Trainee and existing tradespeople alike will know there's a lot to remember when it comes to current building regulations. Whether it's having to remember Part P when performing electrical installations or keeping energy efficiency in mind because of Part L, it's a lot to take in. However tradespeople's lives are about to get that little bit easier when it comes to house building, as Communities minister Stephen Williams announced that the current housing regulations were "complicated and confusing" and "ripe for reform".

The proposed changes are a very large scale, reducing the current 100 standards down to a mere 10, with the number of remaining pages of guidance from 1,000 down to less than a hundred. Among the abolished standards are requirements for rainwater harvesting in places that don't suffer from water shortages, requirements for more than one phone line to be installed and requirements for compost bins and secure sheds in gardens.

Another important change is that this new system technical requirements will be solely assessed by building control bodies. Currently work needs to be check by multiple organisations such as the planning authority, a Code for Sustainable Homes Assessor, Homes & Communities Agency as well as the aforementioned building control organisation and various other independent assessors.

Other changes being made to the regulations include:

• Optional regulations such as water efficiency and wheelchair access that is up to councils whether to apply or not.
• A single national space standard.
• A new standard for security in new homes.
• New energy standards which allow councils to impose locally-set targets for energy efficiency and renewables.

More detailed information is still yet to be revealed, however the news seems to have been received positively by housebuilders across the UK. Head of Residential at construction consultant EC Harris Mark Farmer said that they are "a further step toward improving housing standards and supporting house builders to reduce the national housing shortfall".

We'll provide more detailed news on these changes as they come, but for now it certainly seems like tradespeople will have a little less red tape to deal with when it comes to new house building. If you'd like to join the construction boom and become a professional tradesperson, give Access Training a call on 0800 345 7492 to find out more about our trades training courses.

Via Construction Enquirer

NICEIC and ELECSA have expressed their concern towards parliamentary recommendations to alter the current-standing electricians' Compentent Persons Scheme system, which if granted would require all domestic electricians to have a qualifications equivalent to an NVQ level 3 within the next five years.

The current system requires simply one person at a firm to be at a Qualified Supervisor level (equivalent to that of an NVQ 3), who is responsible for the final checking of work and signing off that it has been completed in accordance with standards and regulations. However what is now being proposed is that all electricians, from firm employees to self-employed ones, should have this level of qualification. 

This, among other suggestions, have come following a report from the Communities and Local Government Committee stemming from a number of health and safety incidents from the last few years. Among these was the Emma Shaw incident from 2007, where the 22-year-old mother was electrocuted whilst mopping up water from a faulty boiler.

CEO of Certsure (operator of both NICEIC and ELECSA) Emma Shaw spoke out, saying that these measures would place "a huge onus on firms" regardless of size. It is feared costs will be pushed up as apprentices are slowly phased out, causing the electrical industry to suffer in the long term. Clancy also stated;

"The QS system, which Part P is based on, is proven to work and as the committee states in its report has actually pushed domestic electrical installation standards up in recent years."

Certsure stresses that the view that firms are sending out unqualified electricians is unfounded, with electrician firms fully aware of their responsibility and 80% of domestic work carried out by Part P qualified electricians. The question is though - is 80% enough?

However the two groups have welcomed other recommendations made by the report, which include:

• Calls for an annual limit on the number of jobs that a single QS can review
• Action from the government to raise public awareness of Part P – similar to that of Gas Safe
• Proactive enforcement against those who breach Part P and those who work outside of competent person schemes
• A single register for all Part P electricians covering all schemes

Meanwhile the Committee themselves are fully backing their proposals, with Clive Betts MP arguing that the current system "can brand the incompetent as competent" as homeowners have no guarantee that the electricians turning up at their doors are fully qualified. The commitee also calls into question whether a limited amount of supervisors are "adequately able to check work with such large caseloads".

He concludes; "Under the changes we propose people would know that the electrician working in their home is qualified. If, as scheme operators told us, standards of electricians are already high, then the added criteria will not be too onerous.  

"During the five year transition there should be an annual limit — agreed by the industry — on the maximum number of transactions that a single qualified supervisor can review. This will increase the chance that in the interim unqualified electricians will at least be having their work properly checked by a qualified supervisor."

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Electrical Contracting News

After a pretty abysmal first year, it's no surprise that the Green Deal - the UK Government's flagship energy saving programme, is going to be going through some much needed changes. After all, you know its bad when even Energy Secretary Ed Davey - one of the men behind the scheme, calls it "clunky", "complex" and "disappointing".

Speaking at the Ecobuild convention that's taken place in London's Excel centre over the last few days, Mr Davey launched a consultation on the changes that will be made to Green Deal sister scheme ECO (Energy Companies Obligation), while at the same time reaffirming that the DECC were about to make some vital changes to the overall programme.

