News

The Major Home Builders Group (MHBG), of which McCarthy & Stone is a member, today announced it is moving forward with its initiative aimed at having only qualified operatives on its sites by December 2010 -through its partnership with ConstructionSkills.

MHBG members – twelve of the largest UK home builders – will be writing to their sub contractors to advise them that by December 2007 they will expect construction operatives on their sites to have a CSCS card with the aim that they will be qualified by December 2010.

The partnership between MHBG and ConstructionSkills will tackle skills shortages and training issues in the home building industry. The affiliation is part of the construction industry’s Sector Skills Agreement, which aims to develop partnerships between the industry, training providers and government in order to raise skills standards in the construction industry as a whole.

Neil Fitzsimmons, Group Managing Director, Redrow plc said:
“We will expect all persons working on our sites to have a CSCS card or equivalent at the appropriate level, by the end of 2007. This sends a message that the industry wants a qualified workforce recognising that qualified workers get the job done faster, with fewer mistakes and accidents. There are real business benefits to encouraging all workers to become qualified.”

Peter Redfern, CEO, George Wimpey UK Limited commented:
“George Wimpey is committed to improving the level of professional competence within our industry, and we see CSCS as an essential tool in achieving our business priorities – health and safety, skills development, and customer care. I firmly believe that a fully carded workforce, both directly employed and sub-contract, will support the quality of work that George Wimpey attains”.

John White, Chief Executive, Persimmon plc added:
“As one of the UK’s leading housebuilders, the Persimmon Group recognises the benefits of a qualified workforce. We are therefore pleased to be involved in this initiative, as CSCS is now acknowledged as the competency standard for management, supervisors and trade operatives within the industry. As well as providing skills training, CSCS complements our own internal training schemes.”

John Cowley, CITB-ConstructionSkills Corporate Services Director, added:
“We’re delighted that the MHBG has committed to this partnership. It is a major step forward in our drive to qualify the workforce, making our industry world leaders in the skills and training arena.”

Since its inception in 2001, the ConstructionSkills Qualifying the Workforce initiative has more than doubled the number of workers registered through the CSCS scheme.

§ 700,000 CSCS cards have been issued to date
§ Over 725,000 individuals have passed the Construction Health & Safety Test since its launch in 2000
§ The number of construction NVQ registrations has risen year on year since 2001, from 26,000 to over 95,000 registrations in 2004

Support will be available to all those operatives joining the scheme through CITB Grant – either directly as a CITB-ConstructionSkills registered employer or, if they are not registered, they should be able to claim through the MHBG member firm.

-ends-

Notes to editors

About the Major Home Builders’ Group and the Home Builders Federation
The Home Builders Federation is the trade association representing private sector home builders in England and Wales. The Major Home Builders’ Group comprises the twelve largest publicly quoted HBF member companies, which collectively produce some 65% of the industry’s output.

About ConstructionSkills
ConstructionSkills is a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, CIC and CITB NI. It is one of the Sector Skills Councils tasked by the Government to implement UK wide Sector Skills Agreements between the bodies responsible for delivering training in the UK and those that demand it.

About the Sector Skills Agreement
The construction industry Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) offers significantly increased employer commitments to training and skills through their supply chains. The objective is to work in partnership with further and higher education and government agencies to respond to the key skills challenges revealed by research and industry consultation.

In addition to considerable investment by individual companies, employers have agreed a financial strategy in which they will provide funding of over £120m per year for collective training activity. The key elements of the SSA are collaborative action plans addressing the construction industry’s three major skills challenges: Improving Business Performance, Qualifying the Workforce and Recruiting Qualified New Entrants.

About CSCS
CSCS is owned and managed by CSCS Limited, controlled by a management board whose members are from The Construction Confederation, Federation of Master Builders, GMB Trade Union, National Specialist Contractors Council, Transport and General Workers Union and Union of Construction Allied Trades and Technicians. It is administered by CITB-ConstructionSkills.

For further information, media should contact Paul Howlett at the CITB-ConstructionSkills Press Office on 0207 367 9801 or This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Q&A communication on MHBG/ConstructionSkills Qualifying the Workforce initiative

What is the aim of the current activity?
Major Home Builders Group (MHBG) member firms of the Home Builders Federation are mailing their supply chain network to raise awareness of their commitment to a qualified workforce and explain the process of getting qualified. The mailing will include: the MHBG’s policy document, brief guidance notes on how to get qualified to a CSCS card, and what help and support is available from ConstructionSkills.

What is the Major Home Builders Group (MHBG)?
The MHBG consists of twelve of the largest, publicly quoted, home builders in the country. They are all members of the Home Builders Federation (HBF). The companies are:

Barratt
Bellway
The Berkeley Group
Bovis Homes
Crest Nicholson
David Wilson Homes/Wilson Bowden
George Wimpey
McCarthy & Stone
Persimmon
Redrow
Taylor Woodrow
Westbury

What is the Construction Skills Certification Scheme (CSCS)?
CSCS is the largest competence-based card scheme in the construction industry, representing over half a million individuals. It covers 220 core trades with the CSCS card itself and extends coverage to the rest of the industry through eight affiliated and amalgamated schemes covering specific sectors such as plant operations and electricians.

What does MHBG’s commitment to CSCS mean for homebuilders?
In November 2004, HBF and ConstructionSkills launched a three point programme:

• 1. To develop a new initiative to greatly increase the number of training places for skilled trades
• 2. To promote the CSCS card scheme through sub-contractors with the aim of having a fully card-carrying workforce by 2007
• 3. To draw up a new flexible qualifications structure for residential site management

How are HBF and ConstructionSkills delivering this three point plan?
In addition to the mailing taking place in July 2005, MHBG members will be regularly communicating the CSCS/ Qualifying the Workforce Initiative to its sub contractors and will be working through ConstructionSkills regional co-ordinators to promote and encourage subcontractors to become carded and qualified.

Dedicated working groups involving the companies and CITB-Construction Skills are separately considering the other two initiatives launched last November.

How many people will now require CSCS cards?
The home builder sector employs approximately 200,000 workers (almost a quarter of the construction industry). 1 in every 14 members of the UK workforce work in construction, that’s over 1.2million employees.

What support is available to those joining the scheme?
HBF and MHBG have been working with ConstructionSkills in developing their policy. MHBG member firm subcontractors can obtain advice and guidance on how to get qualified from their ConstructionSkills Area Office.

Firms are also able to access CITB Grant – either directly as a CITB-ConstructionSkills registered employer or, if they are not registered, they may be able to claim through the MHBG member firm.

What are the different routes to obtaining a CSCS card?<,/b>
The CSCS scheme is based on professional competence (proven by completing the appropriate NVQ/SVQ or equivalent qualification) and health and safety awareness (demonstrated by passing the ConstructionSkills Health and Safety Test).