The latest employment forecasts predict that UK construction will need to find almost 224,000 new recruits by 2019, with a shortage at management level set to continue into the future. The Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) has been a long-standing supporter of Design Engineer Construct (DEC!), run by Class of Your Own, which applies pure academic subjects to the latest construction industry practices at Secondary School level.

Following a proposal supported by the CIOB, ‘Design Engineer Construct’ units and qualifications will now be evaluated and given an official ‘credit rating’, providing parity with other existing mainstream qualifications in Scotland, and enabling DEC! to be added to the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF). Learners, employers, receiving institutions, awarding bodies, sector skills councils (SSCs) and standard-setting bodies (SSBs) can see the level of skills being developed and how DEC! relates to other qualifications in Scotland.

Lynne McKay from CIOB Scotland said: “One of our objectives is to create extraordinary people that can meet the demands of a modern construction industry, and they don’t come more extraordinary than Design Engineer Construct! students. Their level of knowledge and the skills they can demonstrate are pretty amazing given their young age. The UK needs construction to attract the best and the brightest minds so that we can solve tomorrow’s infrastructure challenges. We hope some of these children will continue Scotland’s rich history for great construction managers.”

Throughout Scotland the CIOB has worked with Class of Your Own to connect ‘Design Engineer Construct’ with schools, employers and career advisors. Enabling industry professionals to work in partnership with schools is key to the programme, to help students and teachers see the relevance of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths, improve numeracy and literacy skills, and ultimately to introduce the huge range of built environment careers.

Alison Watson, managing director at Class of Your Own, said: “At its heart, the DEC! programme sees young people managing a digital construction project and developing a range of skills demanded by a modern technological industry. The programme is already producing fantastic results in England, and given the appetite for DEC! across Scotland, both by schools and universities, I can see great success for Scottish children and their teachers.

“Scotland has initiatives and programmes in place to offer real opportunities for its young people, and DEC! dovetails seamlessly to support the development of a 21st century workforce. Scottish government has stressed the role business and industry can play in supporting vocational education and in preparing young people for employment. With support from the CIOB and others, that is exactly what the construction industry is setting out to achieve.”