In June 2021, NCG appointed former Birmingham City Cabinet Member Brett O’Reilly to the brand-new role of Head of Curriculum Innovation for Construction Technologies. The role was created to reform construction curriculum across its colleges and position itself as one of the country’s leading education and training providers for the construction industry.

Now, a year into the role, Brett answers some questions about some events he’s been running with curriculum leads across the group.

Can you tell us a bit about the Innovation Summits you’ve been running?
I’ve started bringing together construction heads from across NCG in what I am calling “Innovation Summits”. The idea is that we look at our curriculum across NCG to see how we can harness the power of the group to have more of an impact on closing skills gaps in construction. I want to make the most of being a large college group; developing one source of shared resources, schemes of learning and innovation plans. 

Where did the idea come from?
We know we need to work locally to close skills gaps, but I think it’s worth starting at group level, to identify national skills gaps and synergies across regions, so we can make a plan for tackling them together. We are also looking to reinforce the notion that we talk about careers rather than courses in construction. 

What do you mean by “careers rather than courses”?
As NCG’s aim is to ‘enable social mobility and economic prosperity’ it makes sense to me that we should talk about careers and opportunities, rather than courses and subjects. All our courses should provide career opportunities for our learners, so I want us to look at them in terms of the end goal and to provide a road map for every student to get there.

So, what’s happened so far?
Well, we’ve had our first meeting, where we brought all the construction heads from colleges across NCG together to look at where we’re at in terms of driving innovation in our sector. We have incredible staff here, people who have worked in the industry for years, so they know what industry needs, but when I say “driving innovation”, I don’t just mean making sure we’re keeping up with emerging technologies and modern methods of construction, I’m also talking about innovation in our practice and making sure we’re improving our delivery models and operating in a way that suits industry and employers.

I’m aiming for constant improvements – the minute we stop improving we’ll fall behind. 

What are the next steps?
The next big moves for us are developing our T Level offer based on regional needs; matching our local economy and skills needs with our course content.

We also want to focus on internal progression for our students, looking at our higher education provision and potentially introducing more higher apprenticeships as well, including Site Management Apprenticeships at level 4 and above.

We are also looking to develop our adult offer – both for those in work and those looking to enter the industry anew. We want to help upskill those already in work to enhance their earning, potential and career prospects, but also help people from job centres into work and starting careers in construction. Whether it is a study programme, apprenticeship, bootcamp or higher education, adult learner or school leaver, NCG aims to provide a construction pathway for everyone that aspires to a career in construction.

-------- 

This work forms part of the wider NCG Strategy to 2030. Read more about NCG’s vision and mission here.