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Thursday 1 December

Constructing Equality

Hello

Why did Santa's little helper feel depressed? He had low elf esteem

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At this time of year lets spare a thought for the employees. With the recession threatening a double dip and government bringing in new employment laws favouring business it might seem a little bleak to the individual; but hope springs eternal and the Building Magazine good employer guide has done a fantastic job by showing who’s really leading the way.

So this month Constructing Equality would like to congratulate all organisations who strive to provide a supportive, inclusive and rewarding environment for their staff we hope the newsletter will help further your aims in the New Year.

Happy Building

Chrissi

***********NEWS*************

Buildings good employer guide

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Building have published their good employer guide finding Two architects Rodgers Stirk Harbour and Assael the winning firms. Followed by project managers Buro Four and the main contractor Vinci in fourth place with consultants John Rowan and partners coming in fifth.

We particularly like the quick data available on each firm especially showing percentage of female non admin staff.

Read the full building magazine good employer guide here

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Employment law reform; what can an employer do?

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On Nov 23rd the government announced the proposals it intends to make to employment law with the alleged aim of making life easier for business.

We felt that it produced some good resources for businesses such as the Employers charter which outlines the reality behind common employment myths; Also resources and advice about resolving workplace dispute.

It was also interesting to read the concerns of Sarah Veale at TUC who posted a succinct blog looking at the business case for upholding employment rights.


Access all links related to employment law in this piece

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A plain English guide to the Localism Act  

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The localism act is likely to have a variety of differing impacts; obviously for those with a focus on diversity the effects on social housing are likely to be the most prominent. This plain English guide to the localism act outlines the changes the act will introduce for those of you who don’t have the time to decipher legal jargon.

More localism resources

CIAT appoints new president

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We would like to extend our congratulations to Colin Orr PCIAT who became the Chartered Institute of Architectural Technologists’ 25th President on 18 November, Colin is believed to be the first black president of a built environment institution.

Whilst this fact currently proves the exception not the rule we are glad to see diversity continuing to break through into industry leadership and look forward to seeing Colin prove a good role model to all industry.

Read more

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Top Manufacturing and Engineering Talent 2030.

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A strong manufacturing and engineering base is vital to our economic recovery. But we are failing to attract young people to these exciting careers

CIHE have therefore launched a website and are working on a report that will publish a set of recommendations for schools, universities, funding and research councils, industry, business and government in order to help the UK realise its leadership potential within engineering and manufacturing. It has been informed by research and overseen by the CIHE Task Force co-chaired by Richard Greenhalgh (Chairman, CIHE) and Professor Nigel Thrift (Vice-Chancellor, University of Warwick) with representation from industry and academia.

CIC Diversity Panel Influencing Positive Change in Attitudes to Diversity

 

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Our fellow members of the Construction Industry Council (CIC) Diversity Panel have worked hard over the past few months in putting together last week’s event around diversity.

The day involved a number of speakers and feedback sessions which brought to the fore some interesting points  such as "If 60% of newly appointed managers are women, why are only 22% of senior managers women?" asked Kathy Knight, HR Director of Mace.

Read more about the issues raised and the solutions put forward by the speakers and delegates.

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BBC News - Bright spark of an idea on unemployment

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An article from the BBC reporting on a scheme to give women the chance to become electricians called wired for success.

Thanks to Sarah at Harrison stringfellows Architects for the spot.

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Carillion recruitment praised for disability in the workplace initiatives

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BT Tower was the fabulous location for the celebration last month of a fantastic achievement. Working together leading UK employers, recruitment companies, charities, government departments and disability experts have created a community of more than 1,000 organsaitions sharing learning to develop best practice in recruitment of disabled people.

Kate Headley, Development Director at The Clear Company, finished the speaches with a further rallying call by reminding everyone, what this is all about, people, disabled people looking to achieve their personal goals in their careers.

"A great example is SkyBlue Carillion working with Action for Blind People to place visually impaired people into construction jobs".

Read more

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***JOB OPPORTUNITIES***

Project/ Constracts Manager for NW Firm

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Established 23 years as a high spec construction provider, NW based AZTEC, are looking to employ a project/ contracts manager within their busy contracts department

Reporting to the Contracts Director this role would require an individual who has worked as a project manager within the high spec office interiors industry for at least 7 years. The candidate will be up to date with CDM regulations, HSE law, fast track programming, budget control and quality management procedures. Ideally the candidate will be MCIOB if not they must show they are working towards further development

Salary- between £30,000 and £37,500 PA based on experience
 
Candidate should send their CV’s via email to HR Director, Carole Burton for review and shortlist for interview.

