08/01/09 - Pioneering Partnership ensure provision of Skills for Life
Thomas Vale Construction has recently completed a pioneering programme of applying the NVQ qualification in Business Improvement Techniques (BIT) for construction. The Pilot programme which was supported by the Learning Skills Council and promoted by the West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE) was carried out by the Housing Regeneration Division with focus on the Decent Homes programme with Wolverhampton Homes.
15 candidates worked on the Pilot programme from June to December 2008, and included people from the Thomas Vale team and their supply chain partners working on the Wolverhampton Homes project.
The Pilot presented an exciting opportunity to be one of the first recipients of the BIT NVQ within the Construction sector. Not only has it supported the improvement of operations and performance on the Decent Homes programme, it has helped build a valuable skill set in the area of continuous improvement. Completion of the Pilot has been deemed a great success by all concerned, and it has been particularly gratifying since it represents the delivery of an idea cultivated between Thomas Vale and the LSC, as long a go as 2004. At the recent awards ceremony Frankie Yorke, Regional Skills Manager of the LSC in the Midlands, commented “The Pilot project with Thomas Vale has been a fantastic success, not only did the candidates deliver impressive improvements, you could see that they were genuinely enthusiastic in what they had achieved through the BIT NVQ programme”.
The BIT NVQ has been designed to develop the skills and capabilities in the area of continuous improvement. It covers areas such as thorough diagnosis of the current situation and the application of a proven structured approach to deliver real, tangible improvements in quality, programme, cost and Customer satisfaction. It is a recognised qualification that has been successfully applied to many other business sectors, and Thomas Vale were one of three other contractors in the West Midlands to apply it to the Construction sector.
The BIT NVQ Pilot with Thomas Vale has been a great success Achievements include:
- Tenant Satisfaction improved by 8% to 98%
- Reduction of property completion time from 22.5 days average to 15 days
- Improved Quality performance aiming for 100% right first time
- Bottom line savings
It is clear that this process and new qualification will produce dramatic changes to the Decent Homes Programme, John Haycock, Divisional Manager, Housing Regeneration at Thomas Vale was one of the participants in the BIT NVQ and commented, “It has given good managers the tools to become better managers in accomplishing their goals. The techniques used through the BIT NVQ have equipped our managers to train their teams to strive for continuous improvement, a founding principle of the Thomas Vale Way. All sponsors need to be congratulated for their support towards the delegates, allowing them to become the first holders of this qualification within the Construction industry”.
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