Good afternoon,
I hope you’re having a good week.

Today is World Day for Safety and Health at Work along with Workers’ Memorial Day and so, to raise awareness of these themes, this update concentrates on CITB’s work to support the construction industry on mental health, safety, and general wellbeing.

I hope the following resources and links: a blog on wellbeing, information on new online safety courses, and a short video outlining our work on mental health are helpful during these challenging times for industry.

Reaching out for help can be very difficult. But talking and sharing problems can help enormously. If anyone is in immediate crisis I urge you to call the Construction Industry Helpline on 0345 605 1956 or the Samaritans free on 116 123. These services do a great job; they are there to help you.

CITB’s COVID-19 Wellbeing Blog
CITB’s Health and Safety Policy Lead, the Reverend Kevin Fear, has written a blog with useful tips on how to manage wellbeing and support your workforce during COVID-19, it can be read here. As Kevin writes, not everyone is comfortable talking about mental health at work, so the Lighthouse Club, a charity dedicated to the wellbeing of construction workers and their families, has created a helpline app which you can download here.

New Online Safety Courses
The first ever Site Safety Plus (SSP) remote learning courses took place earlier this month. I am pleased to announce that more have been added including the option to book the full Site Management Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) and Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS) courses. Please contact your local SSP training centre or use the SSP course locator tool to find a suitable date and time for your learning.

Our own training standards for Approved Training Organisations have been expanded to include 180 remote learning standards allowing centres to continue deliver training – including a range of site safety and mental health training courses. The full list can be seen here.

Video on CITB’s Mental Health Work
CITB Wales’ Partnerships Director Mark Bodger has made a brief video outlining the importance of World Day for Safety and Health at Work and Workers’ Memorial Day. Mark speaks about CITB’s work on training mental health first aiders and how people can help each other in these difficult times. You can watch the video here.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is refreshed daily and includes updates on the full range of our work.

You can also read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government.

My next update will be on Thursday. In the meantime, I hope that you, your families, and your colleagues stay safe and well.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

Good afternoon,
I hope you’ve had a good week. Today’s update collates, in one email, the most essential information on CITB’s support to industry during COVID-19. I hope the summaries and signposting links below on themes including grants, funding and our support to families and children during the pandemic, are helpful.

The Levy: As you know CITB suspended levy payments for an initial period of three months in response to employers’ cash flow concerns. We will continually review Levy collection.

Apprentices: Over 10,300 apprentices and their employers have been contacted by our Apprenticeship officers to make them aware of support available. CITB’s Partnerships Team also signposted over 1,000 employers to support details here and sought to address their needs. Online learning tools and a dedicated helpline were set up for apprentices. More here.

Grants: Apprentice attendance grants for years 2 and 3 have been advanced. Over £2.5m has been paid to approximately 1,500 employers, supporting over 2,500 apprentices since April 6. Following industry feedback we extended our Advanced Grant support to Higher Level Apprenticeships. Almost £62K has been paid to 31 employers to support 87 apprentices since April 7.

Funding: Our Skills and Training Fund has been refreshed to help micro to medium-size businesses with sustainability and skills. Approximately 100 applications from Training Groups, Small & Micro and Medium businesses have been received in the two weeks since the scheme opened. Since our new £5m Leadership and Management Development Fund was launched on Monday a number of large businesses have been in touch ahead of June’s application deadline.

Buildathon: Our Go Construct Buildathon competition starts next week, details here. It will support families and children (aged 5-12) – the next generation of construction workers – in a fun and challenging way. To date we’ve received over 160 registrations.

Remote Learning: Twenty-two courses are currently eligible for remote learning – with more to be announced next week. These courses are available to Approved Training Organisations (ATOs), including the Site Safety Plus Health and Safety Awareness and Site Supervisors’ Safety Training Scheme & Site Management Safety Training Scheme refresher courses. To date we have received over 70 notifications to run Site Safety Plus Courses remotely, with 25 courses already having successfully taken place.

Approved Training Organisations (ATOs): CITB has extended the time ATOs have to deliver “assured” courses from 30 to 90 days, more information here.

