RivaSure News: Construction Management Development Programme.
To all of our past CSCS Profiled Route and NVQ candidates, first of all we at RivaSure would like to take the opportunity of thanking you for using our services and we hope and trust that gaining your CSCS cards with us has been of great benefit, however, as a company, we have moved on and would now like to take the opportunity of informing you of our company development, which is the creation of our Management Development Programme.
With the close of the CSCS Profiled Route in March 2016, we at RivaSure took this opportunity to take stock of what we had learnt from the experience of assisting hundreds of candidates in gaining their CSCS Black and Gold CSCS cards with the use of our online short course Fast Track interactive service.
One of our observations was that most construction managers and those wishing to be construction managers or supervisors were non-academic by nature and experience. This does not mean that they were unprofessional in executing their job roles, but that they needed our assistance to complete their ‘academic professional review’ applications to the required standard.
Using this knowledge and experience going forward, we are pleased to announce that we have created a Construction Management Development Programme which includes two New industry service products. Our aim, as before, is to assist our Supervisory and Management candidates and students to achieve their industry qualifications (NVQ’s) and further more, to achieve professional recognition with the CIOB.
The first of our new developments is our Management and Management of Construction Health and Safety GAP (Guide And Prepare) Course. We have placed this course on a friendly online learning environment. Our delivery has been specifically designed for non academics and to this end we have used a ‘Narrative’ learning style. We use the stories and experiences of practicing professionals to:
- Teach, refresh and encourage others working in the industry to promote and attempt to achieve a 0 tolerance to accidents and industrial ill health
- To pass on good management practices, procedures, characteristics and management styles.
We believe the course will also serve our industry by:
- Preparing learners and students wishing to enter into construction management as a supplement to their current course studies or their first course study
- Equipping assistant managers and those wishing to progress into management by teaching valuable management concepts, practices and procedures & the safe management of H&S on site.
- Preparing candidates wishing to embark on a management NVQ
- Providing valuable CPD (between SMSTS courses) for practicing managers and enthusing and encouraging a strong H&S culture on site.
We are of the opinion that the five year gap between SMSTS courses is too long and that there is very little direct construction management training for individuals wishing to progress into management and it is these GAPs our course aims to fill.
To complete our Management Development Programme, we are pleased to inform you that our second new industry service product is our ‘CIOB Professional Review Industry application mentoring system’. This service is open to candidates that have completed an Edexcel Construction Management level 6 and 7 NVQ and follows a similar fast track system to that which we used on the CSCS profiled Route.
Throughout our development we have continued to offer Supervisory and Management NVQ’s provided by Edexcel as Edexel are the CIOB-Chartered Institute of Building- preferred NVQ provider.
We hope our developments will be of interest and should this be the case, in advance we thank you for your patronage and look forward to working with your further or for the first time.
Please complete our contact page if you require further details on any of our current services or products.
Builder Manager Short Course. was last modified: September 13th, 2016 by William Simpson
The Route for Practicing Supervisors to Gain Their CSCS Gold Card
Unfortunately the CSCS Profiled Route, as a route to gaining a CSCS Supervisor Card without qualification, is as of 31st March 2016, no longer available from the CSCS. However, there is an alternative route and it’s called the NVQ Assessment Route. It’s designed for experienced Construction Site Supervisors and Site Formen etc., and is delivered online at your own pace. You dont need time off work to do this. This is now the only viable alternative assessment type route to gaining a CSCS Gold Supervisor Card.
These NVQ routes award credits to completed assessed units such as health and safety and other aspects to construction site supervision etc. If this sounds complicated, please be assured it isn’t.
The process involves completing a brief knowledge questionnaire and supplying evidence to support your answers. All candidates will be assigned their own assessor who is there to provide the support and guidance necessary for candidates to meet the qualification standards. In other words, the assessor is there to help you. All that is asked of candidates is that they have at least three years practicing experience for the qualification they are applying for and that they give their qualification and studies and themselves the time their studies deserve.
Most candidates will complete their Level 3 NVQ / QCF in three months or less. At RivaSure we supply Management NVQ’s (QCF’s) and an Access to Management GAP course for candidates upgrading to Site Management.
