30 September 2016

Costain is set to be one of the first employers to offer the new Project Controls Technician apprenticeship.

The company led the group of 50 employers and organisations from across the UK that drew up the standard and assessment plan for the new apprenticeship. The standard has now been fully approved by the Minister of State for Skills at the Department of Education and the assessment plan is also approved subject to minor comments, giving the green light for the launch of the apprenticeship in Q3 2017.

“We’re aiming to offer several apprenticeships in a role that is vital for businesses like ourselves,” said Shane Forth, Project Management Office (PMO) Director, who led Costain’s involvement in the year-long project to compile the standard and assessment plan.

“Project controllers are crucial to the successful delivery of complex projects, but for many years the UK has suffered from a shortage of suitably skilled and experienced project controls technicians. These apprenticeships give us a fantastic opportunity to help reverse that trend and to attract the bright young people into the industry that we and other companies so desperately need.”

The Level 3 apprenticeship will last between three and four years and is designed to equip young people with the knowledge and skills both they and industry need. On completion, the apprentices can choose to apply for membership of the Association of Cost Engineers (ACostE) as a Graduate Member. The apprenticeship is also designed to meet the professional standards of the Engineering Council, enabling an apprentice to register as an Engineering Technician (EngTech), provided he or she has suitable engineering experience.

Costain and its fellow employers in the group anticipate that a total of around 50 apprenticeships will be on offer next year, giving young people a flying start in careers such as project controls, planning, estimating and cost control.

The Project Controls Technician apprenticeship is part of the Government’s Trailblazer programme that aims to establish new standards for apprenticeships. It is committed to reaching three million apprenticeship starts in England by 2020. The initiative follows an independent review of apprentices in 2013, which called on the Government to improve the quality of apprenticeships and make them more focused on the needs of employers.

 

 

 

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