{"id":88733,"date":"2021-02-09T09:40:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-09T09:40:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=88733"},"modified":"2021-02-09T09:40:33","modified_gmt":"2021-02-09T09:40:33","slug":"free-training-construction-contracts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/hr-skills-news\/free-training-construction-contracts\/88733\/","title":{"rendered":"Free training to help secure rail and road construction contracts"},"content":{"rendered":"

HS2 Ltd<\/a>, Highways England<\/a>, Network Rail<\/a> and Transport for London<\/a> have joined forces to encourage SMEs to register for free training courses, designed to improve their prospects of meeting equality, diversity and inclusion<\/h2>\n

Working in partnership with the\u00a0Supply Chain Sustainability School<\/a>, the four transport bodies want to make it easier for companies to demonstrate their commitment to the equality, diversity and inclusion<\/a> (EDI) agenda.<\/p>\n

The Fairness, Inclusion and Respect (FIR) Programme has been developed for the construction industry to provide an industry context to the EDI agenda.<\/p>\n

The Supply Chain Sustainability School is recognised as a leading training provider and has supported SMEs with accessing free training since 2012.<\/p>\n

Through the FIR programme, they have supported over 2,000 businesses, helping them to improve their understanding of Fairness, Inclusion and Respect, and its importance in the workplace.<\/p>\n

All four organisations outline good practice standards and requirements expected from suppliers to win work.<\/p>\n

Collectively, the four bodies are now supporting UK businesses to get \u2018contract ready\u2019 by providing access to a consistent source of training<\/a>. This removes the requirement for businesses to complete numerous training and assessment programmes to satisfy multiple clients.<\/p>\n

The CITB<\/a> have funded the FIR Programme for five years, but with the economic impact of Covid<\/a>, they had to reduce funding for this financial year, which meant the FIR programme faced challenges in sustaining its full offer of training.<\/p>\n

Businesses can access free online EDI\/FIR training pathways at\u00a0www.supplychainschool.co.uk\/fir<\/a>\u00a0which cover the following topics:<\/h3>\n