CITB invests in offsite construction training

CITB is investing £1.2million in offsite construction training in the biggest expansion of teaching materials so far.

The investment will provide teaching materials on offsite construction training and support two projects led by the Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC), and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC). The investment is the biggest yet in modular construction training, helping secure the method as a mainstream model of construction.

As a result of this investment, industry and education will have free access to a range of standardised, innovative and blended learning materials. The projects will be pioneering a collaborative approach involving employers, providers, contractors and leading innovation organisations that will bring new, free, innovative training materials to industry.-

Rohan Bush, CSIC Head of Public Partnerships and Future Workforce, said: “It is time to think differently about construction, because carrying on as we are is simply not an option – our industry needs to modernise. Offsite construction can efficiently deliver a high quality, mass-customisable product that is technically advanced, offering social, environmental and economic benefits.”

“It can speed up the construction process, lower the impact of adverse weather conditions on projects, and reduce costs while also improving safety. But to ensure that offsite becomes mainstream, we need a workforce with the necessary skills – and that’s where these projects come in.”

It is projected that almost half of all construction employers will adopt modular construction techniques within the next five years. It can reduce timescales and costs and increase productivity on projects, which is especially useful given the governments target of 300,000 new homes.

CSIC will create a competency framework for offsite construction, and both projects will use existing industry knowledge and training resources to create new plans for current training qualifications. Support for workers and upskilling qualifications will be created for offsite trainers to use with teaching sessions taking place across the country.

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