He said that the Government had been looking to "streamline" the Green Deal from very early on, and that the fact changes need to be made after only one year shouldn't be that surprising given "the scale of the ambition". He also added that further incentives for people to sign up would be unveiled in the coming weeks.

The latest figures from January did report that the scheme was beginning to make a comeback, with 1,277 plans in place by the end of the month - 746 of which were completed. However Mr Davey stressed that selling finance plans was not the main aim of the scheme:

"The fact that most people currently having a Green Deal assessment are not then going on to choose Green Deal finance plans shouldn’t actually worry us.

"How people pay for energy efficiency improvements is not after all the main issue. The aim of the Green Deal isn’t to sell credit plans, but to make our homes warmer, cheaper and greener."

It's great to see that the DECC are pushing these Green Deal changes, but is there really that much new info since the last time Ed Davey announced what they would be doing. Hopefully this will be a move that brings the Green Deal into the spotlight, rather than empty promises made during a sudden rise that may not amount to anything. Only time will tell...

Via Building.co.uk

With the discovery that students are being actively discouraged from taking up vocational careers such as work in the construction industry, the CITB are urging companies to take more pro-active measures to ensure that the industry looks more attractive to youngsters.

Their suggestion is for construction firms to start making visits to schools during careers fairs and the like so that they will be in pupils' minds when they are considering what to do once they leave the world of education. Chairman James Wates said that he would like to see 50 employers visit 50 different schools this year, which would "send a powerful message" about the industry and the many opportunities it offers.

"Our industry has to compete with many others for future talent," he said. "We can’t leave this to existing careers advice because we need to reach teachers in order to reach pupils."

Energy suppliers EDF Energy have already begun taking similar measures, working closely with local schools near its planned new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point. They have said they've already reached out to around 35,000 school students in Somerset, creating a variety of exciting activities through a special education programme. EDF have said the results have been "very encouraging", with many students now considering/re-considering a career in the construction industry.

With less youngsters joining the various construction trades and the industry itself experiencing a boom thanks to housing growth and other factors, more certainly needs to be done before the older workforce retires and the industry suffers even more of a skills shortage. Access Training is doing its part to plug the skills gap, offering intensive training courses in a number of construction trades complete with the qualifications required by employers. Our courses are fast-paced, but offer high-quality teaching that easily rivals the longer courses you find at colleges.

For more information please contact our course advice team on 0800 345 7492.

Via Construction Enquirer

The good news for the construction industry just doesn't seem to be stopping, as even more increase in activity has been noted by various reports. If you're about to complete a construction training course and are wondering where your entry into professional work may be, this news in particular may be of interest to you.

The latest from construction data experts Barbour ABI has revealed that house building is proving to be a huge factor in the industry's growth, altogether accounting for over a third of UK construction projects. Another piece of great news that came from it are that construction activity as a whole rose by 59.3% in January in comparison to December 2013. With residential projects accounting for 36% of that total growth, it not only goes to show the great state the industry is in right now but also how Government initiatives such as Help to Buy are providing an additional boost.

For students finishing up their qualifications and about to get into the construction industry, housing provides a wealth of opportunity to all trades. Think about it - bricklayers, carpenters, tilers, plasterers, painter/decorators...they're all needed in order to complete a house. You can even extent it out to the other trades. After all, who's going to fix the electrics, plumbing and gas in that house?

It's easy to just write that something is booming and therefore there's plenty of job prospects, but the evidence keeps on coming in that this is really the case when it comes to construction. Starting a career in the industry now is proving to be a very clever step indeed and here at Access Training Academy we can help you earn the qualifications to make it happen. We take pride in specialising in all of the main construction trades - something not many other centres can offer. Just take a look around our website and you'll see what we have on offer at our state-of-the-art Cardiff training centre,

To find out more about our range of courses, give Access Training a call on 0800 345 7492.

2014 is already shaping up to be a big year for Access Training Academies, and today (the 13th January) marks the first steps we'll be taking to make your training experience here even better. This year ACS gas assessments will be returning to our Cardiff training centre.

Now students that complete their gas training at Access will be able to complete their Logic ACS (Accredited Certification Scheme) gas assessments here. ACS is the industry recognised and accepted route for students to enter into the gas industry, earning their gas certificate which is needed to become a member of the Gas Safe Register. This itself is a legal requirement to be able to work on all gas installations and appliances in the UK. These assessments will not only be available to those who have completed an extensive gas course here, but is also open to others who may have completed a gas course elsewhere.