CITB’s re-sizing and operating costs: Like many businesses, we are temporarily reducing the size of our organisation during this period (by approximately 50%) to ensure we balance maintaining a level of service to customers, while protecting industry funds. There are measures in addition to furlough being taken such as reduced hours and pay cuts from colleagues and other operating cost reductions.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is refreshed daily and includes updates on the full range of our work.

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government.

As you can see a range of urgent changes have taken place at CITB within the last month and these together with additional customer suggestions will be kept under close review. In particular the Levy situation is being reviewed and discussed with Government. I’d like to thank the CITB team and our many industry partners for their hard work during a time of crisis. Now that we have launched and made available the major interventions, I will be issuing two industry updates per week, rather than daily. In the meantime, I hope you have a lovely weekend and you and your families stay well.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

Good evening,
I hope you are keeping safe and well as these days of lockdown continue. Today my update on CITB’s support to industry during COVID-19 focuses on how we have been gathering employer feedback to help improve the products and services we have available during these tough times.

Acting on Feedback
During this time many of you will have been contacted by CITB’s Partnership or Apprenticeships teams. I can assure you that this feedback directly influences the changes and developments we have carried out over the past weeks.

We’ve received positive feedback about the interventions we’ve made including the levy suspension. We are continuing to review all plans and levels of support, as well as talk to Government about what support is needed by the sector during this crisis and beyond.

The CITB Nations Councils continue to meet and provide our Board with vital sectors intelligence and suggestions. The first meeting in this latest round took place this morning in Wales, digitally, and we will see the England and Scotland councils meet in the next few weeks and look forward to hearing their collective voice.

We receive regular feedback from employers on refresher and renewal courses. CITB has enabled SMSTS and SSSTS refresher courses through remote learning – find your local Site Safety Plus training centre through the SSP course locator. We are also reviewing a number of standards that will support training through remote learning.

CITB’s Re-sizing
As previously confirmed and like many businesses, we are having to temporarily reduce the size of the organisation during this period, in line with our activity. We are in the process of reducing staffing levels by approximately 50% to ensure we maintain a level of service to our customers, while protecting industry funds as much as possible.

We are aware many of you will have taken similar steps in recent weeks and for us this comes at the end of an extremely busy few weeks of activity, where many colleagues in the CITB team have worked tirelessly to make possible many of the support measures I have previously shared, and as quickly as we could.

In summary, I’d like to thank you for your feedback which we welcome as this has helped shape our immediate response. I would also like to thank all those colleagues within CITB that have made it happen. I confirm we will keep you updated with how things are continuing to develop in the coming days and weeks.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is being refreshed daily and includes information on a range of subjects including Grants, Funding and the National Construction Colleges (NCCs).

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

As you are all no doubt aware due to the current Covid-19 situation our office is closed, and we are working from home.  Consequently we are unable to send out training certificates, once we return to normality posting of certificates will be high priority for us

 

Good afternoon,
I really hope you’re keeping well. Today my update summarises CITB’s support for industry since the outbreak of COVID-19 and looks ahead to the launch of our £5m Leadership and Management Development Fund next Tuesday. Covering all of this support means the update is little longer than usual, I hope that’s OK.
CITB’s support for industry – a summary
As the COVID-19 outbreak has developed, CITB has listened to industry feedback and acted quickly to support employers during the crisis. I have made a video summarising our support to industry in recent weeks. You can watch it here.
One of the biggest concerns employers told us they faced was cash flow. To help employers:

