CITB is looking for help to ensure the right courses are available for training stonemasons.
As reported from the Natural Stone Industry Training Group (NSITG) annual meeting (read more...), CITB is reviewing the short courses that it backs with grants.
Darren Lawrence, now Standards & Qualifications Supervisor at CITB, is developing the courses and wants input from the industry so the courses are what the sector needs.
As far as CITB is concerned, short courses can be anything from three hours to 29 days, as long as they do not in themselves lead to a qualification. Those for stone contribute to the Stone Fixing and Heritage Stone Specialist Applied-Skills Programmes (SAPS), but individually do not carry qualifications.
The courses that qualify for grants are included in a CITB directory, and only those courses in the directory are grant funded. The current review of the courses gives the industry an opportunity to amend the existing courses and develop new ones.
In a letter to NSITG, Darren says the aim is to standardise some of the courses so they provide transferable skills where they can and avoid duplication, benefitting both employers and employees.
He says: "We are consulting with industry stakeholders to provide construction specific Short Duration Training Standards for many categories of training carried out in the construction industry.
"When these are confirmed, training providers / employers will have to validate their courses to the Standard and can register on the Training Directory. Employers will then be certain that their employees have received comprehensive training and workers can transfer their course training between employers."
The short courses for stonemasonry currently listed are:
- Brick dynamics basic
- Fixing internal stone
- Fixing stone
- Selection of appropriate mortars
- Setting out stone
- Temporary surface protection, structure and public
- Conservation and restoration of stonemasonry
- Conservation law
- Defect recognition, cause and effect
- Identification of materials
- Setting out and erecting complex stonemasonry structures
- Specialist techniques
- Stonework conservation, repair and maintenance
- Temporary support, excavation and underpinning
If you don't like the list, this is your chance to contribute to changing it because the first objective is to decide if the current list is what is required by stone companies and, if not, to amend it.
If you would like to help with the development and validation of short duration training for the stone sector, Darren would be glad to hear from you. His email address is below.
Participation will involve attending a maximum of two physical meetings over a four month period and commenting on draft materials by email.
If you are willing to assist, let Darren know and he will be in touch with further information. Email: Darren.Lawrence@citb.co.uk