Students will be able to complete both the written and practical assessments required to qualify, covering the CCN1 Core Domestic Gas Safety module and then any of the additional appliance assessments relevant to your area of work. This includes the CENWAT (Central Heating Boilers & Water Heaters) qualification, CKR1 (Cookers), HTR1 (Gas Fires) and more. For a full list of what we can offer you here at Access, please get in contact.

To find out more about ACS gas assessments, our plumbing training or any of the many other trades training courses we provide here at Access please get in contact with our course advice team on 0800 345 7492 or via the form provided on this website. They'll be more than happy to answer any further questions you might have, as well as arrange of a tour of our facilities so you can get a first-hand look at what we do.

Good news for those about to complete a tiling course and move onto work, a brand new trade association has been formed to represent the interests of all manufacturers involved in the pitched roofing industry.

The Roof Tile Association (or RTA as it will also be known) brings together bodies the Clay Roof Tile Council (CRTC) and the Concrete Tile Manufacturers Association (CTMA). Before these groups had worked in parallel, but this often led to duplication in effort from companies working in both materials. Currently membership includes Dreadnought, Forticrete, Marley Eternit, Redland, Russell and Sandtoft.

Most major players in the tiling industry have agreed that the transition to a single body has been relatively seamless. Both groups had been working closely together for sometime prior to the decision to merge which was decided in early December last year.

The RTA themselves have said that they will be "providing a forum for the industry to work with unprecedented focus on promoting pitched roofs as the natural solution for domestic architecture in the UK." They beliecve that the wide range of knowledge and experience will be invaluable in representing the tiling industry's best interests on both a national and international level.

Via Building Products/Construction Index

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If you would like to join the tiling industry as it begins on this brand new chapter in its life, Access Training Academies provide intensive tiling training courses for those looking to qualify as a professional tiler quickly and effectively. Our tiling courses are devised in association with BAL - the tiling industry's leading provider of wall and floor tiling courses. This special partnership is a sign of our courses' quality - a quality that is unlikely to be beaten elsewhere. To find out more contact one of our course advisers on 0800 345 7492.

Although we've repeated posted news on the construction industry being on the rise, the forecast of many of its workers leaving in the next 5-10 years is something that we have shown much concern about. Recent research has shown that encouraging more to take up construction training courses and become a labourer has become more crucial than ever, revealing that around 4 in 10 workers are thinking of changing their job in the next year.

This research comes from the group Investors in People, who discovered that the 43% considering a job change were attributing it to factors such as work dissatisfaction and renewed confidence in the wider job market. Construction workers specifically are looking to be valued in their jobs, with 81% citing greater job satisfaction as their main incentive for leaving - considerably ahead of pay which was at 50%.

Valerie Todd, chair of IIP and Director of Talent and Resources at Crossrail, said: that while he end of the recession was good news for construction sectors, an upturn in the economy means that "dissatisfied workers now have more confidence to look elsewhere, so business owners who aren’t doing all they can to value their staff can no longer be complacent."  She went to to say that: “Now is the time for businesses to take action to retain their talented people.”

But again, with potentially 400,000 people estimated to retire in the next few years attempting to "retain their talented people" is only going to get so far. However improving job satisfaction is an integral part of encouraging more people to train in a construction trade such as bricklaying or carpentry, as it will add another appealing element to the career alongside the great pay and more rewarding line of work. 

If you are considering changing careers and would like to find out what construction training can offer you, please give Access Training Academies a call on 0800 345 7492. We'd not only be happy to tell you more, but you can also arrange a tour of our state-of-the-art training centre. Here we offer a wide variety of different construction trades, including carpentry, bricklaying, plastering, tiling and painting and decorating (in addition to plumbing, electric and gas engineering). You'll be able to meet our experienced teaching staff and ask them any questions you might have about either the course of life as a fully qualified tradesman.

You can view the full news story on the Construction Enquirer.

After many months of the Green Deal with very little success, the Department of Energy & Climate Change have announced that they will begin introducing new measures at the beginning of 2014 to make it more straightforward and less time consuming for both tradespeople and consumers alike.

In the eight months the Government's flagship energy policy has been running, a mere 12 homes have had measures put in place - although it is reported several thousand are waiting for applications to be processed after having home assessments carried out.

The DECC plans to open up access to energy performance certificate (EPC) data so companies can then have better focus on how they market the scheme. It also plans to add more home improvement measures to the list that is covered by the Deal, while allowing more flexibility over the exact specifications companies must install to. A new, improved website will also be set up to increase consumer interest.

Finally there are also plans to work with the Green Deal Finance Company to make it possible for customers to go from a quote to a plan in a single day, removing the need for different people to make separate visits to homes as an application is processed.

The DECC will roll out some of these changes in January, however some require Paraliamentary approval to ammend the legislation and so will be coming in later months.