• CITB suspended levy payments for an initial period of three months to give firms breathing space and financial relief during the coronavirus crisis.
• We refreshed the Skills and Training Fund expanding its scope, size and availability to help micro, small and medium size businesses with business sustainability and skills retention – key concerns during the Covid-19 crisis.
• We brought forward the apprentice grants for years 2 and 3 . As of Monday (6 April) we received 1,800 applications, with £975,000 already paid out to employers, with the sum now approved being over £1M.
• We have made a range of courses available through remote learning including delivery of the Site Safety Plus Health and Safety Awareness course, SMSTS and SSSTS refresher courses You can find more from your local centre via the SSP course locator.
• We have seen hundreds of downloads of our new, free Health, safety and environment (HS&E) Test Lite apps for in-house interim testing to see if an employee is safe to work on site.
• After listening to industry feedback, we extended our Advanced Grant support to Higher Level Apprenticeships. Advanced Grant is now available for apprentices in their final year of a higher level apprenticeship. This means we are supporting employers with apprentices who are close to achieving their higher apprenticeship – full details can be found here .
• Elsewhere, support measures introduced in only 2-3 weeks include initiatives to support business, apprentices, training providers and families. This week we launched an employer support database, with information for construction businesses across the UK, which can be seen here.
• Meanwhile over 10,000 apprentices and their employers have been contacted by our Apprenticeship officers to make them aware of support available. CITB’s partnerships team have also signposted over 1,000 employers to support available and sought to address their needs. They have helped companies to claim grant resulting in an additional £1.2million in funding paid to employers this week, with more being processed.
• On Monday we launched the Go Construct Buildathon competition to support families and children (aged 5-12) across England, Scotland and Wales during the school lockdown. We’ve already seen a good number of registrations and volunteer judges.

£5m Leadership and Management Development Fund
Businesses and federations have urged CITB to make improving leadership and management for construction employers a priority area of support.

In response, our new £5m Leadership and Management Development fund, aimed at larger CITB registered businesses, those with over 250 employees, will be launched on Tuesday. Available for one year the maximum amount of funding per bid will be £100k. The deadline for applications is 12th June. More information to come next Tuesday.
Finally, I’d like to thank industry and colleagues for their wonderful support during these extraordinary weeks and wish you all a very happy Easter.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is being refreshed daily and includes information on a range of subjects including Grants, Funding and the NCC. Please click here to view it.

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government please click here.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

Good afternoon,

I hope you’re keeping well – we’re doing all we can to adapt training to respond to the current crisis to help keep you working, or be ready to return to work as soon as the national situation improves. We are also keen to provide support and opportunities for Training Providers, who are facing a significant challenge.

This is why today my update is on remote learning and how we’re enabling you to keep training by identifying as many courses as possible that can be delivered through interfaces like Teams, Skype, Zoom, WebEx and others, instead of face-to-face in classroom groups.

The first ever Site Safety Plus remote learning took place this week with at least one provider conducting a sold-out Health and Safety Awareness course delivered via video call.

Today we’ve approved delivery of SMSTS and SSSTS refresher courses through remote learning for Site Safety Plus training centres. You can find more out about this from your local centre through the SSP course locator.

We’ll also be contacting Approved Training Organisations (ATOs) soon to support them in training you remotely wherever possible. Next week we’ll publish online a directory of Short Duration Standards that can be delivered by remote learning, while a list of e-learning materials that we’ve funded industry to produce is being developed.

Since last week there have been hundreds of downloads of our new, free Health, safety and environment (HS&E) Test Lite apps (found under the ‘HS&E Test’ heading) for your own in-house interim check to see someone is safe to work on site, described by an employer as “an amazing idea – thank you!”

We also help fund the Supply Chain Sustainability School where you’ll find lots of useful online training and resources.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is being refreshed daily and includes information on a range of subjects including Grants, Funding and the NCC. Please click here to view it.

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government please click here.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

Dear HICSF Members, I hope everyone is well in these trying times, please see additional information below from Liz Hunter of the HSE.

I wanted to tell members that any enforcement of measures to reduce the spread of COVID 19 will be dealt with by Highland Council officials in specific workplace premises. See links below.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2020/103/regulation/3/made

https://hpspubsrepo.blob.core.windows.net/hps-website/nss/2973/documents/1_covid-19-guidance-for-non-healthcare-settings.pdf

https://www.highland.gov.uk/coronavirus/supportforbusiness

https://www.highland.gov.uk/coronavirus

If members have any queries they should use the Highland Council COVID-19 Free Helpline on 0300 303 1362 and check the Council website for updates. For COVID 19 Concerns in HSE enforced premises please contact the Concerns Team as detailed previously.

