ET&M 2003 Conference — Practical Solutions to the Construction Industry Skills' Shortage
On Thursday 22 May 2003, the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors (ICES) Education, Training and Membership Committee will host a free keynote conference at the County Hall in Worcester to address the pressing issue of the construction industry skills' shortage.

The Education, Training and Membership Committee 2003 Annual Conference, Practical Solutions to the Construction Industry Skills' Shortage, follows on from the success of last year's event, which identified the reasons behind skills' shortage in the construction industry and the consequences for the construction professions.

Representatives from academia, the industry's professional organisations and an employer of construction professionals will put forward at this year's conference practical solutions for attracting young, talented people to the construction industry in order to meet the industry's present and future skills demands.

Solutions to the construction industry skills' shortage will be presented by:

Robin Jones FInstCES MIHT
Robin Jones is the Chair of the Institution's Education, Training and Membership Committee, a member of Council and a past ICES President. He has served as a member of the Syllabus Review Committee for the Department of the Built Environment at Liverpool John Moores University and is an external examiner for the Department of Business Studies at the University of Central England. He holds a senior commercial position for one of the country's largest civil engineering contractors. In addition to presiding over the conference, Robin will represent the views of the ICES on solutions to the shortage of skills in civil engineering.

Dr Graham Watts
Dr Watts will reflect on what has happened in education over the last twenty-five years to contribute to the skills' shortage that now exists in the construction industry. He will approach solutions to the shortage of skills from grass-roots level, looking at the ways that the secondary education sector can help to raise the profile of careers in the construction professions to the under-sixteens. Graham has recently retired from the position of head teacher of Elgar Technology College in Worcester; an educational establishment categorised by the government as facing challenging circumstances. This secondary comprehensive school has also received the technology college status. He has over twenty-seven years experience as a teaching professional for secondary LEA maintained schools and is now an educational consultant, currently working with the Herefordshire Education Directorate.

David Cormican MSc (Eng) FCIOB FCMI AIWSc LCG
David Cormican will concentrate on how the further education (FE) sector can contribute to solving the industry's skills' shortage by looking at the role, scope and responsibilities of The Learning & Skills Council, the strategies of the Sector Skills Council for Construction and discuss how further education fits into these initiatives. He will also refer to the provision of construction courses in FE, the interface of FE with higher education (HE) and provide comparisons with international counterparts. David is an experienced lecturer, a former senior inspector for the Further Education Funding Council and regional consultant for the Higher Education Funding Council. He is now an inspection manager for the Adult Learning Inspectorate and President of the British Association of Construction Heads.

Professor Roger Hawkins MSc PhD CEng FICE FIHT FInstCES
A former Dean of the School of Property and Construction at Nottingham Trent University, Professor Roger Hawkins will address how higher education can contribute to solving the construction industry's skills' shortage. He will review the changes taking place in HE as a result of changes in the demand for courses in construction and will indicate that a number of new initiatives have been designed by the HE sector to help industry with their skills demands. Roger will also refer to the possible consequences of the government's White Paper, The Future of Higher Education, on the provision of, and demand for, construction courses.

Caroline Cleland BA CEng FICE FIEI MIIRSM
Caroline Cleland will review initiatives that have been designed to promote career opportunities for women in the construction professions. Caroline, who is a civil engineer by profession, is a director of estates for the Northern Ireland Assembly. She is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) and an elected member of the ICE Executive Board. Caroline is Chair of the ICEFLOE Committee and a member of the ICEFLOE Forum, which were formed in 1999 to increase awareness of equal opportunities in the industry.

Peter A Heathershaw FInstCES
Peter Heathershaw, a bid director of national construction company, Morrison Construction Ltd, will review the role and importance of the employer in attracting and retaining young, talented people to the construction professions. Peter is President of the Institution and a former Chair of the Education, Training and Membership Committee, of which he remains a committee member.

This one day conference will offer the delegation an opportunity to voice opinions on the issues raised in a panel session during the afternoon's proceedings and to cast a vote on the recommended solutions provided by each speaker.

This event is open to anyone who is interested in attending, in addition to members of the Institution of Civil Engineering Surveyors. To reserve a place, contact Sharon Leicester at ICES Head Office for a Booking Form on Tel: +44 (0) 161 972 3100 or Email: [email protected]

Booking forms are also available here in pdf format.

If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, click on the above logo to install it free of charge.
You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to download pdf booking forms.