The Construction Industry Council (CIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Built Environment (BE) Schools Trust
The memorandum is intended to help boost built environment skills and numbers of young people entering the industry.
The Built Environment Schools Trust works to this end by programmes and initiatives including school outreach, bursaries, and sector mobilisation.
CIC will help to host events
The MoU will see representatives of the CIC and BE Schools Trust co-hosting events and webinars, as well as sharing data and promoting schemes and barrier-removal for those wishing to enter the industry.
Resources are available for young people in Key Stage 2 and 3, as well as at GCSE and A-level grade students.
Graham Watts, CIC chief executive, said: “I welcome the opportunity to solidify our relationship with the BE Schools Trust. Their unique work with championing the built environment industry in schools and ability to engage with secondary schools is vitally important to the future success of our industry. Important work like this helps to address the skills pipeline issue and showcase the many opportunities available in our industry.”
Terry Watts, BE Schools Trust chief executive, said: “The CIC provide a unique forum where professional bodies in the sector come together, and we are delighted to be a part of it. Members of our professions expect their representatives to support engagement with schools, and we offer unique free, editable educational resources that bring careers information into the classroom, creating awareness of the exciting opportunities in the sector and priming a larger, more diverse talent pipeline for recruitment.”
CIC are working to boost efficiency and sustainability
Announced in October last year, the CIC approved the new British Sustainability Competence Standard, titled Competence Framework for Sustainability in the Built Environment.
This was based on an earlier framework created in February 2025 between the CIC and The Edge, which was sent on to the British Standards Institution.
This new standard will target the reduction of carbon emissions in the built environment, which is one of the largest contributors in the country.
At the time, Simon Foxell, policy coordinator at The Edge, and convenor of the drafting panel, said: “The approval of this proposal marks a pivotal moment for the built environment sector. Establishing a British Standard for sustainability competence will provide a clear, consistent framework that supports professionals in delivering projects aligned with the UK’s net zero and resilience goals. This work is about embedding sustainability at the heart of practice, ensuring that competence is measurable, transparent, and future-focused. We encourage experts from across the industry to contribute their knowledge and help shape this important standard.”
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