The only time the construction industry is reported in the local media is when unfortunate accidents occur on work sites or when low quality or inferior work is carried out.
This is an extremely unfair as the construction industry is responsible for the whole physical development of the Maltese islands. It is the fourth most important economic sector in terms of employment, and the wider construction industry contributes 9.3 per cent to our gross domestic product (GDP) and 11.1 per cent to gross value added (GVA).
There are many skilled workers in the industry who are capable of producing excellent quality work but, unfortunately, if they learnt their skill over the years through experience and apprenticeship with other contractors, then they have nothing to show for their capabilities. Effectively this means there is no form of recognition to distinguish between excellent and mediocre workers, and this to the detriment of their clients.
The BICC advisory board has therefore assigned the Education, Training, Classification and Registration of Contractors Working Group to work on the introduction of the Construction Industry Skill Card (CISC) in Malta . The aim is to identify skill gaps in the workforce, to encourage workers to continue their education and to introduce training programmes to ensure that the standards of expertise in the trade are in conformity with the law.
This initiative was agreed to by the government and included as a measure in the 2015 Budget. The BICC, together with the Ministry of Education, was entrusted to work on this initiative. A draft White Paper on the introduction of the skill cards was drawn up and subsequently approved by Cabinet.
The launch of the public consultation on the White Paper was held last Friday. The guest speaker, Gordon Jenkins from CSCS, gave a brief overview of the UK system, upon which the policy endorsed by BICC was based.
There is no form of recognition to distinguish between excellent and mediocre construction workers
The objectives are to ensure that skilled construction workers are encouraged to certify their skill in a particular trade and so feel proud of their skills and receive proper remuneration for their effort. Once this sector is properly regulated and monitored, workers and employers will have the necessary knowledge and expertise in their trade, in particular the physical risks related to their work which will in turn reduce fatalities on construction sites.
Skill certificates will be awarded at various levels, namely apprenticeship, operator, craftsman, technician and professional. Assessments are carried out through an assessment at accredited institutions, and existing operators can be assessed on site by an authorised body. All applicants must attend a health and safety awareness course. After the presentation of skill level certification and attendance of the health and safety awareness course, the BICC would then issue the relevant skill card.
Skill cards will be valid for five years, after which they will be renewed subject to the applicant attending a continuing professional development course, to keep up-to-date with recent developments.
A five-year transition period is being proposed during which everyone working in the industry must attend health and safety awareness courses and the registration for a skill card would be on a voluntary basis.
It is being suggested that for the first year a pilot project be carried out on four trades – tile layers, plasterers and painters, assistant electricians and plumbers. These trades were identified after research carried out by BICC showed that local service providers in the tile-laying and decoration sectors are facing the most unfair competition from abusive service providers. Electricians are already certified, while plumbing services, although not certified, are in many instances provided by people working as electricians.
It is to be noted that those who already possess a recognised certificate for the skill they provide, may immediately apply for a skill card, once they have completed the health and safety awareness course.
The skill card initiative aims at certifying the capabilities of our skilled workers, ensuring that customers get value for money, while protecting operators in the industry from unfair competition and hence encouraging investment in current new techniques and equipment. It is also meant to ensure that the accidents on construction sites are dramatically reduced.
Members of the public are encouraged to give their feedback to this initiative which is set to bring about a culture change in the construction industry.
Charles Buhagiar MP is executive chairman of the Building Industry Consultative Council.