A new Master Certificate Scheme incorporating Master Carpenter, Master Joiner and Master Shopfitter Awards, has been launched.
Sir John Egan, president of the Confederation of British Industry, and Sir Michael Latham, chairman of the Construction Industry Training Board, announced the scheme at a ceremony at Carpenters’ Hall, London on April 30.
Sponsored by City & Guilds, the Carpenters’ Company, the Joiners’ & Ceilers’ Company and the Institute of Carpenters, the scheme aims to provide a goal for craftsmen and apprentices who have completed their Level 3 qualification, gained at least seven years’ experience in the workplace and met the continuing professional development requirements of the City & Guilds Licentiateship.
Initially the benefits of the scheme will be promoted to major construction companies to persuade them to find ways in which selected craftsmen within their firms and sub-contractor base could be encouraged to pursue certification.
Sir John said: “In many other countries, calling yourself a master craftsman really means something, and that is what we want to get back to in this country with the launch of this scheme.
“It will demonstrate the status of highly qualified and experienced craftsmen by the award of a meaningful qualification backed by some of the most highly respected institutions in the land.”
Sir John said that the provision of quality training was a central recommendation of his government commissioned “Rethinking Construction” report. “It is essential if the construction industry is to achieve world class quality and producivity,” he said.
He said that he is currently undertaking a second report to measure the impact of “Rethinking Construction” and said that initial findings indicated that the industry still had some way to go.
“We estimate that 10 to 15% of private construction projects now follow our recommendations, but to date no government project has done so.”
He said that the new Cerfificate represented the way forward for the construction and associated sectors as a whole. “We must train our workforce and continuously improve their skills. If everyone does likewise we will have a world class industry.”
Sir Michael said specialist carpentry and joinery skills were in high demand in the industry and a scheme such as this would provide a respected route for individuals to continue developing their careers and achieve excellence in their craft.
He said that the Certificate programme fitted in with the CITB‘s wider plans on training.
“Our aim is to have a fully qualified workforce by 2010 – which means putting another 500,000 people through training.”
He said that the new Certificate and the resulting better qualified carpenters, joiners and shopfitters would make a major contribution to the CITB’s programme.
