Equality Commission for Northern Ireland

EQUALITY COMMISSION FOR NORTHERN IRELAND

Public Authority 2011 – 2012 Annual Progress Report on:

· Section 75 of the NI Act 1998 and

· Section 49A of the Disability Discrimination Order (DDO) 2006

This report template includes a number of self assessment questions regarding implementation of the Section 75 statutory duties from

1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 (Part A).

This template also includes a number of questions regarding implementation of Section 49A of the DDO from the 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012 (Part B).

Please enter information at the relevant part of each section and ensure that it is submitted electronically (by completing this template) and in hardcopy, with a signed cover letter from the Chief Executive or, in his / her absence, the Deputy Chief Executive to the Commission by 31 August 2012.

In completing this template it is essential to focus on the application of Section 75 and Section 49. This involves progressing the commitments in your equality scheme or disability action plan which should lead to outcomes and impacts in terms of measurable improvement for individuals from the equality categories. Such outcomes and impacts may include changes in public policy, in service provision and/or in any of the areas within your functional remit.

Name of public authority

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI (Construction Industry Training Board)

Equality Officer (Enter name and contact details below)

Mrs Elaine Doran
Human Resources Manager
CITB-ConstructionSkills NI
Nutts Corner Training Centre
17 Dundrod Road,
Crumlin
BT29 4SR
Tel: 028 9082 5466
Fax: 028 9082 5693
Email:

Part A: Section 75 Annual Progress Report 2011 - 2012

Executive Summary

· What were the key policy / service developments made by the authority during this reporting period to better promote equality of opportunity and good relations and what outcomes were achieved?

Skillbuild

Two Skillbuild Northern Ireland National Final competitions took place within the reporting period. The first took place on 13 and 14 April 2011 at South Eastern Regional College (SERC), Newtownards campus. Over 100 young people took part competing in 13 different craft areas ranging from brickwork to wall and floor tiling. The second took place on 28 and 29 March 2012 at North West Regional College, Greystone campus, Limavady. Again over 100 competitors from all over the province tested their skills across 12 different construction craft areas.

The young people at these competitions had been selected from inter College Competitions in 2011 and 2012. In these inter College competitions a number of females took part (2 in 2011 and 2 in 2012) competing in trades such as Plastering and Painting & Decorating.

The winners from these competitions may then be selected to take part in the Skillbuild UK finals which in 2011 fell on 14-16 September in Leeds. 13 young apprentices from Northern Ireland attended, competing in categories such as joinery, carpentry, cabinet making, painting and decorating and roof slating and tiling. Two gold and 1 silver and bronze medals were won by Northern Ireland competitors.

WorldSkills London 2011 took place from 5-8 October 2012 and once again the Northern Ireland competitors triumphed by bring home Gold in bricklaying (Philip Green, Belfast Met), Silver in Landscape gardening (James Cuffey, Downpatrick) and Bronze in refrigeration and air-conditioning (Stuart Millar, SERC).

Taking part and achieving medals at the various levels of competition, particularly WorldSkills is a fantastic achievement for these young people and will impact positively on their future career prospects, many of whom go on to set up their own businesses.

Revised Strategic Plan 2011-2016

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI has recently revised its strategic plan for the period 2011-2016. Through consultation with a wide range of employers, stakeholders and staff, the new plan was drawn up. Key elements of the plan include better and clearer communication with all, improving the skills and knowledge of staff, ensuring staff are aware of the links between their role and the strategic plan, using multiple different technologies and methods for two-way communication between the organisation and stakeholders, and improving processes e.g. through better use of IT etc.

A range of projects have been identified as a result of the consultations and the development of the strategic plan, including projects entitled ‘People and Internal Communication’, ‘External Communication’ and ‘Process Mapping and Review’. These projects will provide a continuous improvement element, looking at all aspects of the business, including work on equality, and at how we communicate internally and externally, with a wide range of stakeholder groups (e.g. staff, employers, employer associations, MLAs, young people, women in construction etc)

Facebook page & SMS text messaging service

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI launched its Facebook page in September 2011 to enhance information provision to stakeholders.

