What practical training are you providing new entrants to the industry?

I'm interested to hear if you are an employer, what practical training are you providing and if you are a new entrant to this industry, what practical training are you receiving? The younger people are the next generation and therefore they need to be well equipped with the practical aspects of our industry.

During the early part of my career, I was fortunate enough to work for a company who had an excellent management trainee scheme [Bovis Construction Ltd] and was renowned for it.

I used to attend the CITB centre at Bircham Newton regularly and was provided practical experience of setting out, driving tower cranes, construct trench foundations, erect scaffolding et al. Bovis also provided me with six weeks in each of its business departments, from Accounts, Business Development, Cost Planning etc. In addition I spent time on site with a Project Manager and Site Manager to understand that role in the overall process.

Whilst there is a big focus on academic achievement, I strongly believe that experience is fundamental to success. If you have first hand experience on say, how to construct different foundation types, then your communication and understanding of the issues as they arise will put you in a good position, especially when you encounter a problem and are looking for solutions.

What practical training are you getting as a new entrant or if you are an employer what practical training are you providing the younger generation to the industry?