Details

Date	23/06/2006
Type	Public news
Headline	NAS in co-operation with CITB Construction Skills
Detail	National Association of Shopfitters work with CITB-ConstructionSkills to implement site supervisors safety course CITB-ConstructionSkills has committed to working with the National Association of Shopfitters to develop a Site Supervisors Safety Training Course specifically for the Shopfitting and Interior Contracting sectors. The National Association of Shopfitters (NAS) has worked closely with CITB-ConstructionSkills in recent years to ensure that Health and Safety training is at the forefront of the specialist skills sector. The three day course will take this awareness to the next level with a recognised qualification for those overseeing site operations. The course will be accredited and certificated by CITB-ConstructionSkills and delivered through CITB-ConstructionSkills approved training providers only. As the voice of the shopfitting sector, NAS is keen to support initiatives that benefit its 180 member organisations who work on projects ranging from £5000 to £3 million. A dedicated project group has been set up to manage the development of the new three day site safety course. In addition, this group is also developing and delivering a "Train the Trainers" course for specialist shopfitting instructors, as CITB-ConstructionSkills and the NAS look to future partnerships to increase safety awareness on-site. Robert Hudson, Director of NAS, stated: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with CITB-ConstructionSkills to get this safety scheme off the ground. As the voice for our sector, we work in the interests of our members, and site safety is hugely important for all shopfitting companies. The sector has a number of very specific requirements in this area, and this course clearly defines the now recognised difference between ‘bricks and mortar’ and shopfitting and interior fit-out. Therefore we are looking forward to addressing these issues through this excellent course. “A poor health and safety record can have damaging effects on the reputation of businesses as well as putting staff at serious risk. This course is designed to encourage shopfitters and interior fit-out contractors to do more training on the basis of a specialist course being developed to meet their needs.” Mike Dwyer, Head of Business Development at CITB-ConstructionSkills added: “We look forward to working with the NAS on what I believe is a major step forward in defining and delivering health and safety training programmes in this highly specialised sector of the construction industry. “The new course will help site supervisors to develop a better understanding of the legal, moral and social responsibilities of their role, and to supervise health and safety on-site in accordance with current legal provisions.” The new course will be available from the third quarter of 2006.
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National Association of Shopfitters NAS House 411 Limpsfield Road Warlingham Surrey CR6 9HA
telephone: +44 (0)1883 624961 fax: +44 (0)1883 626841 email: enquiries@shopfitters.org