The project, delivered by 3B Training Ltd, based in Wigan, aims to train 100 façade installers and 24 supervisors by early 2026. This national initiative supports the wider Government push to accelerate cladding remediation, as outlined in the Remediation Acceleration Plan published in December 2024.

CITB’s move is supported by new legislation in Scotland and Wales, including the recently introduced Building Safety (Wales) Bill. The aim is to set clear responsibilities for building owners and ensure a competent workforce is in place to meet them.

Tim Balcon, CITB CEO, said the industry urgently needs more skilled workers to carry out safe remediation. He stressed the importance of building long-term workforce capacity, not just responding to current demand.

Matthew Bewley from 3B Training confirmed the programme will include a steering group to define training standards and will directly support the recommendations of Dame Judith Hackitt’s post-Grenfell review.

What Others Are Saying

Construction Management confirmed the funding and delivery model, highlighting its alignment with government remediation targets.

Roofing Today and The Construction Index echoed the urgency of upskilling cladding and façade workers, particularly in light of incoming legal requirements for high-rise residential buildings.

All sources point to the same message: clients must now verify competence, not just cost, when appointing contractors.

What This Means for Westbury FM Clients

Westbury FM works with housing associations, schools, and councils. Many of these organisations own multi-storey or multi-occupancy buildings where façade maintenance plays a critical safety role.

CITB’s project brings three clear benefits to the organisations we support:

• It creates a new benchmark for façade competence.
• It supports safer, more accountable supply chains.
• It gives clients a clearer view of contractor capability.

We expect this new training standard to become a de facto requirement in future public sector contracts.

We already self-deliver planned and reactive maintenance using in-house engineers. This model gives us full control over training, record keeping, and performance.

We support CITB’s efforts and will:

• Track the development of the new framework and align our training where appropriate.
• Guide clients in choosing contractors and suppliers that meet emerging competence standards.
• Share updates as the training programme rolls out.

What You Should Be Asking

For housing, education, and local authority teams, now is the time to ask:

• Who maintains our façades, and what is their training background?
• Do they hold verifiable certifications aligned with CITB’s programme?
• Can they demonstrate supervisor competence for high-risk works?
• Is our maintenance partner investing in skills?

At Westbury FM, we believe safety starts with the people doing the work. Our in-house approach ensures clear accountability, consistent quality, and peace of mind for asset owners and building users alike.

Read the original CITB release here:
🔗 CITB Launches Building Safety Project to Upskill Façade Workers

References: 

https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/news-events-and-blogs/citb-launches-building-safety-project-to-upskill-fa%C3%A7ade-workers

https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/citb-launches-250k-building-safety-skills-training-programme

https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/citb-backs-training-for-cladders

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/accelerating-remediation-a-plan-for-increasing-the-pace-of-remediation-of-buildings-with-unsafe-cladding-in-england/remediation-acceleration-plan

🔔 Follow Westbury FM on Linkedin for regular industry news & updates, or Contact Us here.

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Reducing unfair exclusion and providing routes out of poverty

According to the Ban the Box campaign there are around 11 million people in the UK who have a historical criminal conviction, many of whom are skilled individuals who may be unable to access the work they’re qualified and capable to do.

Westbury FM has never believed that a blanket exclusion on people with convictions is a fair approach. As a Ban the Box employer, Westbury FM has an opportunity to demonstrate this, proactively supporting people with previous convictions with our open recruitment policy – a policy we’ve always had.

Fair and equal employment opportunities

Although Westbury FM have signed up to the Ban the Box campaign, the company has never used the criminal convictions tick box in its initial application forms and early recruitment stages.

We’ve always believed in, and demonstrated, equality and fairness of employment opportunities so it’s fitting for us to join and support this campaign.

Ultimately, we believe people deserve a fair chance, and that previous mistakes, including historical criminal convictions, do not necessarily stop a person contributing meaningfully to our workplace.

Assessment of applicant convictions later in the recruitment process

Rather than excluding people who may have convictions at the initial stage of application, Westbury assesses an individual on their merits to do the specific job they’re applying for.

Qualifications, experience and, crucially, the right attitude to do the work to our high standards, have always been our priority in recruitment.

And, as the Ban the Box campaign stipulates, we only ask the question regarding past convictions later in the recruitment process, assessing any convictions, and associated risks, against the applicants’ ability to do the job.

Ban the Box employers’ commitment

As a Ban the Box employer we commit to the campaign’s full list of requirements, to adhere to fair and non-discriminatory recruitment practices:

• To remove any tick box from job application forms that ask about criminal convictions
• Consider applicants’ skills, experience and ability to do the job BEFORE asking about criminal convictions
• Review our employment processes to ensure that when a candidate discloses a criminal conviction, they are given a full opportunity to explain the situation 
• Ensure that the circumstances of any conviction are fairly assessed against their relevance to and risk within the role before a decision is made

Proud to be a progressive employer

In providing meaningful employment, career progression and security, we’re proud to be a progressive employer and help people with previous convictions access the work and long-term careers that support them, their families and communities.

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From a broken computer to a burst pipe to a pothole in the carpark. These, seemingly small, issues cause complication and disruption, even discomfort. Given an employees’ work may already be challenging, added issues can just pile on the stress. Despite the fact these issues are usually completely out of employees’ control and not in their remit to fix. 

Stress and anxiety leading causes of work absences

Despite 73% of UK businesses believing staff wellbeing is important and should be high on the agenda, only 45% of employees have seen evidence of employer efforts to address wellbeing. In 2022 alone, workplace stress and anxiety resulted in the loss of 17 million working days. 

Productivity, morale and profit are all negatively affected by workplace stress, and as more senior management teams become aware of this, they are starting to look more closely at what can be done to keep their working environments as calm and stress-free as possible for workers.

