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Armed forces resettlement training, retraining courses and recruitment / jobs for ex military personnel. The Royal Navy, Army and RAF
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Overview
Skills analysis reveals a significant shortage in managerial positions. Although the highest skills requirement is currently for workers with wood trade skills, there is also demand for managers, clerical staff, architects, engineers, and other design and technical professionals. A major concern is the lack of young entrants into an ageing workforce. According to ConstructionSkills (the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry) an average of 50,000 construction workers will be required a year over the next four years, allowing for replacement as well as new jobs, in line with workforce turnover (however, most of this increase will take place from 2011 onwards, as output begins to grow again). Construction growth is expected to shift from the north to the south and east. Building trades skills gained in the Services Apart from a handful of people employed in units to carry out minor carpentry and repair jobs, and Army pioneers who have basic building skills, all three Services rely on the Royal Engineers for construction. Non-commissioned ranks will have completed anything from NVQs at level 2 in basic training and level 3 after higher training, to an apprenticeship. Trades vary from surveyor to plant operator, and from draughtsman to bricklayer. A brief overview of craft careers Craftsmen and women are the people who actually make things. Some major skills in which they are trained include:
We will look at each of these in turn. Electrical installation and maintenance Electrical engineers deal with power generation and power supply. Modern manufacturing techniques tend to make replacement of a faulty component more cost-effective for the consumer than mending it in situ. Much of the traditional role of the maintenance engineer has therefore changed, with removal and reinstallation the norm. For electrical engineering, the basic requirement is 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, which shows that the individual knows the necessary regulations and how to use them – it is virtually impossible to start in the industry without it. The next step may be the Inspection and Testing of Electrical Installation award and, after that, further qualifications to level 4 and beyond through Energy & Utility Skills – the Sector Skills Council for electricity, gas, waste management and water – and other bodies. ConstructionSkills estimates that there will be a growing need for qualified electricians over the next two years, so the prospects are good. However, those Service people wishing to qualify as a civilian electrician will find that this involves a significant amount of study/training (even if, while serving, they have been an electrical fitter or mechanic, or even an electrical artificer). Would-be electricians must pass the Electrotechnical Services NVQ at level 3. You may be able to qualify through an apprenticeship scheme with an electrical contractor, but the range of apprenticeships available will depend on the local jobs market and the types of skills employers need from their workers. If you are not eligible for such a scheme, you could learn the theory and some of the practical skills needed for the NVQ by taking the City & Guilds Technical Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology, levels 2 and 3, at a college. However, to become fully qualified you must complete the work-based NVQ. Industry bodies strongly recommend that you gain a placement or employment with an electrical contractor as soon as possible after you start the Certificate, so that you can complete the NVQ.
Training Many of the trades discussed above are learned on the job, but the construction industry has training schemes that combine working and education to produce qualifications that the individual can build up over time to develop expertise in a particular area. While one person might start by learning the basics of a trade, and go on to become an expert in a particular part of it, another might build a portfolio in a number of skills to qualify them for supervisory and then general management. ConstructionSkills’ National Construction College is a network of colleges training and assessing construction skills throughout the UK. It is increasingly becoming necessary to hold registration or certification of competence and/or training in particular aspects of building skills to obtain employment in the industry.
The industry has its own vocational qualifications, apprenticeships and advanced apprenticeships, and a construction apprentice scheme for the younger entrant. Ambitious people can start by gaining vocational qualifications in any of these trades while working as a craftsman or woman, develop their skills through technical training, perhaps gaining certificates or diplomas, eventually becoming fully professionally qualified, with a degree.
 
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