Launch of New Fairness, Inclusion & Respect Resources to mark National Inclusion Week “Will Benefit Everyone in UK Construction”

As you may be aware CECA and the Supply Chain School have been leading a steering group of industry leaders to develop The Fairness Inclusion and Respect Programme part-funded by the CITB and now endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council.

The FIR Programme, developed by the construction industry for the construction industry, helps businesses drive positive change and create better workplaces by embracing a culture of Fairness, Inclusion and Respect. Inclusive workplaces are more productive, innovative, profitable and safer. The resources are aimed at all levels from apprentices to leaders and are freely available to companies large and small operating in construction and the built environment.

To mark National Inclusion Week a suite of new learning materials have been launched and added to the core programme. The resources include three new workshops on:

‘Inspiring and Coaching New Employees’
‘Setting up an Inclusive Site’
‘Leading People Inclusively’

These workshops are accompanied by newly developed E-Learning modules, on:

Understanding Invisible Disabilities
Managing Challenging Conversations
Race and Intercultural Competence Parts 1&2.

Sarah Beale, CITB Chief Executive, said: “Even before the pandemic, construction recruitment faced the challenges of an ageing workforce with a real lack of diversity and the pending implications of Brexit, so it is more important than ever to build inclusive cultures across all parts of our industry. “These resources will help drive the positive change we need to attract new entrants from a wide range of backgrounds to our sector, and ensure construction is the rewarding career we know it to be for everyone.”

Andy Mitchell CBE, co-chair of the Construction Leadership Council, said: “National Inclusion Week is an opportune moment to remind everyone that not only is there a moral case for driving inclusive cultures in the construction industry, but that there is a business case for it as well. “Inclusive workplace cultures are more productive, innovative, and profitable. Promoting a culture of Fairness, Inclusion

and Respect can bring benefits to businesses of all sizes and helps attract and retain people from the full pool of talent in the UK workforce. “There has been positive cultural change across our sector in recent years, but it is beholden to us all to remember that we always have more to learn and things we can improve. These new resources are a welcome addition to the already extensive range of FIR materials that are available, and we hope their uptake will be as wide as possible by businesses at all levels of the UK supply chain.”

Stephen Cole, CITB Head of Careers Strategy, said: “These resources will benefit UK construction and demonstrate why CITB has been proud to fund the Fairness, Inclusion & Respect programme since 2015.

“Cultural change also aids both in the attraction of new skills and retention of existing ones, which is of particular importance at this time.”

Full details of the FIR Programme are attached or you can access the FIR Programme on the Supply Chain School’s website here