The next time you attend a practical workshop at OLCI, take a look around: you may be training alongside a professional footballer! One such player who knows the importance of getting a trade is midfi elder Simon Whaley. Simon has so far made 275 league appearances for teams such as Bury, Preston North End and Norwich, in a professional football career spanning eight seasons.

The opportunities that come with a trade

Andy Robertson Associates are launching new in-house EHS training courses with a difference, namely ‘Outputs’ oriented bespoke and IOSH accredited training and follow-up coaching that add maximum value to the client’s organisation. They are all carried out in-house on the client’s premises for convenience, cost saving and minimum disruption to their operations.

Before delivery, consultation ensures that what a client really needs as ‘Outputs’ is understood and designed into each course. An example of this may be that a client not only needs delegates to be able to carry out a Risk Assessment, but that they can also use the client’s software applications to type their Risk Assessments into once completed, before issuing them electronically. Building use of the client’s existing applications into the training course saves the client time in having to carry out this function.

Augus College’s engineering team is world-class - and that’s official!

The team won a first place at the inaugural UK-wide Engineering Construction Award event held recently in London, for pioneering work in delivering the design and draughting modern apprenticeship for the North Sea oil and gas industry.

The Angus College entry, sponsored by Korean-based global power-plant designers and constructors Doosan, won the Best Training Provider category.

Angus College principal John C Burt congratulated the team for their success, and also all of those involved in the college in delivering and supporting the design and draughting programme.

A new £1.5m construction and mechanisation training facility funded by EDF Energy is to be built by ISG at Cannington in Somerset.
Bridgewater College will then be able to add courses in a range of civil engineering and construction programmes to its existing offering across their Bridgwater and Wylds Road sites, where students already study brickwork, carpentry, electrical installation and plumbing.

There are specialist workshops for each trade, equipped with industry standard tools and equipment, and a range of classrooms with computers and interactive boards.

The Wylds Road Construction Training Centre is also a designated CSCS Health and Safety assessment centre, and will be assisting employers who are looking to join the nuclear supply chain by providing the initial training in Client/Contractor National Safety Group (CCNSG).

Call for entries for the National Apprenticeship and National Training Awards 2012

The search is now on to find the country’s top Apprenticeship and training champions, as the National Training Awards and National Apprenticeship Awards join forces for the first time.Both Awards, which are run by the National Apprenticeship Service (NAS), are now open for entries to compete to be named ‘the best of the best’ on a regional and national level.

John Hayes Further Education, Skills and Lifelong Learning Minister said: “Skills are vital because they encourage ambition and enterprise and help drive economic growth and social renewal. These joint Awards offer a great platform for young people and employers to gain recognition not just for excelling in their chosen field, but for playing a leading part in that vital process.”

They come into force on 06 April 2012 - are you prepared?  A short course to bring you up to date is available.
Following an extensive consultation exercise the Government has finally produced new Tree Preservation Order (TPO) Regulations. The Regulations were;

Made on 28 February 2012;
Laid before Parliament on 05 March 2012; and
Come into Force on 06 April 2012.

The new regulations apply to England only and aim to simplify the TPO system and they apply to all TPOs made since 1947. There are significant changes and the implications of these are serious for Local Planning Authorities.

The shortlisted bidders will now be formally invited to participate in the competitive dialogue stage of the project.  During this next period, each of the shortlisted bidders will engage with the College and prepare detailed designs and commercial terms in response to the College’s comprehensive statement of requirements.

The investment will see state-of-the-art buildings constructed on existing college land in Glasgow’s city centre at Cathedral Street and at Thistle Street on the banks of the River Clyde within the next 4 years. The new campus will provide a high quality and sustainable learning environment for around 40,000 students and 1,200 members of staff and deliver significant community benefits.

OLCI Construction Training, the UK’s No.1 Construction Training Provider, has announced that it will be exhibiting at the Create Your Legacy event, an exhibition where elite sportspeople can explore new career and training opportunities outside of their sport.

Kirklees College, Kirklees Council and GMI Construction have celebrated the completion of the highest point of construction at the college’s new Engineering Centre.

Visitors from the college, council and contractors working on the building all attended the Topping Out ceremony to tour the building and unveil a special plaque.

A drive to encourage firms to create 500 construction sector apprenticeships in Greater Manchester over the next three years was unveiled today. Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce took the wraps off its new Construction Group Training Association which it has set up with local authority and industry representatives.