Local Authority Building Control (LABC), the membership organisation for 3,500 public service building surveyors in England and Wales, has launched a fully funded trainee scheme to attract new recruits into the profession.
Following the landmark Building Safety Act 2022, LABC is boosting building control capacity in light of new responsibilities and support for the Building Safety Regulator. The regulator will be responsible for ensuring the safety of all new higher risk buildings and for the oversight of 12,000 existing occupied tall buildings.
The capacity building programme will see more than 150 people recruited into the building control profession with a three year fully funded learning and development plan.
LABC is looking for people who can demonstrate leadership skills, solve problems creatively and work under pressure. The programme is nationwide with a clear progression pathway. The funded scheme means learning and development will be fully subsidised, and recruits will be paid while they study and progress.
The programme allows trainees to gain the skills, knowledge and experience to be able to competently deal with the full range of building work and other statutory functions undertaken by building control. Trainees’ specific development and learning will be supported while they undertake studies for the Level 4 and Level 5 Diplomas in Building Control followed by funded level 6 (degree level) learning once they are in permanent employment with a local authority.
The educational programme provided by LABC is combined with experiential learning gained while being placed with a local authority building control team. Shadowing building control professionals gives recruits first hand opportunity to see how the knowledge they gain is applied practically to make sure buildings are safe.
Once a trainee successfully completes each stage of learning and has gained sufficient experience, they can take the relevant validation assessment through the Building Safety Competence Foundation (BSCF).
After the three-year programme trainees will be able to apply for roles within local authority building control teams – this could be as an assistant building control surveyor or higher, depending on how well they progress.
Commenting LABC Chief Executive, Lorna Stimpson, said “Local authority building control plays a vital and important public service, they ensure our buildings and cities are safe, healthy places to live and work. Building control professionals also play an important part in addressing the UK’s response to the energy and climate crisis. The new responsibilities outlined in the Building Safety Act and the support LABC teams will give to the new regulator mean the profession needs to expand. We’ve been working on this project for 18 months and are delighted that we have gained funding to fully subsidise the learning and development of new entrants. This is a pivotal time for the building control profession; this recruitment programme will bring in vital new recruits to strengthen the profession and make a real contribution to the communities where we live.”
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