NHBC training hub for Cambridge

The National House Building Council (NHBC) has launched a new training hub near Histon Football Club in Cambridge Built with the Hill Group, the facility can train more than 100 apprentices each year and is equipped with classrooms, welfare and catering facilities to provide apprentices with a realistic working environment

The hub is the third dedicated training facility built by NHBC – the first was launched in Tamworth in 2021 and the second in Newcastle last year

Jennifer Kehoe, a former police constable, is now doing her Level 2 bricklaying NVQ apprenticeship at the hub. “The training hub is set up like a real building site and it offers fast

HSE crackdown on dust

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has strongly criticised the failure to prevent life-threatening diseases linked to dust exposure at work

As a response, the HSE is preparing to target construction sites across Great Britain this summer

The HSE's Dust Kills campaign, which provides complimentary advice to businesses and workers about necessary control measures to prevent dust exposure, supports the inspections These summer inspections will emphasise the respiratory hazards associated with dust exposure.

The inspections, part of an initiative focusing on respiratory health, will scrutinise dust control measures, ensuring that employers and workers understand the risks, plan their work, and implement the appropriate controls They will examine the measures implemented to shield workers from inhaling construction dusts, including silica and wood dust, and will also ensure that asbestos-containing materials are properly managed or removed to mitigate exposure

Michael Thomas, HSE’s chief inspector of construction, expressed his concern: “It's distressing to witness construction workers dying each year from diseases exacerbated by their work It's inexcusable in the modern age when we have the means to prevent occupational lung disease "

Thomas urged both employers and workers to take precautions now to safeguard their long-term lung health and avoid the catastrophic consequences that could arise learning which helped me switch my career,” she says “The first five weeks at the NHBC Training Hub got me ready to go onto a building site "

Since becoming a registered apprenticeship provider in 2020, NHBC has trained 347 apprentices in bricklaying and construction site supervision

The Dust Kills campaign supports this initiative by offering straightforward advice on the Work Right website, aimed at employers, small builders, and workers, to help everyone grasp the risks and maintain their health on-site