Principal Thoughts – June

Welcome to the June edition of our ‘Principal Thoughts’ blog series. Each month, UCEM Principal Ashley Wheaton shares the latest updates from University College of Estate Management, and discusses recent news and developments in the world of higher education, the built environment and beyond.

Construction News

We were pleased to exhibit at the Construction News Developer Forum earlier this month, allowing some of our UCEM staff to spread the word about our academic programmes and training courses available to Built Environment professionals.

It’s important for us as an online institution to attend as many face-to-face events as possible and further our strong connections with those in the industry – and our team certainly had an enjoyable day! Construction News is also hosting its annual awards on the 14th July which we are a proud sponsor of, so keep a look out for updates on this coming soon.

Strong partnerships for a strong future

On the 22nd June we announced the news of our partnership with Eastleigh College to bolster our apprenticeship offering. Eastleigh College is a lead apprenticeship provider and will work with us as the conduit for funding via the Skills Funding Agency. The college is very experienced in delivering apprenticeships across the UK, and will also assist with student data collection and analysis, allowing us to provide the highest quality apprenticeships for employers and apprentices alike.

This timely partnership comes ahead of the Government’s 2017 Apprenticeship Levy which will affect UK employers in all private and public sectors, and we’re pleased to be prepared to assist employers with these changes in advance of the Levy coming into action.

Diversity and inclusion in our industry

Later in the month, on the 29th June, the RICS held its second Diversity and Inclusion Conference hosted by BBC presenter, Riz Lateef. The purpose of the conference was to discuss and raise awareness of widening participation within the Built Environment industry, and was aptly captioned, ‘Surveying the Future’.

We were pleased to be able to support and exhibit at the event, and a number of UCEM staff attended some very insightful briefings. Some of the key topics from the conference included attracting and retaining today’s workforce for tomorrow’s future, imbedding diversity and inclusivity at the heart of your company, and tailoring the workplace to allow employees to succeed.

We will be giving a more thorough run down of the day in an upcoming blog post, so stay tuned for this. The highlight of the event for me was of course when

three UCEM apprentices took to the stage with Riz Lateef to discuss ‘what makes an attractive employer?’ Our apprentices – Jessica Austen, Joe Chapman and Adelle Rhule-Martin – gave a strong insight into exactly what today’s workforce are looking for in a company.

Widening participation in the industry is a cause close to my heart, as having a diverse workforce not only fosters inclusion, respect, and openness – it also increases our ability to find the right solutions for projects by utilising a variety of working styles, personalities and approaches. It is my hope that as the industry grows and broadens, so too does our pool of talent.

Stay in touch with UCEM by connecting with us on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and make sure to stay tuned to our blog page for the next edition of Principal Thoughts.