The construction industry is unique in one respect: it is the most socially mobile industry in the country. This has been the case for a long time. CIOB founder Thomas Cubitt (1788-1855) was the son of a Norfolk carpenter. He built the homes of the aristocracy and his son George became a politician and hereditary peer known as the 1st Baron Ashcombe. Not bad for two generations.
Construction’s capacity to still act as a vehicle for social mobility was confirmed in a report produced for the CIOB: Understanding the Value of Professionals and Professional Bodies. It highlighted that it is possible even today to go from the tools to the boardroom, from a trade apprentice to a chartered professional and industry leader.
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I see evidence of this all the time. The winners in this year’s Construction Manager of the Year awards are as diverse as you can get: former tradesmen up there with graduates, people in the early stages of their careers and others coming towards the end, but all sharing the respect of their peers.
“The challenge for professional bodies as standard setters is simple. Are the standards there to exclude, as a barrier, or to enable and encourage?”
This government is clear that it wants us to be an aspirational society. That success comes not from the chances of birth but the ability to apply talent and skill. The challenge for professional bodies as standard setters is simple. Are the standards there to exclude, as a barrier, or to enable and encourage?
There is a realisation that the New Labour target of 50% of 18-year-olds going to university perhaps missed the point that people are different. It also had the effect of creating graduate-entry only professions. Degree-based apprenticeships go some way to putting variation into the offering, but in the end still reinforce graduate-only entry.
Recent developments have tried to go further. The government is trying to ensure even non-degree apprentices can make the transition to a chartered-level professional qualification. The CIOB already has such routes but the new apprenticeships the government is promoting should have this progression.
There is no doubt that chartered qualifications are equivalent to a first degree – and, coupled with practical experience, probably a long way above that. If we want a society where we reward effort, perhaps those who have earned degree-equivalent qualifications should get a “degree” as a result.
If you already have a degree perhaps it does not matter, but for those who took a different route it does. I would like to be able to staple a degree to a chartered professional certificate if it is appropriate. It is another way to level the social mobility playing field.
