From education to employment

New Routes Opened by CIOB for Professional Routes to Training

The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB), the leading professional body for managers in construction worldwide, has continued its efforts to bring better training opportunities to the industry.

With 40,000 members in 94 countries, the CIOB is a market leader in establishing, promoting and maintaining standards of excellence in the construction industry. They are seeking for new and innovative methods to encourage the take up of alternative professional routes to gaining a Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS) card.

CIOB on Education

The CIOB has been active for almost 170 years, and leads the way in the development and ongoing expansion and improvement of educational standards, both at the national and international level. The CIOB is also an awarding body for the sector, and has designed specific qualifications for individuals who have or are planning to develop a career in either Site Supervision or Site Management. These qualifications are recognised by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA).

The CIOB have joined forces with other professional organisations in the United Kingdom such as the Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE), campaigning for recognition for professional achievement as an equivalency to conventional means of study. Following two years of work towards this goal, the CIOB is delighted to announce that they have succeeded in ensuring that the CSCS Board will approve a “professional” route to platinum site manager cards for CIOB members.

This move is set to affect site managers who will now gain CSCS cards through membership of the CIOB. They would achieve this card status without gaining the Level 4 National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Construction Site Management. CSCS approval was also granted (last year) to a professional route in building maintenance and for estates managers, and in March of this year a second professional route was approved, for an equivalence to the Level 4 NVQ in Construction Contracting Operations.

Three Routes to Success?

Speaking about the result of two years of effort, Michael Brown, the CIOB deputy chief executive, said: “These three routes aim to serve the major site occupations in which CIOB members work, and where they need their CSCS cards. The CSCS Board has rightly defended the high standards that the CSCS initiative has set, but their acknowledgement that MCIOB demonstrates an equivalent standard is good for everyone ““ good for CSCS, good for CIOB members, and good for the industry.”

The new route is now available, and Mr. Brown continued: “These professional routes have consolidated the links between NVQ achievement and our own routes to professional qualification and have justified all the hard work that the CIOB has put into NVQ development over the last 15 years.”

Jethro Marsh

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