Thousands of brickies and roofers across England, Wales and Scotland are set to benefit from a major new fully-funded training initiative that aims to upskill the workforce and address common defects.
As part of the industry’s ongoing commitment to building quality homes and with CITB funding, the Home Builders Federation’s (HBF) ‘Home Building Skills Partnership’ has begun delivering a series of brickwork masterclasses and will be rolling out brand-new roofing masterclasses soon. Find out more about these free training opportunities in this week’s blog.
According to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), over 1.2 million working days are lost in the UK because of injuries caused during manual handling tasks in the construction industry.
Aside from the economic impact, such injuries can be painful and have long-term, serious consequences – particularly those involving back problems like slipped discs and repetitive strain injuries. At Sheriff Construction, our site workers undertake mandatory training in this area but we thought we’d use this week’s blog as a reminder of why this is such a backbone of safety in construction and pass on a few general ‘DOs’ and ‘DON’Ts’.
A new NVQ for Brickwork Technicians has just been launched by the Association of Brickwork Contractors.
With building safety compliance in mind, the qualification has been designed for the thousands of people who work within the brickwork industry on important tasks that support the bricklaying process (but who are not actually bricklayers). Find out more here.
Six members of our office staff enjoyed a wonderfully relaxing day at a local Spa on Friday as a reward from Sheriff for their hard work and commitment to the company.
Heading out to Sopwell House in St Albans, the team indulged in a day of ‘5 bubble’ luxury spa facilities, massage treatments and a three-course lunch. Take a look at this week’s blog to find out more.
Research suggests that the average British construction worker consumes more than 4000 calories a day. That’s 1500 calories above the recommended daily intake for men and 2000 more than what’s recommended for women.
While the daily toll of physical labour means construction workers probably do need more fuel than the average person, the problem is that they’re often choosing unhealthy fast-food options which do not provide the best energy boost and have long-term health implications. Find out more in this week’s blog which includes some healthy alternatives for your key fuelling up times – breakfast and lunch.
With tools and equipment in almost constant use, a construction site is generally a noisy environment.
Aside from the potential for this to cause nuisance to neighbouring communities, frequent exposure to raised noise levels can have serious consequences for workers, causing problems like tinnitus (a sensation of ringing in the ears) and hearing loss.
Find out more, including how to protect yourself from these risks in this week’s blog.
Schools and colleges have broken up and, aside from the unpredictable weather, this means lots of young people will now be nervously waiting for their exam results and preparing for the next stage of their life.
While some will know exactly what they want to do, others might still be considering the options. For anyone considering a career in construction but not knowing where to start, we’ve got three steps you could follow in this week’s blog.
Following repeated calls from leaders within the construction industry, the Home Office has finally announced it is easing visa restrictions for brickies, roofers and chippies from overseas by adding them to the UK’s Shortage Occupation List (SOL).
This list is designed to help sectors where employers are struggling to fill vacancies and the move to include more construction trades has been welcomed by the Construction Leadership Council as a solution to addressing immediate skills shortages in the UK. Find out more in this week’s quick-read blog.
Today marks the 75th anniversary of the NHS, known worldwide as one of the first and best healthcare systems to be universally available and free at the point of delivery.
Unfortunately, while its principles are unshaken, the NHS today is under pressure due to several issues – staff shortages, backlogs from Covid and industrial action to name a few.
Is there anything the construction sector can do to help? The answer actually is ‘yes’. Construction is high-risk industry for both injuries and health issues, but focusing on preventative measures can reduce those risks (consequently reducing some of the pressure on the NHS). Read on to find out more.
Earlier this month, more than 100 UK businesses joined forces with the UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) in calling upon the Government to urgently reform the planning system to tackle climate change alongside the UK’s deepening housing crisis.
In their letter to government, the coalition is asking for reforms to the planning system that would bring it in line with the Climate Change and Environment Acts and says the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill (currently going through Parliament) could also be a crucial opportunity to align planning decisions with the nation’s net zero emissions target. Find out more in today’s blog.