Safety guide published for apprentices returning to college

THE Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum has helped develop a new set of guidelines designed to keep staff and apprentices safe in Scotland’s colleges and training centres.

Compiled by Forum members the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB), the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), SELECT and SNIPEF, the presentation outlines practical measures to protect against Covid-19 oncestudies resume.

The CICV Forum described the ‘overarching principles’ as protecting the vulnerable, keeping contact lists updated, providing staff with relevant training, offering suitable facilities for hand washing, and ensuring physical distancing is properly policed.

Other measures include face coverings, physical distancing when travelling in vehicles to and from college, properly sanitised equipment, a restriction on the number of people using toilets at any one time, encouraging the use of packed lunches, and one-way systems on access routes.

Fiona Harper, SELECT’s director of employment and skills said, “With ongoing discussions about the resumption of studies, we are all obviously keen that apprentice safety is put firmly at the forefront. These recommendations are designed to be practical and easy to follow, with clear guidance on how to protect both apprentices and the college facilities themselves from the ongoing thereat of coronavirus.

“In everything we’re doing, the message is clear: We must work together to stop this virus, safeguard the young people in our industry and protect our wider communities and families.”

You can download the guidance from www.cicvforum.co.uk/downloads