CITB-CONSTRUCTIONSKILLS has this month secured funding to train up to 350 female construction workers across the UK, with women in Derbyshire now urged to apply for their share. The National Construction College (NCC), the training division of CITB-ConstructionSkills, has developed ‘Women and Work’ training courses which will run until the end of March 2012. Women in the East Midlands who wish to take the courses can apply now and find out whether they are eligible for funding.

The number of apprenticeships in the UK has risen by more than 50 per cent in the academic year 2010/11 compared to the year before.

Figures show that 442,700 people have taken up an apprenticeship as more businesses have answered the government's call to create more placements to skill-up the UK workforce.

Residents in Yorkshire are set to receive an easier, quicker and more efficient service thanks to staff at Kier Sheffield. More than 70 employees have successfully completed training in plumbing, plastering and gas engineering as part of Kier’s ongoing investment in training and development programmes to improve the service it provides to residents.

The Construction Industry Training Board levy/grant system looks set to continue for another three years at least, with two-thirds of employers backing the current system. With industry support secured, the three-yearly statutory levy order is expected to be passed through Parliament in early 2012.

The Statistical First Release shows that apprenticeship numbers have risen across all age ranges and levels of training across the apprenticeships programme. The data shows that there were 442,700 apprenticeship starts in the full 2010/11 academic year (final data for 2009/10 shows 279,700 starts).

Doosan Power Systems apprentice Jake Rambaldini won a bronze medal in the welding category at the World Skills event held recently. The 20-year-old, from Daventry, East Midlands was selected to fly the flag for the UK's engineering construction sector at this year's event where over 1,000 competitors from 53 countries competed for medals in 45 different skills.

Staff at Coleshill-based firm Frank Haslam Milan (FHM) are limbering up to take part in Bupa’s Great Birmingham Run this weekend in a bid to raise money for youth homeless charity St Basils.  Five members of staff from the leading community regeneration specialist will take part in the 13.1 mile televised race through the centre of Birmingham, aiming to raise £1,500 for the worthy cause.

The £13 million Tunnelling and Underground Construction Academy (TUCA) has welcomed its first students. The first training courses to be offered at the Academy include the Tunnel Safety Card, pre-requisite for anyone who will work below ground on Crossrail, and Construction Skills Certification Scheme health and safety card training. Vocational courses initially on offer are pre-cast concrete manufacture and tunnel operations training.

It’s all go for graduate recruiters in the construction industry at the moment: they’re busy starting to open up their 2012 graduate schemes while still filling some ad hoc vacancies for 2011 (yes, if you’re looking for an immediate start, there are still a few jobs out there). Whatever your degree background, recruiters stress that your transferable, non-technical skills are the key to securing a graduate job offer. Nigel Kibler, training manager at BAM Construct UK Ltd, gave us his tips on the competencies construction recruiters are looking for, and how to demonstrate that you have them.

John Hardy, managing director, Portland Consulting Engineering, talks about his frustration with what he calls the “academic-led” approach to training in the construction industry and why it’s failing.