5 years and counting...the CIOB Academy is going from strength to strength...
This month marks 5 years since I joined CIOB to take on the task of building the CIOB Academy portfolio and brand. It is with a sense of pride that I can report that in those 5 years the Academy has been transformed, with the introduction of a dedicated CPD portal, a broad publications portfolio and various new training courses and qualifications. It has been a fast-paced and challenging yet rewarding time.
Since I started with CIOB, the core philosophy of the Academy has been to provide resources that serve the needs of professionals in the built environment and give them the skills to produce excellence, in the context of the Institute pursuing its public interest remit. This has meant the team has focused on developing and delivering practical training on core competencies, CPD videos on the broad church of topics of interest to built environment professionals, essential publications, key industry qualifications and courses assisting those pursuing CIOB chartered status.
Some notable successes during these five years have been the delivery of the Chartered Membership Programme to over 500 people, the delivery of freely available Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) in ethics, quality, mental health and sustainability to over 30,000 delegates in more than 100 countries, the creation of a CPD portal with more than 200 resources and the development of a broader publications portfolio. In the last few months, we also took the decision to make all our Technical Information Sheets free to members – they now have access to up-to-date, expert-developed assets on temporary works, quality, site management, smoke control, logistics and planning.
We have also recently published a new edition, the sixth, of our popular Code of Practice in Project Management, also free to members.
In addition, the last year has seen the introduction of two level 6 qualifications in Fire Safety and Building Safety, which have each already had over 100 people register, plus our expansion in the Middle East and North Africa region with a dedicated portfolio.
It is important to note that these successes wouldn’t have been possible without a dedicated team (the CIOB’s Training and Knowledge Hub) working tirelessly, and also the support of other colleagues across the organisation. A big thanks to all.
What next?
Our vision is to continue to grow and develop the Academy into the one-stop shop for all built environment professionals’ learning and development needs. We have ambitious plans to add new courses, qualifications, publications and CPD. We will also continue to look at our international offer to support our global membership and to showcase the truly worldwide CIOB community and the best practice it promotes. With the foundation we have created in the first 5 years of the Academy, we can build and grow with confidence and quality, exactly like the industry itself.