Chairman of the CSCS, Trevor Walker resigned this week, to be replaced by former Labour MP Michael Clapham, after a four month leadership stand-off.
Building magazine reported that Walker stepped down on Tuesday after a crisis meeting between the four employers and three unions that run the Construction Skills Certification Scheme- a skills accreditation scheme used by over 1.7M workers in the UK. Walker had only survived an earlier no-confidence vote in the summer after using his board vote to tie a ballot and save himself.
Michael Clapham, Labour MP for Barnsley West and Penistone until April last year has a union background and is a former officer of the National Union of Mineworkers. Construction News stated that he was nominated by the union owners of CSCS and accepted by the employers- they are understood to have sought assurances that the relationship with CITB-Construction Skills, which administers the scheme, will be repaired.
CSCS chief executive Brain Adams last month pledged to postpone his retirement for a further three months to ensure a seamless handover of power, with a new chief executive to be recruited in the new year.
Adams said ‘Michael Clapham has a strong passion for improving health and safety in the construction industry and increasing the skills of the workforce. We look forward to working with him to continue to drive CSCS forward as the pre-eminent scheme for construction,’ reported Construction Enquirer.
