Spec Finish

8 www.thefis.org News FIS BuildBack project is coming to a close Gove’s contract and the challenge for the supply chain At the end of January we heard the Rt Hon Michael Gove , Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities candid admission that Building Regulations were “faulty and ambiguous” in the run-up to the Grenfell Tower fire. This was, however, backed up with an assertion that there had been an “active willingness” on the part of developers to endanger lives for profit. Gove’s mantra remains “polluter pays” and these comments were followed by a letter issued to developers on 30 January saying that Government expects them to sign a newly published ‘developer remediation contract’ as soon as possible. Last year, 49 developers signed a public pledge 1 committing to do the right thing to protect leaseholders and residents. Once signed, the contract will make those commitments legally binding, the contract will require developers to: • Take responsibility for all necessary work to address life-critical fire-safety defects arising from design and construction of buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed or refurbished over the last 30 years in England. • Keep residents in those buildings informed on progress towards meeting this commitment. • Reimburse taxpayers for funding spent on remediating their buildings. The government has made clear that developers who refuse to sign the contract or fail to comply with its terms face significant consequences. You can read the full letter from Richard Goodman, Director General, Safer and Greener Buildings Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and view the proposed contract by visiting: www.gov.uk/government/ publications/developer-remediation-contract Source 1 https://tinyurl.com/3n8p3jb7 Run by FIS in collaboration with CITB, DWP, charities, training providers and sector employers the FIS BuildBack project was initially developed to help find the next generation of dryliners. A programme for plasterers was added in June 2021, following demand from employers. The programmes approach included recruitment and then assessment of candidates before putting them through a two or three-week introduction training programme which included a taster of the skills and competencies required for installing drylining, fixing and boarding, drylining finishing or plastering, followed by a further two-week work placement on-site with a local employer. Over the course of the project 25 cohorts were delivered across the country, 250 job seekers and career changers were supported who were serious about developing a career in drylining and plastering. The project succeeded initially achieving a 60% employment rate for those completing their training. The project opened up many collaborative and partnership opportunities including DWP, Women into Construction and CITB. These helped to raise the profile of the industry and bring more diversity into the sector. The diversity of the project was evident as over the last cohort of 40 candidates, at least 50% have been from diverse groups. Numerous FIS members took part in the project and offered work placements. Measom Dryline was one of these members and Jade Sandhu , Assistant HR Manager said: “During the programme, we were delighted to welcome three women onto one of our large-scale central London projects to work alongside our experienced drylining teams. The work placements whilst rewarding, provided valuable insight into some difficulties that were faced by the women on-site, such as the weight of plasterboard. As an employer, we are now more than ever invested in working with organisations such as Women into Construction and FIS to understand how we can make joining and participating in the industry easier and more accessible for women”. Jade concluded by saying: “This programme has highlighted that much work is needed, but we are ready to support the challenge”. www.measom.co.uk Beena Nana, FIS Head of Skills and Training said: “Looking ahead, BuildBack has only scratched the surface in terms of recruiting new talent into the sector. It has the opportunity to be flexible and time needs to be given to the planning phase to identify and scope the projects using intelligence from labour forecasts. Reliable intelligence on project forecasts would also support the identification of geographical availability for candidate work placements.” “Whilst the FIS BuildBack project is now coming to a close we are delighted with the overall results. The project has proved there is a need for something to support employers and contractors to recruit and retain new talent. The outcome of the project highlighted, of those candidates that took part, have completed training and have gone onto secure full-time employment within the industry. It has also demonstrated the effectiveness of collaboration between the sector, partners and our members in addressing the skills gap and creating meaningful job opportunities for those looking to start a career within the sector.” To find out more about the project visit: www.thefis.org/skills-hub/recruitment- induction/buildback-2 Michael Gove, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities One of the women working on a large-scale central London project