Hope this helps and stay well everyone.

Liz Hunter

HM Inspector of Health and Safety

HSE, Longman House

28 Longman Road

Inverness, IV1 1SF

Tel: 020 3028 3369; 07771 380998

Another update that allows ‘essential and time-critical maintenance and repairs’ to all building types that are not planned/routine maintenance works that are safe to postpone.

https://www.gov.scot/publications/coronavirus-covid-19-construction-sector-guidance/pages/essential-projects/

Please use this link to get a daily update about the COVID19 virus on the GOV.UK website & read the guidance for employers: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-to-employers-and-businesses-about-covid-19

 https://www.nhsinform.scot/illnesses-and-conditions/infections-and-poisoning/coronavirus-covid-19/coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing

 https://www.fsb.org.uk/campaign/covid19.html

 ttps://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/coronavirus-advice

Good afternoon,

I hope you’re keeping well – we know things are tough for you right now, which is why mental health is crucial in our industry at this time. Today my update on supporting you during the COVID-19 crisis is focused on wellbeing and providing support for the NHS.

To see the support packages CITB has already introduced for employers please visit our COVID-19 update page.

Wellbeing
CITB is funding the training of mental health first aid instructors for many in the industry. Instructors have come from employers, federations and clients. The training is provided by Mental Health First Aid England and the project has been managed on behalf of industry by the Lighthouse Club.

This is a charity dedicated to the health and wellbeing of construction workers and their families. The charity’s Construction Industry Helpline is needed now more than ever, with a recent increase in calls of at least 25%, while there’s also a helpline app you can download here.

Due to the current crisis, the charity is unable to go ahead with many national and regional events that provide other income. If you’d like to make a donation, you can do so here, with more information on the current crisis appeal here.

Support for the NHS
Construction is under extreme pressure right now, and I know you’re doing all you can to stay afloat. The NHS also needs our sector’s help. The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) in England; Industry Wales; and the Scottish Government are asking employers to provide resources, wherever possible, including:

• PPE such as masks, gowns, and sanitiser
• Accommodation
• Transport and logistics for moving goods or people
• Manufacturing equipment
• Warehouse or office space for medical use or storage
• Expert advice or consultancy in IT, manufacturing, construction, project management, procurement, or engineering.

CITB will be offering support in the form of PPE from our National Construction Colleges and potentially accommodation at Bircham Newton. If you would like to find out if or how you can help the NHS, please go to this page on the Government website and see also the National Business Response Network.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is being refreshed daily and includes information on a range of subjects including Grants, Funding and the NCC. Please click here to view it.

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government please click here.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive

Good afternoon,

I hope you’re keeping well.

This is my latest update on CITB’s work to support the construction industry during the COVID-19 crisis. To see the support packages CITB has already introduced for employers please visit our COVID-19 update page.

Today my key messages are on a video summary of our COVID-19 industry support packages to date and information on CITB’s Toolbox Talks.

Video Summary
Since the COVID-19 outbreak began CITB has listened to feedback from our customers and put together a support package based on the biggest concern – cash flow. To find out more on CITB’s support for customers on the Levy, Grants and Apprenticeships please watch the short video here.

Don’t forget we’ve also set up an ‘Urgent Messages’ page on our website where you can find the latest information and links. If you require more information and would like to talk to a CITB adviser in your area please click here.

Toolbox Talk for Site Operators
To help protect health on construction sites and maintain social distancing during COVID-19, CITB has produced a toolbox talk for construction workers. Topics covered include: travelling to work and what to do if someone thinks they are unwell. More details, including posters for supervisors to display in the workplace, can be found here. Further safety guidance from the Construction Leadership Council can be found here.

CITB’s COVID-19 updates page is being refreshed daily and includes information on a range of subjects including Grants, Funding and the NCC. Please click here to view it.

To read the range of support measures made available to UK businesses and employees by the UK Government please click here.

Kind wishes,

Sarah Beale
Chief Executive