CITB Funds FE Construction Tutors to be Mental Health First Aiders

CITB IS INVESTING £90,000 to fund a pilot scheme which will train further education construction tutors to be Mental Health First Aiders so they can support construction apprentices.

Training for instructors and apprentices will start this month. The tutors will be trained by Optima UK Ltd and apprentices will be given mental health awareness training in four-hour sessions. One-to-one support will also be provided.

There will be 29 courses for 16 delegates each delivered by trainers accredited by Mental Health First Aid England to colleges across the UK. In the space of a year, 464 tutors and 464 apprentices will be trained as part of the pilot project and 100 apprentices will be offered one-to-one support.

The investment comes after a study compiled by the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity and CITB, highlighted the toll poor mental health is taking on construction workers. Research showed 26% of those surveyed had experienced suicidal thoughts and 91% felt overwhelmed. Tragically, two construction workers take their own lives each day.

CITB CEO Tim Balcon, said: “We need to make sure everyone is at ease talking about their mental health and this comes down to a culture of making it OK to speak up… giving apprentices the confidence to do that from day one will hopefully make them feel supported in the industry. When staff are supported and happy in their work, in my view, they will stay in the industry longer.”

Taking Action

At scaffolding firm CASS UK, a culture of mental health support proved helpful in giving two staff members the confidence to come to the aid of a vulnerable person they realised had climbed up on scaffolding on a site they were working on in Exeter.

Karl and Kieran (pictured) were quickly aware that something was not as it should be when they saw someone trying to climb the scaffold.

They stopped what they were doing and took the time to speak to this individual who was obviously troubled. They managed to talk him down and stayed with him until help arrived.

Kieran said, “We knew that what we were seeing wasn’t normal, and there was no doubt that we wanted to help this young man. We didn’t see it as being an act of kindness or wanted any credit for what we did, we just didn’t want this person to do anything that we could stop or help with.”

Karl added, “We are aware of the rise in mental health [issues], especially in the construction industry and we wouldn’t hesitate to help anyone again in this situation.”

The UK-wide pilot scheme will aim to understand how mental health education and support can contribute to improved retention for individuals during their apprenticeship in construction, as well as reducing their likelihood of experiencing mental health issues.

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