If you are working in the construction industry at the moment you might look around at senior members of staff, like managers and directors and think, that could be me?

The increase in the amount of construction projects in the UK also means there is an increase in the need for qualified workers, particularly for supervisors and site managers, and Bromak Recruitment (sister company of 3B Training) have seen this first hand.

A leading UK employment company said that so far this year approximately 10,700 vacancies have been advertised in the construction industry and around 3 times as many jobs are being advertised in construction and property than there were 4 years ago. These adverts are getting less people applying for them than in previous years however.

The average salary for a site manager in 2014 is £42,500. The health and safety training courses available to them, including IOSH managing safely, NEBOSH general certificate, site supervisors SSSTS and site management SMSTS courses, will have an enormous effect on applications for construction vacancies because lots of candidates don’t hold the required qualifications and as a result miss out on contracts. In order to be more employable to employers and contractors it is vital to have these qualifications.

The NEBOSH general certificate lets directors and managers of companies comply with their duties that are outlined in the appropriate legislations, like the Health and Safety at Work Act. This act, and changes in society’s attitude, has meant there is more of a focus on prevention of accidents rather than just dealing with the aftermath of an accident or incident.  It is the responsibility of management to implement the right control measures and systems to stop people becoming ill, injured or killed in the workplace or because of their workplace activities as much as is reasonably practical.

The SSSTS or site supervisors safety training scheme is a good starting point for getting a basic understanding of health and safety duties and responsibilities for junior management. Once they have finished this course, it would be natural to enrol on the 5 day site management safety training scheme (SMSTS.) This particular course would also be beneficial for anyone already holding a managerial position too, like surveyors, site managers and agents.

The SMSTS  is a 5 day course and tailored for site managers, agents  and people who are or are going to be responsible for planning, organising, monitoring, controlling and administrating staff or offices. The syllabus of this course features all the  relevant legislation for working safely in the workplace, introducing necessary control measures and the correct communication to keep a health and safety culture in the workplace.