In addition a new SMS text messaging service was launched which now allows registered employers to send a text regarding grant queries.

· What are the main initiatives planned in the coming year to ensure the authority improves outcomes in terms of equality of opportunity and good relations for individuals from the nine categories covered by Section 75?

Qualifying the Existing Workforce

In a joint initiative between the Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), CITB-ConstructionSkills NI, and the Joint Council for the Building & Civil Engineering Industry, the Qualifying the Existing Workforce project will train 500 currently unqualified, experienced and employed construction workers to NVQ Level 2, helping to increase productivity and meet the industry’s skills challenges.

This project will be launched and progressed during the reporting period 2012-13.

Reburbishment

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI’s plans to refurbish parts of the building at Nutts Corner Training Centre have now been approved. A Project Management company has been appointed and detailed planning work has commenced. A contractor will be appointed in the near future with a view that all works will be completed by March 2013. This work will ensure compliance with DDA Regulations and improve access issues for staff, visitors and trainees alike.

New / Revised Equality Schemes

· Please indicate whether this reporting period applies to a new or revised scheme and (if appropriate) when the scheme was approved?

The revised Equality Scheme for CITB-ConstructionSkills NI was approved by the Equality Commission for NI on 25 January 2012. Therefore the old scheme applies to the period from 1 April 2011 – 24 January 2012 and the revised scheme applies to the period from 25 January 2012 – 31 March 2012.

Section 1: Strategic Implementation of the Section 75 Duties

· Please outline evidence of progress made in developing and meeting equality and good relations objectives, performance indicators and targets in corporate and annual operating plans during 2011-12.

The Equality Scheme is implemented by the Executive Management Team with overall responsibility being allocated to the Chairman and Chief Executive with the day to day operations being carried out by the Human Resources Manager who acts as Equality Officer for the Board.

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI has developed a series of Aims, Objectives and organisational actions as part of the Strategic Planning Process.

Included within these is the aim of ensuring that communication is clear and direct. The associated objectives linked to this are:

· Efficient flexible and appropriate communication mechanisms that are jargon-free, clear, consistent and tailored for intended audience are in operation.

o Examples of improvements include the launching of our Facebook page and SMS text messaging for grant enquiries

· An organisation which maintains close working relationships with industry, partners and stakeholders through focused engagement.

o Examples include the Equality Commissions involvement in our Employer Information Events, the Women in Construction Conference with WomensTec, Skillbuild NI with the close co-operation of the Regional Colleges, our construction Ambassadors programme etc

Additionally as a partner in ConstructionSkills we have a role in contributing to the Strategic Plan for ConstructionSkills 2012-2016. Within the Sector Skills Agreement, standards to progress the fairness, inclusion and respect agenda will be developed. As measures of success the number of apprentice starts and completions will be monitored as well the diversity of the workforce in % terms from target groups e.g. women, young people, migrant workers etc.

Section 2: Examples of Section 75 Outcomes / Impacts

Given the renewed focus of Section 75 aiming to achieve more tangible impacts and outcomes and addressing key inequalities; please report in this section how the authority’s work has impacted on individuals across the Section 75 categories. Consider narrative in the following structure:

o Describe the action measure /section 75 process undertaken.

o Who was affected across the Section 75 categories?

o What impact it achieved?

World Skills London 2011

· Please give examples of changes to policies or practices using screening or EQIA, which have resulted in outcomes or impacts for individuals. If the change was a result of an EQIA please indicate this and also reference the title of the relevant EQIA.

N/A

· Please give examples of outcomes or impacts on individuals as a result of any action measures undertaken as part of your Section 75 action plan:

Employer Engagement Events

27 Events held attended by 270 people representing a wide range of construction employers. Equality Commission for NI in attendance at many of these events.

