The association for the scaffolding sector is making a strong plea to its members and the wider industry, to fully participate in the CITB consultation on the review of the current National Occupational Standards as they affect the scaffolding industry.
Time is short – all offers of support for the consultation need to be registered with the CITB by Friday 20th September. All companies that believe they have a valid input to defining the new industry standards, or who simply have views they wish to express about the current standards and how they might be improved in the years ahead, need to go to the CITB web site and complete a brief form that confirms how you or your company wish to be involved in the process.
The Scaffolding Association’s head of external affairs, Stacey Underhill, said: “This consultation process is vital for our industry sector and gives everyone involved in it the chance to contribute to improving the quality of scaffolders that the existing programmes produce. For those who don’t believe the current standards are fit for purpose, this is their chance to refocus, redefine and upgrade the standards that underpin our sector. But, if industry don’t take part, they cannot complain if the outcome of these consultations results in standards that we all feel are too low, poorly targeted and likely to give rise to more problems and on-going issues within the sector.”
It’s clearly vital that the standards set by the CITB to judge training and competency in the sector are fit for purpose. They will only be so if the experts in the industry stand up and are counted when the discussions take place. The process involves both online consultation with those registering their interest in helping to improve standards, and through steering groups that will meet and discuss the issues raised through the consultation process.
Rob Candy, chief executive of the Scaffolding Association, is keen to see as many businesses in the industry as possible on the steering groups to ensure that they have their voices heard: “Of course being involved in this process will require some time and effort, but it would be criminal if we do not share our views as a sector, argue for what we want to see changed and continue to raise industry standards.. There are a number of options for people in the industry to get involved and I am issuing a plea to everyone in the industry to take advantage of this opportunity to make things better for the sector. We need to have a range of individuals from the sector willing to stand up for the changes we need to see, including individuals that may not have been involved in this kind of process before. It’s so important that it’s not just the usual voices that we hear. This is the time for everyone to make themselves heard.”
The first action required is for all those in the sector willing to be involved to register at www.citb.co.uk/standards-and-delivering-training/training-standards/consultation-form-for-standards and complete their details, followed by ticking all the boxes on the form that cover how they can be involved. It’s vital that there is representation from every level of the industry to ensure that the requirements of all participants – from the major national players to the small regional ones – are represented.
“It really is vital that as many people from the scaffolding industry as possible get involved in these consultations,” repeated Stacey. “It’s our chance to have a say and change things for the better for the next five years. Please support your industry and get involved so that we can improve our sector in a way that sees it moving forward.”
