A list of the workshops which took place at the 2011 Expo are as follows:
CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS
Time: 11:45-12:30
Workshop 1: Business Benefits of Diversity
Workshop Leads: Sandra Johnson-Blake Head of Enterprise and Regeneration Policy, Equality and Human Rights Commission and Dr Jan Peters, Director of Katalytik, President of Women's Engineering Society
Focusing on the EHRC's latest Equalities and Diversity report investigating the construction industry, Sandra and Jan set out the benefits of having a diverse workforce in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability and age. Tackling these gaps in its workforce will help the industry to address its skills shortage by employing people from the widest possible pool of talent. A better understanding of good equality and diversity practice will also help the industry to avoid the high costs such as high turnover of staff, reputational risk and employment tribunals. A framework for action is presented in a practical and relevant way to add value to construction businesses' bottom line.
Workshop 2: Diversity in Apprenticeships
PRESENTATION (Power Point Show)
Workshop Leads: CITB ConstructionSkills and Gail Nugent, JTL
The Government is promising to double the number of apprenticeships in the UK and is putting an additional £25 million into higher and advanced apprenticeships - but how is the industry ensuring the workforce of the future meets the diverse needs of UK communities? How can apprenticeship schemes successfully recruit from under-represented groups? This workshop explores current best practice and some of the lessons learnt in addressing diversity in apprenticeships.
Workshop 3: Respect in the Workplace
Workshop Leads: Niki Luscombe, Chief Executive of Women and Manual Trades and Melanie Nicholson, Dramanon Ltd
This highly interactive workshop helps employers and employees establish the professional boundaries required to ensure effective and supportive relationships in diverse teams. With the help of actors and trainers from Dramanon, we will address the sticky issues when tackling diversity at work and play out some of the experiences that could happen in real life and explore how they can be handled successfully.
EXHIBITION WORKSHOPS (OPEN TO CONFERENCE DELEGATES AND EXHIBITION VISITORS)
Time: 14:00-14:45
Workshop 4: Excellence in Business - the Value of Standards and Accreditation
PRESENTATION (Power Point Show)
Workshop Leads: Kevin Bowsher, Equality Nexus; Chrissie McCarthy, Constructing Equality and Viv Duke, Equality Accreditation Services
Taking an employer perspective, this workshop addresses the questions: What can I do to ensure my company is treating everyone equally but still meeting diverse needs? and Where do I start? Addressing diversity can seem daunting at first but when you know what best practice is out there and what options are available your company can start to reap the benefits of addressing diversity. Learn about the different assessment frameworks that are around and which ones are right for your business.
Workshop 5: Making an Impact
PRESENTATION (Power Point Show)
Workshop Leads: Kiki Maurey, Coach and Mentor and Zoe Winters, CIOB
Kiki is an inspiring speaker and promoter of SUCCESS-4-YOU, helping people to achieve fulfillment and success at work and in their home life. Described by Barclays as "one of the best keynote speakers/facilitators in the country" and "world class" by Warwick Business School. Kiki has delivered training seminars and speaking engagements to more than 7,000 small businesses in just the past few years. This workshop will challenge the way you think about yourself and how you achieve in business, and will be facilitated by Zoe Winters, Policy and Development Manager at the Chartered Institute of Building.
Time: 15:00-15:45
Workshop 6: Working with Local Communities (CSR)
Workshop Lead: Bola Abisogun (MRICS), Founder & CEO of Urbanis
One of the biggest challenges facing the UK is ensuring the built environment meets local community needs and that local communities are actively engaged and benefiting from new development within their immediate locality. With a strong emphasis on the added value that community engagement brings to infrastructure planning and development, this workshop considers how construction can take a partnership approach across public, private and voluntary sectors to developing innovative solutions to local issues. Urbanis a specialist provider of property refurbishment to the public sector are a professional construction & project management organisation, adept in the principles of inclusive design. They focus on the creation and delivery of community based partnerships that offer lifelong training opportunities in seeking to deliver sustainable "Urban Inclusive Solutions" through a diverse and fully representative supply chain.
Workshop 7: CV and Interview Skills - Get the Job you Love
Workshop lead: Lisa Risk, Women In Property
Entering the job market, or finding that you need to update your CV or brush up on your interview technique? This workshop offers practical tips on how to get the best from your CV, how to sell yourself at an interview, and get the job you love!
Time: 16:00-16:45
Workshop 8: Construction Ambassadors - Making a Difference to Young People's Lives
PRESENTATION (Power Point Show)
Workshop lead: David Wake, CITB ConstructionSkills
With the industry currently employing around 21000 new people a year, Construction Ambassadors act as the face of the industry, sharing their positive experiences with young people who are considering their career options. Do you have what it takes to inspire and persuade others to access the opportunities open to them in the industry? This workshop profiles a few of our ambassadors and explores how they really make a difference to the construction industry profile by reaching out to young people from different backgrounds who hadn't thought about entering the industry before. Whether you are a potential ambassador or someone who is weighing up their career options - this is the workshop for you.
Workshop 9: The Benefits of an Older Workforce
PRESENTATION (Power Point Show)
Workshop lead: Freda Line, Extending Working Lives Engagement Manager: Construction
Recent demographics are startling - they show: a significant decline in younger workers with potentially 50% fewer 20 year olds; a large fall in the number of workers aged 35-44 by 2019 of over 115,000; and large rises in the number of 50-60+ year olds of 160,000. The Extending Working Lives (EWL) programme working with the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) encourages employers to recruit and retain older workers; but this isn't easy for the construction sector, this workshop looks at the issues employers face in terms of workforce age profiles and how to tackle them.
Time: 17:00-17:45
Workshop 10: Supporting Small Businesses and Achieving Supply Chain Diversity
Workshop Lead: Deb Sen, National Spokesperson - Procurement at the Federation of Small Business
Winning contracts is one of the biggest challenges facing micro and small businesses, and sometimes it can feel that barriers are put in the way that prevent diversity in the supply chain. This workshop looks at the skills sets needed to establish your business and win contracts and what you can do to enhance diversity in the construction sector.
