A Skills and Employability presentation by The ABC Assessment Centre was a highlight of this year’s Guild of Bricklayers’ Annual Conference.

The online event was hosted by Julian Walden, PP Guild of Bricklayers, and featured speakers from City & Guilds, CITB, Forterra and BrickJackets, as well as Simon Livett, Manager of The ABC Assessment Centre.

Simon’s presentation struck at the core of the Skills & Employability theme by focusing on the Centre’s aim: to maintain and improve the quality of brick tradesmanship through its unique learning interventions, which are based on the latest innovations and construction technologies.

Simon Livett said: “It was a privilege to be asked to make this presentation at the Guild of Bricklayers Annual Conference 2021. It drew interest from Guild members and industry representatives alike. We were also pleased to see a number of Further Education tutors join the presentation, because as well as upskilling brickwork contractors and site operatives, we have courses designed to give students hands-on bricklaying experience.”

Among topics discussed during the presentation was the revision of apprenticeship standards for bricklaying. The Association of Brickwork Contractors, along with leading bricklaying firms, are backing a call for more industry representation on the issue. The ABC Assessment Centre’s short-duration courses are proof of its commitment to providing quality training opportunities and encourage a new generation of bricklayers. Its modern masonry skills programme is being rolled out in Further Education Colleges and includes a transportable ‘demo wall’, which will allow students at 25 hand-picked brickwork ‘Supercolleges’ to gain practical bricklaying experience within their own learning environment.

Speaking of the conference, which was held on June 25th, Simon Livett said: “We’ve gained some excellent new contacts as a result of the presentation. These include college representatives, who were particularly impressed with what we’re trying to achieve with the implementation of our courses in Further Education. On behalf of everyone at The ABC Assessment Centre, I’d like to thank fellow Guild of Bricklayers members for giving us the opportunity to showcase the benefits of our innovative training programme.”

For more information on the Guild of Bricklayers, visit: www.guildofbricklayers.org.uk