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Arup open day for female undergraduates

Arup are having an open day for female undergraduates register here

 8 December 2011/Arup, 8 Fitzroy Street/London W1T 4BQ

10am – 1pm, They say "We support and encourage our female talent from the start, through chartership up to director level, across our range of professional services.
Our pioneering women receive accolades for their work and influence in the built environment. We offer unrivalled opportunities, including the chance to work with some of the industry’s leading global experts. These are just a few of the reasons why Arup is a magnet for the world’s female engineering design and consulting talent."
To find out more about being a woman at Arup, join our open day to network and hear from some of our successful female staff.
 

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Do you have specialist wallpapering skills?

WAMT member Frances Rice is looking for a tradeswoman to work alongside her on a job in Hertfordshire.  You must be experienced in hanging horizontal wallpaper.  For more information contact Frances on 07977 306 288.

Willmott Dixon – Multi trades vacancies

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Willmott Dixon are encouraging women to apply for their multi-trade vacancies.  All applicants must be able to drive and any trade discipline can apply i.e Electrician, Plumbers. heating Engineers, Joiners.

The vacancies are open in the following areas Stevenage,
Northampton, Kettering, Milton Keynes, Bishop Stortford. Email Sharon Ayles for details.

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********RESEARCH********

Extending Lives programme

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The Extending Working Lives (EWL) programme is now drawing to a close, but not without leaving the industry better off. The above link here provides you with

•         A brief summary of what the EWL programme has achieved within the construction sector which will be complemented later in the year by the knowledge pack – a fuller report on the findings and recommendations of the programme.


Constructing Equality would like to extend thanks to Freda Line for all of her hard work on this programme.

Gender and sexuality in non-traditionally female work

Most previous research on women in non-traditionally female work has focused on the working lives of heterosexual women (or has not questioned women’s sexual orientation) and on those in professional or managerial occupations. Therefore this research aimed to shed light on the diversity of women in male-dominated work by investigating the experiences of heterosexual women and
lesbians working in operational and skilled manual jobs as well as in professional and managerial roles in the UK construction and transport sectors.

Read Gender and sexuality in non-traditionally female work

QUEER(Y)ING CONSTRUCTION: EXPLORING SEXUALITY AND MASCULINITY IN CONSTRUCTION

An interesting paper that looks further than the tradditional male and female gender divides in construction to see how two male homosexuals view women working in the industry.

QUEER(Y)ING CONSTRUCTION: EXPLORING
SEXUALITY AND MASCULINITY IN CONSTRUCTION
Paul W Chan

 

*********SURVEYS***********

New UCATT survey aims to improve services for women

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UCATT is the largest union in the construction industry, and one of WAMT’s Associate Members.  They have recently been working alongside WAMT to develop a new questionnare, designed to gather information which will help UCATT improve the support  it offers to female construction workers.  If you're a tradeswoman, UCATT invites you to share your experiences and opinions by  completing the online survey.  Everyone who completes it will be in with a chance to win an Apple iPod shuffle.

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**********TRAINING*************

FLUID Diversity Mentoring Programme

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The FLUID, Diversity Mentoring Programme is an innovative scheme developed by RIBA’s Architects for Change (AfC) forum, and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to address the retention and development of talented practitioners from diverse backgrounds for management and leadership roles in the built environment.

For further information on the various sponsorship packages and how your organisation can get involved, please contact Danna Walker (Project Coordinator for Lifelong Learning and Skills) 

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Only 26 places still available; Women and Work

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The Women and Work Programme is part of a £25 million government investment for the training and development of 25,000 women, across a range of industries within which women are currently under-represented. The programme is one of a variety of measures which aims to help close the gender pay gap in a generation and stimulate cultural change among employers.


ConstructionSkills has been delivering the Women and Work project since November 2006. They have successfully secured additional funding through the UKCES Employer Investment
Fund (EIF) to build and expand on the previous phases of the programme ensuring that it can continue to March 2012.

See training available on the women and work programme.

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EHRC Web Accessibility course

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The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), AbilityNet and BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT have developed the only product of its kind in the UK – the Web Accessibility Essentials e-learning course. This 80 minute, cost effective, on-line course is designed to equip individuals and businesses interested in accessibility best practice with a fundamental understanding of digital inclusion.

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********EVENTS*************

WTS Winter Reception 2011

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Women in Transport Winter Reception Tuesday, 6th December From 6.30pm to 9pmSavoy Place, 2 Savoy Place, London WC2R 0BL.
Confirmed speaker John Armitt; Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority for the London 2012 Olympic Game with Sue Kershaw Executive Head of Programme and Contract Delivery, Olympic Delivery Authority Transport Team.
If you would like to volunteer and help make the Winter Reception happen please email them at support@wtslondon.org.uk or go to the WTS website to join up

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