FM CAREERS - TRAINING
JUNE 2020 53
In this strange new world, where
building managers are having
to grapple with a whole new
series of challenges, the role of
the building services engineer is
coming into the spotlight. The
training and expertise of the people
who advise on ventilation and air
circulation, the safety of li s that
have been unused for several weeks
or the recommissioning of hot water
systems is suddenly very significant.
This new recognition coincides
with a radical shake-up of the
training pathway as new modern
apprenticeships put the responsibility
for training the next generation of
engineers back into the hands of the
professional institution.
Like many parts of the built
environment sector, building services
engineering has struggled to recruit
high-quality new entrants and
concluded that the established model,
relying too heavily on university
graduates, is simply not enough.
Apprenticeships have traditionally
been an accepted route for entry into
this very practical profession but had
become a rather neglected and underresourced
training model.
The Trailblazer scheme was
established by the government in
response to increasing dissatisfaction
from employers who were finding that
school and university leavers simply did
not have the right skills to fit easily into
a working environment. Government
therefore challenged industry – with
construction being right at the start
of the process – to design its own
qualification system.
CIBSE APPRENTICE PROGRAMMES
CIBSE has been involved from the start
and is now an End Point Assessment
Organisation for four apprenticeship
programmes in England (the devolved
regions run their own programmes with
slightly di erent criteria). This gives
the professional body the opportunity
both to influence the training to deliver
the skills required by industry and the
responsibility for assessing whether
candidates have indeed acquired those
skills during their apprenticeship.
The four apprenticeships cover both
Building Services Engineering Design
and Building Services Engineering
Site Operations skillsets and provide
qualifications at two levels. The
Technician level apprenticeships are
designed for post GCSE school leavers
and the degree apprenticeships lead to
the professional status of IEng ACIBSE.
This potentially represents a massive
change in the way we deliver further
education. I would argue that we have
sometimes placed too much emphasis
on University learning as the only route
to recognised qualifications. Feedback
from employers suggests that graduates
can be underprepared for the practical
challenges of the working environment,
while the prospect of graduating with
a mountain of debt is increasingly
unappealing to many school leavers.
Putting the professional body in
greater control of the training that
qualifies its next generation ensures the
relevance of the training. I would argue
that graduates who have acquired their
learning while simultaneously applying
it in a live working environment
will have a better, more practical
understanding of the nature and
business of their profession.
I personally feel that vocational
education has been underfunded
and undervalued in recent decades.
The Trailblazer apprenticeships,
with their increased rigour and
demanding final assessments, provide
an excellent foundation for acquiring
and demonstrating real professional
competence. A er final assessment, the
graduate apprentice is then accepted
into the professional institution (in
our case CIBSE) and becomes part of
an ongoing programme of continued
learning that is designed to ensure that
competence is maintained and up to
date throughout a professional career.
CONTINUOUS LEARNING
In England, professionals whose
operations are deemed to have life
and death consequences are required
to be members of their respective
professional bodies – think of doctors,
lawyers or architects. Such membership
includes a requirement to abide by a
code of practice and to keep skills and
knowledge up to date.
It becomes increasingly di icult
to argue that those responsible for
the quality of indoor air, for energy
management or the safe design of fire
performance in buildings should be
treated di erently.
It is entirely logical for the institutions
to be responsible for designing and
assessing the entry qualifications for
their discipline.
So in 2020 for the first time, an
apprenticeship category is included in
the CIBSE Young Engineers Awards.
It aims to be an inclusive award,
open to apprentices currently studying
a Level 3 apprenticeship or above
in building services and related
occupations. Entrants will need to be
nominated by their college, university
or employer and will simply submit
a three-minute video of themselves
talking about ‘Why the role of a building
services engineer is so important’. Entry
is open until 3 August and winners will
be announced in the autumn.
We hope that the award will reveal the
talent and dedication of young people
who have made a conscious decision
to follow the apprenticeship route into
their chosen profession. A route that I
predict will become increasingly valued
and attractive to both young people
and employers.
Full entry details for the CIBSE
Apprentice of the Year Award can be
found on the www.CIBSE.org website.
BLAZING THE TRAIL The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers is taking on the mantle of
applied learning, with its wholehearted support of the new Trailblazer apprenticeships.
Angela Ringguth, Professional Development Consultant to CIBSE explains why
/www.CIBSE.org
