Titled ‘Offsite Ready’, the project will be launched at CSIC on 23 April. Its program will comprise collaborative events and online modules to promote offsite construction skills. It is understood a number of supporting initiatives will also be rolled out by the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE) across England and by Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC) in Wales.
The long term aim of Offsite Ready, which is funded by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), is to build capacity in the UK education and skills system and ensure education and training providers are positioned to align with the growth in offsite construction in the UK.
The program takes the form of flexible online training modules available to download from the Offsite Ready project website from April 2020. Topics covered include – design functions, procurement functions, cost management, project and site management, onsite logistics and assembly, and follow on and upstream trades.
Stephen Good, chief executive of CSIC, reportedly commented: “The construction industry is facing a period of significant change. At CSIC, we want everyone involved in the construction industry to look to the future and do things better – and that includes tackling our housing shortage through modern, more efficient building techniques, like offsite construction. Key to this is improving the quality and consistency of training in offsite construction.”
“The Offsite Ready project was developed in response to research which has shown that offsite construction can increase productivity and reduce costs and timescales compared with traditional methods, with nearly half of construction industry employers expecting to use offsite techniques within the next five years.”
The Offsite Ready project is led by CSIC and delivered in partnership with Ministry of Building and Education (MOBIE), Construction Wales Innovation Centre (CWIC), Edinburgh Napier University, City of Glasgow College (COGC) and Class of Your Own (COYO).■
