The Supply Chain Sustainability School, a multi-award-winning initiative which represents a common approach to addressing sustainability within supply chains, has today launched the first ever construction-focused skills hub, dedicated to improving the quality of procurement practices. 

 

The construction sector has not increased its productivity over the forty last years and the Supply Chain Sustainability School members often cite procurement as a blocker to innovation and improved performance. The procurement hub has been set up to increase the skills level for those who buy products and sub-contract services within our industry. By improving these procurement skills, the School hopes to drive productivity improvements and increased value for clients.

A joint venture with the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), the Institute for Collaborative Working (ICW) and King's College London, this programme will demonstrate the value of good procurement to the built environment sector, providing free self-assessments, e-learning modules, an innovative cloud-based performance tool and a library of best practice procurement resources. 

The Supply Chain Sustainability School’s new topic area in procurement, aims to provide a wide range of free resources to help organisations of all types and sizes improve their procurement skills. Procurement is a critical part of client and contractor policies and strategies; therefore this new topic area will cater for businesses at all stages of their procurement journey, featuring four key topics: Procurement for Beginners, Procurement for Professionals, Supplier Relationship & Management and Collaborative Construction Procurement.

The School is co-funded by CITB and industry Partners, with the direction of the School being led by over 120 Partners – working in collaboration, they share knowledge and free resources to inspire the UK built environment to drive positive change and each share a common desire to upskill the industry.

 


Shaun McCarthy OBE, Chair of the Supply Chain Sustainability School, said: “In the 25+ years since the Latham Report, there have been various calls for the construction industry to improve the way it procures. Although the industry has pockets of good practice, there is still a need to embed better procurement in all tiers of the supply chain. I am proud to have worked with Partners such as CIPS and Kings College London to lead a programme of work to develop learning resources for all levels of competence through the Supply Chain Sustainability School, which will be made available free of charge to the industry.”

Duncan Brook, Group Director at the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS), said: “Improving procurement skills and capabilities throughout the construction sector has been highlighted in a number of studies and reports as an essential part of addressing some of the poor commercial practices which affect performance, reduce quality and impact safety. It is important that improvement in procurement practices happen at all levels of the supply chain. We at CIPS have been happy to support this important procurement education initiative by the Supply Chain Sustainability School. We would encourage everyone to take advantage of these excellent educational resources and invest the time to improve their procurement skills.”

Professor David Mosey, Centre of Construction Law, King’s College London said: "Industry training on collaborative procurement is long overdue. A practical understanding of collaborative relationships, tools and systems is essential to help us resolve age-old problems and to improve efficiency, value and risk management. King’s College London Centre of Construction Law have been glad to support the Supply Chain Sustainability School in developing their modules, workshops and online tools on Collaborative Construction Procurement, and we strongly recommend them.”


The Supply Chain Sustainability School provides free practical learning and support in the form of sustainability training, networking, e-learning modules, tailored assessments, action plans and a library of over 2,900 online resources. Sign up for free this spring to take full advantage of the new topic area in procurement. 

The new topic page can be found on the Supply Chain Sustainability School’s website.