For further details, please feel free to get in touch.
CSCS Gold Card – The Supervisors Next Step was last modified: August 26th, 2016 by Andrew Hulme
The Route for Practicing Professionals to Gain Their CSCS Black Card
Unfortunately the CSCS Profiled Route, as a route to gaining a CSCS Manager Card without qualification, is as of 31st March 2016, no longer available from the CSCS. However, there is an alternative route and it’s called the NVQ Assessment Route. It’s designed for experienced Construction Site Managers and Project Manager etc., and is delivered online at your own pace. You dont need time off work to do this. This is now the only viable alternative assessment type route to gaining a CSCS Black Manager Card.
These NVQ routes award credits to completed assessed units such as health and safety, managing plant, managing resources, managing sustainability and environmental aspects to construction on site. If this sounds complicated, please be assured it isn’t.
The process involves completing a brief knowledge questionnaire and supplying evidence to support your answers. All candidates will be assigned their own assessor who is there to provide the support and guidance necessary for candidates to meet the qualification standards. In other words, the assessor is there to help you. All that is asked of candidates is that they have at least three years practicing experience for the qualification they are applying for and that they give their qualification and studies and themselves the time their studies deserve.
Most candidates will complete their Level 6 NVQ / QCF in three months or less. At RivaSure we supply Management NVQ’s (QCF’s) and an Access to Management GAP course for candidates preparing for their NVQ’s
For further details, please feel free to get in touch.
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CSCS Black Card – The Managers Next Step was last modified: September 6th, 2016 by William Simpson
Construction Safety Management -Training for Non Academics.
The result of successful commercial enterprise in a free market is that the rich will get richer which leaves less for everybody else! Being everybody else is not much fun! Diligent enterprise and sound risk analysis and investment are core business strategies employed by wise visionary Directors who plan for success. Other approaches on their own such as working hard and being honest by them self, will not reap the same reward.
Over the past ten years the advance of SSIP’s accreditations as first vetting in the procurement process such as CHAS, Constructionline and Safecontractor etc., followed by company vetting procedures as second vetting have ensured that only those companies excelling in their health and safety practices and procedures are considered seriously for employment. It is those companies who can prove and demonstrate their H&S investment in their workforce with positive H&S results that are now financially succeeding, and to that end it must be noted that good construction management of H&S Stacks Up; Adds Up; and has always been, a ‘No Brainer’.
At RivaSure, we are here to assist in that process. Please feel free to review our products and services.
Many thanks for reading.
William.
Construction Management Safety Training-No Better Time. was last modified: August 16th, 2016 by William Simpson
In our every day lives, we are surrounded by stories. Stories shape our lives; historical myths, legends, movies, soaps, operas and even football matches. In fact we cannot escape the influence stories have or underestimate their involvement and the natural effect they have on our lives.
So what is it in ‘stories’ that engages us? Is it that they resonate and engage with our interior personal conversations, hopes and aspirations and with the same or similar aspirations of others which aids in forming communities, identity and friendships with likewise thinking individuals?
For instance, let’s consider a football match. A 90 minute arena in which the highs and lows and drama of life can be experienced with the toss of a coin and a bouncing ball coupled with an explosion of brilliance or human error, a story is played out every Sat. afternoon. Each story has infinite and undetermined possible outcomes which are poised on the aspirations and expectations of the supporters. It is the fact that the supporters have given their interior selves to the outcome which makes this story, football, such a powerful entertainment media; living out their lives, to some degree, in the abilities and success, or not (sack the manager) of others? Perhaps the gate receipts across the UK give indication for the need of story in our lives?
For the purpose of this article on Narrative Learning, it is the connection of learners to the possibilities of story as a natural learning tool that I am most interested in.
Traditional learning is prescriptive. The learner is presented with the information and instructed to take that information on board. This is successful if the learner is keen and committed to the subject matter by interest. We do best at what we enjoy and learn best that which motivates and interests us, however much of our required learning does not sit in our top ten of most interested things to know!
