Construction workers build up new skills
Launched before the pandemic, a new online learning programme is offering a vital lifeline to construction employees
AN online programme developed to address the skills gap in the construction industry has been a hit during lockdown, with many workers using the time to increase their knowledge.
The programme was developed by City of Glasgow College together with BCTG, a Scottish building contractors’ training group, in an attempt to address the skills gap at supervisor level in the industry.
This has been a concern for some time, with low investment in training resulting in increased costs and low levels of productivity.
The CITB funded programme was launched by City of Glasgow College before the pandemic took hold and has been seized on by construction staff who have been sent home after their work was halted.
Linus Reichenbach, Project Manager for City of Glasgow College, said “More than 400 new learners have signed up to the platform since the middle of March.”
Construction is one of the industries that has been badly hit by the lockdown and thousands of workers have been furloughed.
Roughly 10% of the UK population works in the sector with more than 280,000 businesses contributing almost £90 billion gross-value-added (GVA) to the economy each year.
The problems will not be over any time soon, when work resumes there is likely to be a greater emphasis on health and safety, including continuing social distancing.
Ensuring a safe environment while maintaining an efficient, productive building site will be essential and lead to new challenges for supervisors.
However, many have turned to the college’s e-learning programme to brush up on their skills and prepare for a return to work.
The online platform has the benefit of being accessible anywhere, at any time from a phone, tablet or a computer.
The content was developed with input from the industry, educators and designers and offers 20 freely accessible modules to help supervisors and site managers learn at their own pace.
“Some of our learners have finished every module which is not something we necessarily planned,” said Linus.
“It was developed as a kind of pick and mix platform where individuals can focus on modules where they have identified gaps in their knowledge, but some people have enjoyed it so much they have completed the full platform.
“We are very happy that it is being used extensively and is clearly supporting the industry in the way we anticipated.”
He added: “Even before the pandemic hit we believed e-learning is the future, especially in the construction industry where supervisors are always changing sites and can’t easily attend classes.”
In addition to the online platform the college has created a PDF with all the information that the platform contains.
“It means you can have it on your tablet on-site so that if you need information quickly you can get it without having to go online,” said Reichenbach.
The modules cover traditional construction skills, digital skills and topics like health and safety.
The course content is also available in the college’s free Practical Handbook for Supervisors, available at www.bctgconstruct.co.uk/resources