 |
|
|
|
CIC Cascade1 May 2003 Inspire the next generation – enthusiastic professionals wanted to go into UK secondary schools Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister Office
of the Deputy Prime Minister ODPM announce new Building Control Performance Standard Inspire the next generation – enthusiastic professionals wanted to go into UK secondary schools The recruitment and retention of sufficient professionals within the construction industry is a problem we are all familiar with. But did you know that the industry will have to recruit an estimated 11,000 professionals over the next four years to meet its needs? The Construction Industry Council Equal Opportunities Panel has commissioned a video that goes some way to addressing this problem. Launched in November 2002, ‘Building Visions – creative careers in the construction professions’, is a construction industry sponsored video targeted at young people, aged 14-18, who are thinking about their career choices. Construction has the further problem that women and those from minority groups are not choosing to join our industry in sufficient numbers. We can not afford to let this large pool of talent drain away into other professions. The video has therefore been designed to particularly appeal to students from diverse backgrounds. We now need enthusiastic volunteers to take the video into schools - some 5000 free copies are available: one for every secondary school in the UK. The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) has produced teachers’ notes to help presenters answer questions. At 27 minutes in length the video is short enough to fit into a lesson. Sequences of stunning architecture across the UK make an exciting visual impact. The video demonstrates construction is not all about ‘mud and boots’. As well as giving an overview of the construction industry, the video looks at seven professions in detail: architecture, quantity surveying, planning, civil, structural and building services engineering and project management. Bright young professionals from diverse backgrounds share their experiences and are filmed at work on a variety of interesting projects from bridges to theme parks. In order to reinforce the message of the video and to project the passion we share for the industry to our target audience, we are seeking construction professionals to take the video nationwide within the coming year. To enable us do this we want to hear from professionals willing to present the video in schools in their local area. Please help by donating a small amount of time and a huge amount of enthusiasm and knowledge! If you
are interested in becoming involved with this scheme please contact
Bridget Fidler at Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Implementation of Structural Eurocodes in the UK
As part of the European Union’s desire to remove technical barriers to trade, a set of European Codes of Practice in the field of civil and structural engineering is starting to emerge from the Committee of European Standards. This document aims to explain the phased introduction of Eurocodes and how they will be used nationally for the design of civil and structural engineering works and their parallel use in some Product Standards. It explains in simple terms the European Commission’s uniform approach to implementing the Eurocodes as published in its Guidance Paper L – Application and Use of Eurocodes. The Eurocodes aim to:
The UK has participated actively in the drafting of the Eurocodes; significant resources have been made available by Government, Agencies, and industry in order to assist in achieving results beneficial to UK interests. The document is a good resource for informing designers of the procedures that are being undertaken to facilitate the implementation of the Eurocodes in the UK. Copies
of the document are available free of charge from:
Four-fifths of houses in England and Wales live in the private sector, whether renting or owning their own homes. The government recognises that it has to ensure that those in the private sector, as much as those in social housing, have the opportunity of a decent home. This includes taking action against unacceptably low housing standards across the board, ensuring sufficient supply of affordable homes, and access to home ownership in sustainable communities. The Government has made manifesto commitments to bring in mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation and to improve the process of home buying and selling. It has also set out this year an action programme for sustainable communities in England, and primary legislation is needed to complete the framework for delivering it. In fulfilling these commitments, the ODPM has issued a publication of the Housing Bill draft, and is inviting comments on this draft. The Housing Bill draft sets out specific legislation in five main areas, on which opinions are sought:
The draft Bill is accompanied by explanatory notes and draft Regulatory Impact Assessments of each main element. Alongside the draft Bill, the document contains alternative approaches to particular issues on home information packs, and on the licensing and HHSRS regimes, on which comments are sought. The consultation package includes clauses introducing a new office of Social Housing Ombudsman for Wales to investigate complaints against registered social landlords in Wales. ODPM is publishing at the same time as this draft two further consultation papers on the home information pack, covering its contents and its applicability in areas of lowest housing demand. The draft Bill applies to both England and Wales. The consultation document can be found at www.housing.odpm.gov.uk. Hard copies can be obtained free of charge by writing to: TSO, PO Box 29, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 08706005522, Fax: 08706005533 CIC
is compiling a combined response. Please send your input to Jobran
Hammoud at:jhammoud@cic.org.uk by 25
May 2003. Direct responses(but please send us a copy)
may be sent by email to draft.HousingBill@odpm.gsi.gov.uk and
where appropriate to housinginternet@wales.gsi.gov.uk.
An additional Standard, “Complaints Procedure”, for the Building Control Performance Standards 1999 edition, was announced on 2 April. Building Regulations Division at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister issued a circular letter to local authority heads of building control and approved inspectors, on 2 April. This draws attention to the additional Standard, set out in a new addendum to the Building Control Performance Standards. The letter also noted that, over the coming 12 months, the Building Control Performance Standards Advisory Group will be working on full revision of the 1999 edition of the Building Control Performance Standards. It invites building control bodies to offer comments on the 1999 edition of document, to the Secretary of the Advisory Group, Richard Biggs. The letter also mentions the Advisory Group’s plans to ask building control bodies to participate in a trial of a set of Performance Indicators for building control service delivery, at some time in the next few months. The text of the Building Control Performance Standards can be found on the ODPM web site at www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/bcps/index.htm, and the text of the 2 April letter can be found at http://www.safety.odpm.gov.uk/bregs/brpub/04.htm. Comments on the 1999 edition should be sent to Richard Biggs, c/o Construction Industry Council, 26 Store Street, London WC1E 7BT, e-mail rbiggs@cic.org.uk. |
|
| For general information please contact CIC | ||
| What is CIC
| Activities | Services
| Regions | News
and Events | Links | Search
| Site Map | Accessibility | Terms and conditions | Home |
© 2011 Construction Industry Council. Company Registration No. 2388396 A company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales |