ConstructionSkills Scotland has appointed Phil Ford as Project Manager within its newly formed Future Skills Unit.

Phil, who has come from a role in development in ConstructionSkills, the sector skills council for the construction industry, will provide a focus for the unit's work in Scotland, which has been established to provide a leadership position on future skills issues relating to the construction industry.

His role will involve working with key employers, federations, other built environment Sector Skills Councils and key stakeholders as the unit links in with and supports key Scottish Government priorities around the low carbon, renewables and sustainability agendas.

The FSU will establish links with and support a number of projects to enable ConstructionSkills to gain a better understanding of emerging and changing skills requirements and the impact on training and qualifications.

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Graeme Ogilvy, director for ConstructionSkills Scotland said: "We are delighted to announce Phil’s appointment within Future Skills in Scotland.

"As a managing agency for construction, we view this as a key area for growth within the industry and are committed to working with the Scottish government and key stakeholders to ensure there is an increased focus on future skills needs."

Phil Ford added: "I am really looking forward to the new challenges that my role within the Future Skills Unit will bring.

"Moving forward, it is incredibly important to ensure that Scottish employers have access to the relevant range of skills and training opportunities to enable them to effectively embrace the low carbon, innovation and sustainability agendas.

"Upskilling the existing workforce to understand the issues on the changes going forward to create a low carbon workforce, will be a challenge but it is one I look forward to taking on."

By developing existing contacts with networks of industry experts, key stakeholders, funding bodies, and providers, the FSU aims to identify future skills needs and ways of nurturing and supporting leading edge skills development until it becomes mainstream.

The Future Skills Unit will gather further Labour Market Information through the Construction Skills Network and other forecasting and research expertise, to enable ConstructionSkills to provide an authoritative analysis for the sector on future skills needs.

(GK?BMcC)