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The construction industry in the UK is huge, employing 2.1 million people. It is also a very complex industry with over 250,000 firms. Anyone in the industry will confirm that to succeed, you must build up a body of knowledge, and that most of this knowledge comes from experience. Of course, many of us enter the industry with vocational or academic qualifications but these don't always prepare you for the challenges of the construction site, the design office or the plant room.
From time to time, we could all benefit from additional training, either as a way of finding out about latest developments and thinking or to simply refresh our knowledge base. Training encourages staff to think creatively and generate ideas that will positively affect business improvement. This can also be achieved by developing people’s knowledge and skills outside their field of expertise, for example electrical engineers can benefit from understanding mechanical products and technologies and how they fit with the electrical installations, and vice versa. These courses can also help non-technical professionals communicate effectively with M&E specialists.
Importantly, training also ensures that the knowledge gained from individuals with many years of experience in the industry is not lost when these people retire or move on. Innovation is, without doubt, good but care is needed not to simply discard past knowledge as people leave the industry. Training can help in ensuring that the knowledge and skills are passed on.
It is a common practice in a soft economy to reduce or cut completely training budgets within organisations. The rationale being that by reducing training costs there is a direct and immediate impact on the bottom line. But training is like marketing – organisations that invest in their staff when times are hard will be in a better position to tackle the challenges as the economy improves.
Training does not have to involve attending courses away from the office with all the costs and inconvenience involved. The internet has enabled many more options for learning and development in short bursts either in the individuals own time or as groups over a lunchtime. The webinar for example can provide a very cost effective method of delivering training. It is a live interactive presentation delivered over the Internet direct to your desktop, normally combining Powerpoint and a live presenter. You do not need any special software installed on your computer, although you will need internet access and a telephone near your computer to hear the presentation. The only thing required is to login to the system and register.
So if you are thinking about training requirements for the future, either for yourself or for other staff members, think how you will all benefit.
Understanding technology
Construction technology is always changing – new materials like aerogel insulation and phase change materials are coming onto the market, modern methods of construction are increasingly being used, and renewable energy technologies are now commonplace. Training can help you understand the technical issues and make business sense of these technologies.
Keeping up-to-date
Often training is on topics relevant to a specific group of professionals such as consulting engineers, manufacturers, contractors, building operators or others. But there are topics such as Building Regulations vital to all the industry professionals.
Construction is governed by a multitude of legislation such as Building Regulations and the Construction (Design and Management) Regulations. Understanding your responsibilities can be challenging, especially as legislation changes frequently. Part L is the most frequently updated part of the Building Regulations, as it forms part of the government's drive towards low carbon buildings. Changes were made in 1995, 2002, 2005 and 2006, and the latest round of changes come into effect in October 2010. BSRIA has closely followed the evolution of Part L, and operated a public email helpdesk during the consultation on Part L changes that took place in 2009.
We have developed a training course which explains the current version of Part L, highlights the upcoming changes, and covers related legislation including energy performance certificates and air conditioning inspections. The course is useful for designers, facilities managers, product manufacturers or anyone who needs to understand this complex piece of legislation and how it affects the way they work. Legislation can be a very dry subject, but good trainers will make it interesting by relating it to the type of work that you do.
Communicating
With the construction industry being so large and complex, most people in it are knowledgeable in their field, whether it be installation of curtain wall glazing, design of steel structures or maintenance of air conditioning systems. But in order to work effectively, it helps to understand at least the basics of other disciplines and to be able to communicate effectively with people in those disciplines. For example non-technical staff within the construction industry can benefit from technical training that introduces the basics of technical and legislative subjects.
Continuing Professional Development
If you’re a member of a professional institution, or working towards membership, chances are you will be required to provide evidence of Continuing Professional Development (CPD). Why not seek out training that meets your professional needs as well as your technical needs.
And finally
Training is more than just an opportunity to get to know new people and it does not just give new knowledge but also stimulates creative business thinking. It stimulates people to explore new ideas and look at their practical application when back at their workplace.
The best training courses are those delivered by skilled and knowledgeable trainers who are practitioners in the field they teach. Trainers should be able to transfer the knowledge to the trainees in an easy to understand manner using different techniques including case studies that will allow trainees to practice those newly acquired skills.
Companies are spoilt for choice when it comes choosing how and where the training is delivered to them. From our experience at BSRIA we see that some of our clients opt to have their training delivered off-site at our offices in Bracknell, while others prefer in-company training, sometimes due to time constraints or because they wish to have the training tailored to meet a specific requirement. The latter can also mean taking advantage of advanced on-line technology and the use of webinars as an effective and efficient way of delivering the training to the customers when and where they need it.
