Developing safety-focused new entrants to future-proof industry workforce

With industry needing more new entrants than ever, the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) is using World Day for Safety and Health at Work to highlight why it is crucial to ensure these workers have a safety-first attitude when stepping onto high-hazard sites for the first time.

World Day for Safety and Health at Work today provides a great opportunity to highlight the crucial role safety training plays in reducing accidents and lost-time incidents.

As the industry-led skills body for engineering construction in Great Britain, the sectors we represent such as oil & gas, nuclear, renewables and chemicals all operate on safety-critical sites.

As part of our Leading Industry Learning strategy, the ECITB works to ensure that industry has the skilled workers it needs to meet current and future demand.

The ECITB’s Labour Forecasting Tool predicts 40,000 extra workers could be needed in the engineering construction industry (ECI) by 2030 for major projects that underpin much of the UK’s critical infrastructure.

Amid this growing demand for skilled workers, ensuring workers operate safely is critical.  Workers must have the underlying fundamental safety skills and knowledge needed to keep themselves and their colleagues safe.

This is especially the case for new entrants to industry that are likely stepping foot onto these complex, high-hazard sites for the first time.

Courses that develop knowledge and understanding through training and shared experience can ultimately help to save lives.

This is why the new entrant pathways we have developed all prioritise training that gives learners a safety-first attitude before they enter sites.

Safety-first approach in new entrant programmes

In the three years that covered our 2023-25 strategy, the ECITB supported over 6,500 new entrants into the engineering construction workforce – with safety training front and centre in preparing them for deployment in industry.

Learners on the new entrant programmes developed by the ECITB sit the CCNSG Safety Passport two-day national course as part of completing a suite of ECITB‑endorsed safety certifications and technical short courses.

The ECITB’s CCNSG scheme provides a consistent, nationally recognised safety foundation ensuring the next generation entering the workforce meet a common standard before stepping onto site. With more than 30 years of industry adoption, and over 85,500 active cardholders, CCNSG continues to instil a unified approach to safety across the ECI.

Underpinned by industry input and continually refreshed to reflect current risks and best practice, CCNSG equips workers with the core knowledge, behaviours and awareness required to operate safely in complex environments.

For new entrants with limited site experience, this foundation is critical in helping them understand hazards, recognise risks and adopt the right behaviours from day one. By establishing a shared understanding of safety expectations across the workforce, it helps reduce risk, supports compliance and gives employers confidence that individuals arriving on site are prepared to work safely.

Developing an understanding

The ECITB Scholarship Programme, for example, provides learners aged 16-19 with a grounding in the industrial knowledge and skills that are in demand, helping to accelerate scholars into apprenticeships or other forms of employment.

Learners pursue a full-time, off-the-job programme over one or two academic years and receive a weekly learner allowance. On successful completion of the programme, scholars have industry-standard qualifications, relevant site training and invaluable on-site experience coupled with a clear understanding of what is expected of them when they enter industry.

Our Work Ready Programme, meanwhile, offers learners aged 18 and over who are not currently in employment, education or training the opportunity to gain recognised industry skills and accredited qualifications.

The industry-led scheme, which runs across the UK, is a collaborative and co-funded partnership between colleges, training providers, local employers and partners, the ECITB and the Department of Work and Pensions that lasts up to 16 weeks.

The free programme involves full-time training and assessment, interspersed with work placements and site visits, and on successful completion leads to a guaranteed job interview.

The training delivered on both programmes helps learners understand the expectations, responsibilities and culture of working in high-hazard environments, especially around safety.

Ensuring all new entrants follow the same pathway establishes a common standard of health and safety knowledge across all sites.

Developing competent, safety-conscious workers will future-proof the workforce and increase the industry’s safety resilience.

By Andrew Hockey, Chief Executive of the Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB)