The growing importance of vocational training, and ‘the perennial debate that continues to surround sustainability, energy efficiency, emissions reduction, and the low-carbon economy’, are among the key focuses in the Building & Engineering Services Association’s (B&ES) recently published Business Manifesto – drawn together in advance of May’s General Election.
B&ES President Andy Sneyd said the Manifesto ‘focused principally on commercial matters’ – including ‘the iniquity of late payment, the elimination of waste from the procurement process, and the maximisation of efficiency throughout the supply chain’.
“However,” he added, “it also highlights the growing importance of vocational education and training at every level of the workforce in ensuring that we employ the required calibre, and the required number, of highly skilled and highly motivated individuals, capable of meeting the challenges of an increasingly complex industry.”
The B&ES is engaged in a sector-wide consultation on the new qualifications standards and new training arrangements drawn up by employers, which address such issues as the appropriate duration of apprenticeships; the competences that apprentices must have achieved on completing their training; and the specific knowledge and skills they must acquire during their apprenticeship.