Communication as important as fixing issues

As a facilities management services provider, we know how important effective communication is for getting issues and problems resolved. Bureaucracy, or poor communication, can often compound the negative impact of a workplace issue and delay a positive resolution.

If a staff member knows, when they report a broken desk, for example, it won’t be addressed for weeks on end, it’s immediately a frustrating and negative situation. Not only do they have to work at the broken desk, but they may feel stressed about not knowing when it will be fixed, if ever. The perceived lack of concern by their employer only exacerbates the stress. 

Well-maintained environments support staff

If staff know there is a clear process in place for workplace maintenance and fixes, including roles and responsibilities assigned, they’re more likely to feel safer and supported in their work.

While the break-fix approach is unavoidable for unforeseen circumstances, where workplaces are organised in their maintenance of a clean, tidy and safe environment, many issues are resolved before they become disruptive. There’s a checking and maintenance system to rely on, and an instilled pride in the workplace that gives the message, to customers and workforce alike, ‘we care about our environment, staff and how we operate’. 

Facilities management embeds a culture of responsibility

Comprehensive, business-focused facilities management services that take care of the working environment go a long way to minimise workplace stress. It’s not only about fixing issues, although with responsive FM services these are rapidly attended to, facilities management embeds a culture of responsibility through its effective monitoring, oversight and ability to respond with remedial action. 

Particularly where there’s a programme of planned preventative maintenance (PPM), based on thorough assessments, workplace functions and operation are taken care of. Whether it’s checking all workplace signage is in place, carparks and communal areas tidy and clear, AC and heating units working properly, PPM lifts the responsibility away from busy managers and creates a failsafe system for ensuring a high-quality working environment – also delivering reassurance and peace of mind.

Creating calm over chaos

The implications for improved health, safety and staff wellbeing of a well-organised, maintained workplace are undisputed. Still 79% of UK workers report they feel stressed at least once a month, inspiring many offices to do more. 

Calm spaces, free of clutter, rooms for meditation and ‘chill-out’ zones are increasingly provided by forward-thinking businesses who realise the benefits of a stress-free environment for their workforce and where productivity, motivation and innovation are all enhanced.

FM services – responsive and planned – supports and cares

Westbury FM supports businesses and organisations to directly improve employees’ wellbeing through better work environments. 

Responsive 24/7 with an experienced customer care team who understand each business’s operation, full system and service reporting through our purpose-built app and a wealth of responsive and planned services by a highly trained team, helps staff and managers be fully supported. 

Whether you want to create spaces of calm for employees or just ensure your offices and working environment are the most organised, healthy and employee-friendly they can be, we can help, and eradicate workplace stress for your workforce.   

“We have clients who report back to say how much less stressed they are knowing we’re taking care of their working environment.” – Sonia Murton, MD

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But there are plenty of ways to prepare for the change in season and climate. Adjusting priorities and making time to review, particularly before the warm months end, is useful. As is putting a focus on the business-critical issues for the summer. 

Here are our tips for preparing and prioritising when it comes to premises, grounds, buildings and utilities before the summer gets into full swing.

Check outdoor public and green spaces

Particularly if you’re in hospitality or retail, or if you have offices with visitors coming and going or gardens for employees, now is the time to prioritise your outdoor areas for signs of winter wear and neglect. 

Cutting grassed areas and verges, clearing weeds and waste, pruning and checking that signage looks the best it can are all good uses of resource. Schedule regular attention to these areas at this time of year when employees and customers alike spend more time, and have a focus on, outside. All these areas are business-facing and there are substantial reputational and wellbeing benefits associated with pleasant green spaces, and even just those carpark and other drive-through areas.   

Inspect heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) 

Daily temperatures are about to reach their peak so it’s a good idea to check HVAC systems are working at optimum efficiency. It sounds obvious, but during busy times it’s easy to overlook and assume everything is working as it should. 

The last thing you want is a failure of vital refrigeration facilities or ineffective AC in stuffy offices over the summer months. If, on inspection, maintenance is required, this can be carried out in good time and ensures you’re fully prepared.   

Address pest control issues

Certain pests are more active and prevalent in the warmer months. If there is winter damage to the property, it might not be as a pest-proof as it was and need attention to remain safely sealed to any unwanted intruders. 

Remember, pests are a hazard to health and safety – be prepared for any summer influx of pests, particularly if you’ve suffered from these issues in the past.

Outdoor repairs, décor and maintenance

As summer comes into view there are a few aspects of business premises maintenance that are good to have on the radar. One is recognising that this warmer period follows a long, hard winter and extremely wet spring – depending on where you’re located.   

Winter takes its toll on door and window frames, garden furniture, roofs, guttering and fascias. Take an objective look and inspect that no additional maintenance is required. Does the paintwork look tired? Could the garden chairs and tables benefit from a fresh coat of paint? 

Take the time to ‘spruce up’ and repair the outward façade of your premises so it looks the most inviting it can during peak season. As well as the unseen areas of roofs and gutters that may have suffered pooling water or blockages.

Review and plan ahead

Prevention is always better than cure and although there will usually be occasional discreet works required for unplanned issues, where planned, preventative measures can be put in place for regular FM tasks it’s advisable to do so. 

While summer tasks remain a priority during summer, it’s also the most ideal time to look ahead to the colder seasons. The autumn and winter programme of maintenance are ideally put in place and allocated resource beforehand, so it means this falls into summer’s remit too. 

Are you prepared for the summer’s facilities management?

Our tips aren’t exhaustive. Depending on your business, there may be other areas that could benefit from a summer check. If you need help to stay ahead with vital FM services, a programme of planned, preventative maintenance will help. 

We’re happy to advise you on facilities management and the best programme of planned, preventative maintenance, as well as discreet services. Please get in touch.

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