CIC Diversity

Held on 23 November 2011 at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, London, the workshop recommendations for recruitment, retention and career progression strategies include:

facilitating the mentoring of female junior managers by publicising existing external mentoring groups and by engaging with employers so that they implement mentoring,
raising the awareness of diversity benefits with employers and Members and promoting manager training.
publicising businesses that demonstrate best practice on diversity and produce case studies of such activities and the resulting business benefits.
presenting a more public profile so that the image of Construction is improved in the media and more young people (both genders) will consider a career in construction.
producing codes of conduct on diversity and require their members to embrace these behaviours in their business.
encouraging employers to engage with their senior female clients and ask them to mentor women from the construction industry,
publicising guidance on how to promote work achievements: via the media and events, within a person’s own organisations and by networking, (as this would benefit women who are less likely to self publicise)

These recommendations will be promoted via the Professional Institutions of the Construction Industry. The CIC Diversity Panel is tasked with producing an action plan to achieve this.
For more details of the speakers and their key points see the full press release:

Building Visions – a careers video for 14 – 18 yr olds

Building Visions: a series of short project related interviews with young construction professionals from diverse groups. They share their enthusiasm for their projects, their careers and how their work shapes our surrounding. The over-arching message is applicable to children and adults

demonstrating the creative and inspiring professional career opportunities available within construction
showcasing exciting modern structures
promotes young ambassadors for the industry
profiles engineers, architects, quantity surveyors and project managers
supports diversity objectives by focusing on the successful and inspiring careers of under-represented groups.

Use the videos to

encourage 14 -18 yr olds to consider construction in their career choices
learn how the construction professions offer an inspiring career
understand the different professions within construction
demonstrate that there is diversity within the construction industry
raise general awareness of some landmark UK construction projects and the role of construction professionals

There is an accompanying booklet for the video . This provides information on how to gain more information on construction careers.

Building Visions was directed by the CIC Diversity Panel and funded through sponsorship from a variety of built environment organisations and companies that support our diversity objectives. The video was first produced in 2003 and has since been updated with new profiles and more recent project studies. It now has an introduction that forms a short standalone ‘taster’. The video has been used widely in careers presentations in schools and elsewhere, with 4000 copies distributed.

It is now readily accessible through the Internet, both clips and the full video are available for viewing:

Access clips of the Building Visions Video

Watch the Full Building Visions Video

Gathering and Reviewing Data on Diversity within the Construction Professions

This CIC Diversity Panel project aims to encourage businesses to adopt a positive diversity culture by providing them with more accurate factual information and thus to encourage greater diversity in the professions.

providing diversity data and references relating to the construction industry in report format
an easily accessible diversity resource, from a single source
being updated and expanded periodically with data form professional institutions and employers

The project began in 2007 with the commissioning of a piece of research which gathered and reviewed data relating to diversity within the construction industry. This was in recognition of the fact that whilst there is some such statistical information available, it is not being gathered together in a consistent and coordinated way.

A team from the Faculty of the Built and Natural Environment at the University of the West of England was commissioned to undertake the initial scoping exercise and produce a report. The research was undertaken between February and June 2008. The final report provides a summary statistical profile and makes useful comparisons with other professions: medicine and law.

The report was launched in August 2008 by CIC Chairman, Keith Clarke of Atkins, to an invited audience of senior construction business leaders. Download the published report

There are on-going activities by the Diversity Panel to ensure the maintenance and expansion of this diversity reference resource. The long term goal of this project is to collect data from the professional institutions and major employers at specific intervals over a 10 year period from 2012. There will be an increasing scope to the diversity issues covered in each questionnaire and report.

Other projects –

Best practice case studies -

Interviews with professionals drawn from under-represented groups were compiled as a series of case studies. These informed subsequent best practice guides produced by partner organisations and a selection were published by Building Magazine in 2005.

The case studies provided personal accounts of how diversity challenges had been addressed e.g. by changes to working practices, hours, job sharing, thereby enabling the qualified professionals to continue working in their chosen career.

ICE Icefloe event –

Diversity Panel activities and the Building Visions Video were publicised at this Institution of Civil Engineers Event in 2008

CPD Management Lecture series in 1999 and 2002 -

CIC Diversity Panel members produced two self funded lecture series which provided over 150 junior professionals with access to low cost management development training. Direct publicity for the lecture series was directed at under-represented groups within the professions. This led to the series attracted a high proportion of female and ethnic minority delegates. As well as providing quality CPD, the events enabled participants to establish informal peer group support networks.

Highways Agency consultation response on achieving diversity in procurement –

A sub-group of the Diversity Panel responded to the Highways Agency with recommendations on how under-represented groups could be given greater opportunities to provide services to the HA. The proposal highlighted that female and ethnic minorities often worked in SME’s so there should be recognition of this in the size of contracts awarded by the HA and/or a requirement for their major suppliers to sub-contract some of the work to SMEs to encourage participation by female and ethnic minority professionals.

Egan Report: Constructing the team – inputs from Panel Members -

Prior to the formal incorporation of the Diversity Panel within CIC, several of the Panel Members made recommendations to those drafting the Egan Report “Constructing the Team” on measures to address the issue of white male dominance in UK construction.

Professional Institutions’ EO policies –

An early activity of the Panel was to encourage all the construction Professional Institutions to embed EO in their own policies and to provide EO policy guidance to their Members.

Government consultation responses -

The Panel submitted a formal response to government on diversity issues including equal pay.

For more information or to get involved in the Diversity Panel please contact LReading@CIC.Org.UK


	For general information please contact CIC

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