Upskilling your workforce
Training your existing workforce is central to the National Skills Academy for Construction (NSAfC) approach, and an essential part of developing your capacity.
In the NSAfC framework, training outcomes are measured against key performance indicators (KPIs) 4, 5 and 6.
As a project skills lead, you role may involve collecting evidence of achievement of training outcomes, or helping with the delivery of the employment skills plan (ESP).
Why upskill?
Lifelong learning, upskilling and reskilling help to future-proof your business, boost productivity and improve the quality of your products and services.
Perfecting existing knowledge and getting new skills bolsters the resilience and diversification of your workforce, making it better at responding to a changing economic landscape.
The investment you put into your staff will also be repaid in better morale, engagement and loyalty, improving performance and reducing recruitment and staff turnover costs.
What you can do
You should gather information and evidence about planned and completed training from key contacts, such as:
- The main contractor’s human resources (HR) department
- Managers, HR teams, employers and subcontractors in the supply chain
- Health and safety managers.
Certain core skills and training courses are common to many projects, and may need regular refreshing or renewing. Monitor them as they may count towards your outcomes.
Training schedules are often developed in line with key dates and stages during the lifespan of a project. You will need to be closely familiar with the ESP and keep yourself up to date with the project timetable and any new developments.
You may be one of the few people with an overview of all training requirements and provision across a project, and should support all those working towards achieving training outcomes.
A skills matrix can be a useful tool to display the expertise and experience of the workforce. It can help you identify skills gaps and weaknesses, and make improvement plans.
CITB support
You can search the full list of short courses that qualify for CITB grants. Consult our Construction Training Directory for courses given by approved training organisations.
Watch our video about the CITB training model that underpins our thinking and strategy on how to help the construction industry grow and thrive, and other related advice videos.
Useful downloads
Example skills analysis template