With the strong support of local employers, the Diploma in C&BE will expand on the existing curriculum choices on offer. Construction and the built environment education was already a strong area for Sheffield’s consortium members. They had long established links with local construction employers, well trained staff and excellent facilities at their disposal. Getting involved in the new qualification was a natural step, helping to both embed and formalise the good work already taking place.

The Diploma in C&BE supports local skills needs by providing employers in the area with young recruits who have acquired essential industry skills such as an awareness of health and safety, design processes and sustainability. Other key skills including numeracy, literacy, and verbal communication, all of which are crucial to working in the construction and built environment sectors, are also integrated into the curriculum. 

Time invested now by employers will ensure that potential future employees are nurtured and recognised, saving money on advertising, induction and training. Businesses can work with local teachers to provide young people with sector specific knowledge, devising tasks and activities which make use of their experience and facilities.

The Foundation Diploma is equivalent to five GCSEs grades D-G, a Higher Diploma is broadly equivalent to seven GCSEs grade A*-C and an Advanced Diploma is broadly the same as three or three-and-a-half A-levels.

The Sheffield Learning For Life Consortium, which is one of the 44 education consortia responsible for delivering the 2008 Diploma, includes Yewlands, Newfield, Park Academy, Hinde House and Sheffield College. Some of the employers who are supporting the scheme are Kier, Keepmoat, Connaught, Mears, Lovells, Bershe Rolt, Lavers, and HLM Architects.

Construction Design Centre

Jayne Wright is responsible for managing the Construction Design Centre, located on the Kier compound in Sheffield, which was set up in 2005 to deliver construction and design education. The centre currently teaches thirty Diploma in C&BE students.  Jayne’s experiences so far have been entirely positive. She said: “It’s new and interesting to both staff and young people, and the students see it as a challenge. Attendance levels are good, we haven’t experienced any drop outs and we have some fantastic local employers involved. Being located on Kier’s compound is a huge advantage – we can just go outside and talk to an industry professional if we have any questions.”     

Jayne has been actively engaging local employers to identify activities pupils can take part in that are relevant to the units of the course. She added: “Part of unit one sees students exploring the impact the built environment has on communities. Students are given the opportunity to attend community meetings where Kier engage with local people, to help them better understand the community’s needs in terms of designing and building a fit-for-purpose building. This is a great way for young people to put their learning into practice and see what employers in the industry have to do when taking on a new project in an established community.”

Jayne believes it is vitally important that companies work closely with schools and colleges for the Diploma to be successful and a benefit to both students and employers. She said: “It gives the students a wider insight into what jobs are available in the construction and built environment industries, letting them know it’s not just about building. These students can aspire to being architects or quantity surveyors.”

“The curriculum is exciting. We’ve covered two units so far and there is flexibility in terms of how you choose to teach. We try to make sure that the pupils get to physically apply what they have learnt. After studying different styles of architecture, we took them into Sheffield to see a range of buildings for themselves.”

Jayne thinks the Diploma gives young people great preparation for the future. “It’s an excellent idea. It opens up all kinds of jobs to these young people and sets them up for the working world.”       

Kier

Kier’s involvement with the Diploma was a natural progression of the work they were already conducting with students in the Sheffield area, says their Training and Development Manager, Christine Wilson. “We have operated the Construction Design Centre for several years, so when the opportunity to work with the Diploma came about, we were only too pleased to have a more formal role in assisting in the education of young people.”

As well as work experience, Kier are helping the consortium in a number of ways. “We asked the consortia what they would like from us, and we will be providing site visits, health and safety sessions and talks from industry professionals. They were very interested in our work with solar power and how that feeds into the sustainability agenda so that will be picked up next year. Most of the interaction will take place from 2009 onwards as the consortium are still finding their feet, but we will be in regular contact with the students from then on.”

The benefits of being part of the Diploma in C&BE team are clear to Christine. “It has enabled us to be fully involved in young people’s education from the planning stages to delivery, which will help to ensure that students gain a full understanding of our industry. We will effectively get first pick of the new recruits coming onto the job market, who will have up-to-the-minute industry skills. The Diploma is not a replacement for apprenticeships; the Diploma is more classroom based, giving students an insight into not just crafts, but construction management roles like architecture and surveying. We aim to recruit people into these areas via the Diploma.”

Sheffield 14-19 Partnership Manager

Nick Duggan, the Sheffield 14-19 Partnership Manager and leader of the consortium, said: “The new Diplomas represent a genuine step forward in the choices that we can offer students.  We have been involved in the development of this new qualification from the start, and the partnerships with local businesses are working well.  The Diploma in Construction and Built Environment has been designed to offer 14-19 students a learning experience which includes an emphasis on training and hands-on experience in the industry. The new qualification offers young people in Sheffield the opportunity to study something that can improve their lives, and is relevant to local construction employers. The partnership with those employers is extending the learning experience of young people into the full breadth of the sector."

Connor Smith, Diploma student

Connor Smith, 14, is studying the Higher Diploma in C&BE at the Construction Design Centre. He said: “I heard about the Diploma at an open evening. It caught my eye because I have always been interested in the construction industry. When I was young I used to help my granddad with all kinds of DIY and building projects, so I think that made me interested in the area. My parents were very keen for me to take the Diploma once they saw that the minimum grades needed to get onto the course were quite high.”

Connor is glad he chose the Diploma. He added: “I enjoy the practical work, and really like learning about what goes on during the building process. We are being taught about architecture and when things were built and I find that really interesting.

The Diploma has increased Connor’s enthusiasm for the construction industry. He said: “I want to go to college, but I’m not sure what I want to do. The Advanced Diploma is definitely something I will consider. I’m not sure what career I will get into, but I like the sound of some of the jobs we are learning about, like civil engineering and architecture. I am good with my hands and would like to have a job that means spending some of my time out in the open.”    

The Diploma in C&BE is one of five Diplomas for 14-19 years olds that the Department for Children, Schools and Families has introduced, which combine skills with National Curriculum-based education. 

For further information about the Diploma in C&BE please visit www.cbediploma.co.uk.