The Joint Industry Board (JIB) has released its 2021 Annual Review, which highlights key achievements delivered for its members with Direct Employment featuring as a key story from the year, as well as the JIB’s crucial actions in response to priorities identified in the 2020 JIB Membership Survey.
The priorities for members were the increased promotion of the benefits of Direct Employment, enhanced engagement with industry, improved visibility of JIB members to clients and more focus on Continuing Professional Development (CPD).
In February 2021, the JIB published its ‘authoritative and compelling’ report into the benefits of Direct Employment. Following publication, the JIB has been actively involved in promoting the benefits to over 1,500 key stakeholders and Chaired a Construction Leadership Council group on Direct Employment in September. This gave the JIB a unique platform to lobby directly to Government and an influential and diverse stakeholder group from across the supply chain. The JIB is continuing this work to rebalance the industry and re-establish the founding principles of direct employment, apprenticeships, and high standards of training and qualifications.
JIB also responded to members’ feedback by hosting a series of relevant webinars which attracted over 500 people. A pilot Forum was hosted in June, which had insights from the Bank of England on the current economic impact and the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) launched a new CPD digital system allowing all individuals to digitally record their ongoing skills and knowledge for the first time.
There were some significant landmarks to celebrate as well. ECS Check, the free online system that provides necessary insight and visibility through all levels of the supply chain, recorded its 1,000th registration since its launch in early 2020 and the ECS Remote Invigilation service, offering ECS card holders and employers the opportunity to take their assessments without having to travel to an assessment centre, was also launched giving card holders greater flexibility than ever before. Remote Invigilation services are already seeing thousands of users per month taking advantage of this industry-leading technology approach, helping members save time and money.
The JIB Skills Development Fund proudly supported a record 55 people undertaking skills development and CPD as part of their career progression. The charity also provided crucial financial assistance to those out of work and looking to upskill to re-enter the workforce.
Jay Parmar, Chief Executive of the JIB, says: “The JIB has been working extremely hard to make the electrotechnical industry a healthier place as things start getting back to normal, and we have continued to play an active role in upskilling the industry and in the development of sector-specific competence frameworks. This Annual Review is a round-up of all the JIB’s news, campaigns and progress taken in 2021 and I hope that it will inspire some positivity for all JIB members and employees as we look forward to 2022.”
The JIB Annual Review can be read here.