News

Digital Construction Skills (DCS) has launched a free mentoring service to support businesses in implementing digital processes and techniques. DCS is funded by the Construction Industry Training Board to help construction companies develop the skills they need to drive digital transformation in their business.

BRE has revealed the winners at the BREEAM Summit and Awards 2022 – a thought leadership and networking conference followed by a celebration of sustainable building design.

The Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) is expanding its Low Carbon Learning programme with a second free-to-att end course focused on the fabric and structure of sustainable buildings. Supported by Skills Development Scotland through more than £175,000 from the National Transition Training Fund, CSIC is off erring valuable training for people in the construction sector looking to upskill and reskill.

Following the announcement from the Offi ce for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) regarding Kingspan’s Kooltherm K15 insulation (including two prohibition notices issued by the OPSS in relation to K15) and the withdrawal by the British Board of Agrément of its certifi cate for K15, the National House Building Council (NHBC) has asked registered builder customers for additional information regarding the use of K15 on all sites.

The UK Government has taken note of concerns raised by leaseholders about the structure of the future safety regime outlined in the Building Safety Bill and is removing the duty to appoint a Build-ing Safety Manager (BSM).

It only seems like yesterday I was writing my first President’s welcome, and what a year it has been. I have met many members from all over the UK and Ireland, and while I have unfortunately not been able to physically visit the international chapters, I have enjoyed the opportunity to present virtually at both the Malaysia and Hong Kong chapters.

After months of debate and amendments, the Building Safety Bill became law today (29 April), with the intention to ‘create lasting generational change’ to the way high-risk and residential buildings are constructed and maintained, although many of the new provisions in the 262-page Act are not expected to come into force until 2023.

For decades the construction industry has failed to invest in the relevant skills needed to ensure a competent workforce.

The Royal College of the Arts (RCA) has unveiled its new Battersea campus, designed by world-renowned architects Herzog & de Meuron.

Faelsafe Life Safety has implemented a cloud-based platform to reduce its administrative burden, eliminate paper from its operations and improve the efficiency of engineers working across the UK mainland.

Tim Balcon, Chief Executive of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), has written to construction employers to invite them to take part in a pilot scheme that will not only offer job opportunities to ex-offenders but help employers fill their skills gap.

A builder has been given a suspended prison sentence for allowing unsafe excavation work, which put workers in danger and rendered the neighbouring property unstable.

A report was recently made to Cross UK about concerns that hatches for amenity access points may not be fire safe.

The DLUHC Guidance on Collaborative Procurement for Design and Construction to Support Building Safety was launched recently at an event featuring a keynote from Dame Judith Hackitt, who in her report identified the procurement processes used across the construction industry as one of the many areas that urgently need to be improved following the Grenfell Tower fire.

The publication of the British Energy Security Strategy outlined a much-anticipated plan to achieve energy independence and net-zero carbon – but it received mixed reactions from the building sector.

To mark International Women’s Day and to celebrate its 125th anniversary this year, Wates Group announced an initiative to bring 125 more women into the construction industry by 2025

The long-running SkillBuild construction skills competition is happening again this year. SkillBuild is delivered by the CITB and forms part of WorldSkills UK.

In honour of International Women’s Day 2022, the World Cement Association’s Gender Focus Network has made a video highlighting the issue of inequality in the cement and concrete sector, as well as sharing what the network will do in 2022 to tackle this.

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has announced the UK will phase out imports of Russian oil by the end of the year to give enough time for supply chain adjustments.

Housebuilder Persimmon Homes marked International Women’s Day by launching its Target 50 initiative to bring 50 additional female apprentices or technical trainees into construction-related roles across the country this year. The initiative forms part of Persimmon’s 50th anniversary celebrations.