organisations.

DIVERSITY EXPO FOR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Employers will be able to find out how to attract a more diverse range of talent into their businesses and help ensure future growth at the Construction Diversity Expo 2011 on Monday 12 September at The Guildhall in London.

With an aging workforce and the number of young people in the industry more than halving since the recession started, CITB-ConstructionSkills said it was vital that the construction industry encouraged people from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds into the sector.

The good people over at Black history month have been in touch to tell us about Black History Live the event at Wembley. They were concerned that the industry’s representation from the black community is low; as we all know a lot of that is due to lack of knowledge surrounding career paths and what opportunities are available.

So employers and institutes why not look into getting a stand, those of you from the black community why not pop down and sell the industry to your peers and for the rest of us why not drop in and see what the black community has to offer.

For more information visit Black History live or call Shelley on 020 84276336

Sponsorship Opportunity - The WISE Annual Awards

The WISE Annual Awards are given in recognition of the achievement of companies and individuals in promoting science, engineering and construction to girls and young women.

The organisers have been in touch to say they are looking for firms keen to demonstrate their commitment to building diversity by sponsoring one of their awards at the high profile ceremony.
The benefits of sponsoring the 2011 WISE Awards include:
• Exposure to a highly concentrated audience of industry and academic professionals at the awards event and through marketing literature.
• Brand association with WISE and the UKRC and other industry experts with a proven track record in committing to gender equality in SET.

The Award ceremony will be held on Wednesday 19 October 2011, 1:00pm - 5:00pm at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, London WC2.
For more information contact: p.dawber@theukrc.org or call 01274 436485

 
As advertised in Places North West, Women in Property is holding a tour of the dock estate, the Port of Liverpool, the largest of the Peel ports, which handles over 33 million tonnes of cargo.
People in attendance will learn about the history of the port, as well as Peel's plans for the future.
Time: 8:30am-11am
8:30am: Meet at The Port of Liverpool Building, Pier Head, Liverpool
9am: Coach departs
Cost: members £15, non-members £20.

!!!!!!!!BEST PRACTICE!!!!!!!!!

Professionalism training with Taylor Wimpey

We are delighted to announce that we are piloting a training programme with Taylor Wimpey aimed at increasing professionalism on site.

The pilot will be carried out over 4 days looking at how we can create more productive and efficient workplaces whilst still maintaining an enjoyable working environment. The project includes a day workshop for directors and other strategic personnel in order to create buy in across the board.

As always the training will be written in accordance with the needs of a construction based organisation and we hope to see the programme roll out nationwide next year.

NCE Insite is a magazine that helps young people discover a career in civil engineering. Circulated to approximately 16,000 14-18 year olds, their parents, teacher, career advisors and through the ICE Education team, it provides case studies of projects, companies and career paths presented through the eyes of the brightest recruits.

 
The current economic troubles will not last forever; the industry needs to continue to encourage youngsters to enter the civil engineering profession to ensure we have bright, skilled and qualified engineers to carry out future work in the UK and abroad.

NCE Insite needs your support, so get in touch to find out more about sponsorship packages that will showcase your organisation/ company within NCE Insite, and in NCE magazine itself.

  More information from the Extending Working Lives programme that is looking to tackle ageism in the construction industry; they have an e bulletin on age and the construction industry and some best practice around the removal of the default retirement age.

Late last year Constructing Equality were involved in helping the UKRC put together this tool kit to aid those in working in SECT (Science, Engineering, Construction and technology) make their resources more gender balanced. We feel that the guide is also applicable to those using visual aids when presenting such as lectures and careers officers.

This toolkit will help you represent men and women fairly and positively, ensuring that you are inspirational to your audiences, and that you build diversity in content and in visitors to your online activities.

Female students have been exploring careers in construction with Merseyside-based Helena Propertycare.

Young women from Cowley Language College in St Helens have been finding out about job roles available to them within the construction industry - from becoming joiners, plumbers and electricians to working in administrative roles in business development, service improvement and performance and productivity.

The careers talk - part of a wider two-year training programme from Helena Propertycare to raise awareness among young females on job opportunities for women in construction - aimed to remove the stereotype that careers in construction are for men only and encourage women to consider a job in the industry as a career choice.

More on this story

This might be of interest to some of our stateside readers, a look at how women in the USA have experience professional construction roles.

ODA Awards Night

After judging two of the categories in the ODA awards we are delighted to be helping to announce the winners in our sections on the 9th September. A big well done to all those who took part we had some great entrants and really enjoyed seeing all the work people were doing on an individual level within the construction of the project.

Construction Diversity Awards

We are delighted to have been nominated for the best individual contribution award at this years diversity expo awards, the other nominees haven’t been publically announced so we are unable to share our congratulation s with others who are also striving to achieve equality in the construction workplace. We hope some of you will come along and cheer us and the other nominees on for all their hard work in this sector.

The Duke of Gloucester’s Young Achievers Scheme – Call for entries!

DEADLINE 8 September 2011
This brand new awards scheme, organised by Construction Youth Trust with the support of Patron, HRH The Duke of Gloucester, aims to identify and celebrate the success of exceptional young professionals through awards to be presented at a dinner at the historic Banqueting House, Whitehall on 24th November 2011.