Grants Scheme 2011/12

The purpose of CITB-ConstructionSkills NI is to encourage a culture of training and qualification among the businesses and individuals in the Northern Ireland construction industry.

The principal way we do this is through our annual grants scheme which offers grants to support a wide range of training and qualifications, from apprentices through to the existing workforce including management and administration.

Any example of how we support the Section 75 categories within the grants scheme is the provision of grant for those whose first language is not English or for language assistance for those with hearing/speech disability. This is paid at 75% of net cost up to a maximum of £100 per day.

In addition to the published grants scheme and in light of the current economic climate additional assistance was offered to support all registered in-scope employers to help encourage new recruits to achieve their recognised construction qualification as follows:-

New Additional Grants Apprentice Grants

Additional grant assistance was offered to support all registered in-scope employers to help encourage work placements of apprentices into the industry so they can complete and achieve their qualification.

£1,000 apprentice anniversary grant

Available to employers who have an apprentice in continuing employment and who has reached their 3rd consecutive year in employment and progressing to NVQ Level 3 within the September 2011 – August 2012 training year.

Apprentice Industry Placement Grant - £100 per week over 10 week placement period

Available to all registered in-scope employers who offer a construction related industry placement to apprentices currently enrolled on a Programme Led Apprenticeship programme, which requires work experience to complete their recognised qualification. This is normally a 3 day/week basis over 3 to 6 months.

· Please give examples of outcomes or impacts on individuals as a result of any other Section 75 processes e.g. consultation or monitoring:

N/A

Section 3: Screening

· Please provide an update of new / proposed / revised policies screened during the year.

For those authorities that have started issuing of screening reports in year; this section may be completed in part by appending, to this annual report, a copy of all screening reports issued within the reporting period.

Where screening reports have not been issued, for part or all of the reporting period, please complete the table below:

Title of policy subject to screening / What was the screening decision? E.g. screened in, screened out, mitigation, EQIA… / Were any concerns raised about screening by consultees; including the Commission? / Is policy being subject to EQIA? Yes/No If yes indicate timeline for assessment.
Car User Policy / Screened out / No / No
Strategic Plan 2011-2016 / Screened out / No / No
Pre-registration, Registration & Managing cases of non-disclosure / Screened out / No / No
Estimation of Levy / Screened out / No / No
Grants Scheme 2011-12 / Screened out / No / No
Construction Establishment / Screened out / No / No
Training Standards Audit Policy / Screened out / No / No
Charging Policy / Screened out / No / No

Section 4: Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA)

Please provide an update of policies subject to EQIA during 2011-12, stage 7 EQIA monitoring activities and an indicative EQIA timetable for 2012-13.

· EQIA Timetable: April 2011 - March 2012

Title of Policy EQIA / EQIA Stage at end March 2012 (Steps
1-6) / Outline adjustments to policy intended to benefit individuals and the relevant Section 75 categories due to be affected.
None

Where the EQIA timetable for 2011-12 (as detailed in the previous annual S75 progress report to the Commission) has not been met, please provide details of the factors responsible for delay and details of the timetable for re-scheduling the EQIA/s in question.

N/A

· Ongoing EQIA Monitoring Activities: April 2011- March 2012

Title of EQIA subject to Stage 7 monitoring / Indicate if differential impacts previously identified have
reduced or increased / Indicate if adverse impacts previously identified have reduced or increased
None

Please outline any proposals, arising from the authority’s monitoring for adverse impacts, for revision of the policy to achieve better outcomes the relevant equality groups:

None

2012-13 EQIA Timetable

Title of EQIAs
due to be commenced during
April 2012 – March 2013 / Revised or New policy? / Please indicate expected timescale of Decision Making stage i.e. Stage 6
None

Section 5: Training

· Please outline training provision during the year associated with the Section 75 Duties / Equality Scheme requirements including types of training provision and conclusions from any training evaluations.