Learning to adapt and thrive

For all the cautious talk of green shoots and messages of hope that the new Government traditionally brings, areas of our industry are yet to see much evidence of an upswing. Training, as with many apparently ‘peripheral’ services and business activities, has suffered during the recession. We all know that a 20% budget cut on already trimmed coffers means that soft targets like training and performance management tools often have to go in favour of paying basic pay and rations, the unspoken message being if you are lucky enough to still have a job, you have to expect to suffer a little.

Many of my colleagues in Training have either shut their doors completely or let fantastic staff go in an attempt to ride out the storm. In Building Control we are mindful of the political changes ahead – will the future of Building Control be as we thought? We have all thoroughly bought into the principles of that report relating to training and smarter working, as well as those of the Killian Pretty report which recommends much the same for our Planning colleagues. And yet the well thought-out plans we have put in place are now threatened by a simple lack of cash. As one put it “you could put all your courses on for free but we still wouldn’t have the budget to pay for the car parking.” So we have to adapt again.

At LABC Training, when we launched in 2008, we vowed to take our courses to where our delegates wanted them, and we continue to offer all our events as public courses where Building Control surveyors and their customers can attend a wide range of good quality, but relatively no- frills, sessions. This approach still works for many who are lucky enough to have clung to their training budgets but cannot be the only solution.

Shared training has become the preferred option for many Local Authorities: We provide the topic, speakers, presentations and materials and the host authority provides the venue, refreshments, marketing and booking administration service. They pay an up-front charge but then have the opportunity to recoup some, or indeed all, of this by inviting a number of local offices to either split the costs or simply pay to send delegates.

A recent event in the West Country was opened up to architects, builders and developers who paid a very modest attendance fee but, such was the demand, that all the surveyors at that Authority were trained for nothing, even accumulating a surplus to offset their next training event. If our customers are asked what added value they are looking for when they choose a Building Control provider, training and updates comes high on their list. By training you alongside the surveyors who will be working with you, you can see that we do not, in fact have some mysterious approach to new regulations and, if we are all hearing the same message together, you will be more than ready when the time comes to apply the changes in real life.

You can contact your local (or better still, Partner) Authority and ask what training they are planning for the new Parts L, F and J Regulation changes this year. Many of them will be running updates for surveyors that you may wish to attend. We are keen that this time some form of training or update information must be accessible by householders, DIYers and SME or micro-builders. LABC Training will be leading the way with relevant, practical sessions. This approach has been further developed in the new LABC training catalogue for building professionals and customers.

Topics include: Acoustics and solutions. Fire – including fire alarms, sprinklers and BS9999. Water supply, safety and systems and the new Part G. Access and Part M. Demystifying sustainability, EPCS, SAP, SBEM and BREEAM. Code for sustainable homes. Structural Eurocodes. All of our courses are available as public sessions and also as in-house courses if you would rather run your own event for your organisation. Training is also about working together to raise standards, save money and improve confidence in final outcomes. We are working with many organisations including RICS, ABE, ACAI, Constructing Excellence, HSE and DeLever as well as many trade bodies and manufacturers.

If you would like to be involved as an LABC Signpost or Training Partner, or if you have any other training requirements contact us. www.labc.uk.com/labctraining