CIOB Makes Graduate Pledge

In line with the Chartered Institute of Building's continuing role in the development of educational standards and the representation of graduate members in the built environment the Institute has become supporting partners of the industry initiative The Pledge.

This campaign strives to solve the problem of unemployed graduates drifting away from the construction industry as well as addressing corporate gaps in staffing. Spearheaded by construction consultants John Rowan & Partners and launched last year by Building magazine The Pledge is aimed at supporting graduates by encouraging companies to take on internships. Graduates in Britain are facing the worst prospects for decades; with jobs and homes little more than an impossible dream for many of the country's most highly educated twentysomethings, and more than twice as many graduates now chase every available job compared with the early 1980s.

Back in 2009 about 36,000 people graduated in construction-related subjects. But when Building magazine surveyed a sample of 600 they found that 60% were unemployed, and a third were already considering working outside the industry. With no reprieve in sight for this year's graduates The Pledge is aiming to keep skilled and talented people focused on pursuing a career in construction, even if there aren't full time jobs for them just now.

Paula Annels Head of Policy & External Relations at the CIOB believes that The Pledge will offer the construction sector a structured approach to protecting talent in order to break the cyclical issue of skills shortages that recession's have been proven to create.

She said "It's about safeguarding the future talent and skills of individual businesses and the sector as a whole so that when the upturn arrives, the construction industry is ready to respond and grow. It might sound idealistic, but the concept was born out of robust research and data that clearly indicates no other option but practical and unified sector commitment to change. Its especially poignant as Government looks at Fair Access to the Professions and we believe that The Pledge will help meet a number of those aims under consideration."

The Pledge research has shown that if every firm made 2% of their staff interns, this would be enough to give each currently unemployed graduate at least one placement. Given that the 'professional and technical' element of the industry accounts for about 300,000 jobs - excluding senior executives and construction managers - then that 2% will maintain skills slightly above the forecasted level, allowing for some losses along the way.

Internships are easier to put into place than you might think. They needn't cost the employer much and can bring immediate benefits to the business. The Government has taken steps to address the problem across every sector, introducing the Graduate Talent Pool scheme. This facilitates the process of placing graduates in internships. But to date built environment-related vacancies posted on the site are few and far between.

Recruiting talent into a business in this way shouldn't be seen as a bolt on CSR issue, its business critical - an organisation or sector can only ever be as good as the people within it. Collectively we have an exciting opportunity to ensure that the UK construction sector is leading others in its approach to safeguarding and investing in its future. The CIOB is asking its members to support the campaign and gain from the benefits by signing up and playing their part in supporting our future talent.

Source: Politics.co.uk, Thursday 5th May 2011