So how as teachers can we best engage our learners with their learning outcomes? It is my experience that a way this can be achieved is by cognitive recognition, providing an arena (story) in which the learner locates their experience and then motivate them further through story, having first engaged them fully.
Through ‘story’, I am able to provide relevant context which enables non academic professionals to efficiently progress in their studies. When lecturing I attempt to weave into my stories, surprise, humour and suspense and use the same tools when creating e-learning courses. I have found this strategy to be key when working with construction learners, whether level 1 apprentices or level 7 managers, the use of story has been one of my greatest tools.
Many thanks for giving your time to reading this short article. I trust and hope this has been of interest. For further information and if you have any thoughts or questions or would like to know more about our services, please feel free to get in touch via our contact page.
William.
Thoughts on Narrative Learning. was last modified: August 16th, 2016 by William Simpson
So what has changed since the June 24th Brexit referendum? The UK construction industry rate of growth has slowed, but is still growing! EU labour, which has been used to plug skills and management GAPS created by the lack of domestic talent may be threatened and it is still estimated that the UK needs 224,000 new recruits to meet the overall pipeline of work by 2019.
So panic and scaremongers put to one side, the UK construction industry still has a problem and it isn’t the result of the Brexit referendum, it is the fact that in the short and long term, we have a skills and management shortage and in these uncertain temporary times, project starts may be delayed, but those of us who have been around for a few recessions, know that which isn’t build today, has to be build tomorrow!
What is the wise way forward? Is it to consolidate, upskill and diversify your workforce by promoting and training from within in order to prepare for future work and the growing increase in skills shortage or is it to ignore the current economic climate and hope for the best?….Enough said.
At RivaSure we have designed a construction management online mentoring management H&S GAP course that can be used to aid assistant managers and supervisors to move into full management responsibilities. It is also to be used as CPD for practicing managers to energise their commitment to enthuse a H&S culture on site.
Second, we are planning to provide online mentoring to management and CIOB applicants to assist them in their professional development.
We also provide an e-learning course creating service; providing bespoke courses to meet the specific needs of construction companies.
These are three ways in which we are committed to meet the UK skills GAP.
If you would like to know more about our services, please feel free to make contact via our contact page. We will be pleased to discuss any of our services and answer any questions you may have.
Many thanks for reading.
William.
Brexit and the UK skills GAP. was last modified: August 16th, 2016 by William Simpson
As you are probably aware, the CSCS Profiled Route came to an end on the 31st March, 2016. With it came the end of a legitimate fast track system to gain a CSCS management and supervisory card. At RivaSure we processed and assisted in excess of 400 candidates with our fast track interactive service.
So, what did we learn about our candidates and are we able to use what we learnt to benefit construction managers and management learners going forward?
We have learnt a great deal from our candidates! A small percentage (approx.3%) of our candidates were consummate professionals with an academic background who were good candidates for an NVQ 7 . However, the majority of our candidates who were consummate professionals and were not academics, had risen through the ranks and were very suited to a profiling type qualification. These candidates on the whole were suited to an NVQ 6 and those who have progressed in this direction have still benefited from our assistance with their NVQ’s. We unpacked the knowledge questionnaires with them so that they could respond correctly to the academic questions in order that they were able to meet the qualification standards from their working histories.
We have also learnt that the use of ‘working histories’ (narrative learning-story telling) is an exceptionally good tool for engaging construction management learners and for embedding construction management knowledge and procedures. It is to this end that we have used our findings to create an online mentoring management and management of construction H&S GAP course which we have recently released.
This course is the first in a series and has been designed and written to be used as CPD for practicing managers and as a learning vehicle for assistant managers and supervisors to aid them into full management duties. It is also an excellent pre-access course for NVQ management candidates, giving insight to construction management practices and procedures that ought to be referred to when completing a construction management NVQ.
If what you have read is of interest, please feel free to complete our contact page. We will be pleased to answer any questions and by request, add you to our mailing list. Many thanks for reading.
The CSCS Profiled Route – What Next? was last modified: August 23rd, 2016 by William Simpson