UK Construction Market Update - November

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry October 2015 and new orders Q3 2015 figures. Output increased by 0.2% in October compared to September 2015, with all new work increasing by 1.2% and repair and maintenance decreasing by 1.5%.

New orders were estimated to have increased by 0.8% compared with Q2 2015, but showed no growth when compared with Q3 2014.

Asbestos Awareness Training

Construct Recruitment are proud to announce we now offer online Asbestos Awareness training, approved by RoSPA and IATP.

The 30 minute course teaches you all about the appropriate control measures, risk assessments and emergency procedures.

It's suitable for all employees rat risk from exposure, and will help you comply with the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 - Anyone who may come into contact with asbestos fibres at work must be given adequate information, instruction and training.

UK Construction Market Update - October

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry September and Q3 2015 figures, showing that in Q3 2015, output was estimated to have decreased by 2.2% compared with Q2 2015 and between Q3 2015 and Q3 2014 estimated output decreased by 0.1%.

In September 2015 estimated construction output decreased by 0.2% compared with August 2015 due to a fall in all new work of 2.4%, offset by an increase in repair and maintenance of 3.8%

Mapping Your Overseas Qualification to a UK Equivalent

If you are looking to get a CSCS Blue Skilled card for Carpentry or most other building trades, you will need to use UK NARIC to map across your Australian / New Zealand trade qualification to a UK Equivalent.

The UK NARIC Statement of Comparability is a document that can be used to guide universities, colleges, employers and professional bodies on how your qualifications from back home relate to UK qualifications and certificates.

It is not a compulsory document, but is specifically requested by CSCS, and in general, the document can be of great help when applying for work or study in the UK.

Winners of our RWC Competition

This years we gave all Rugby World Cup prediction gurus three chances to win RWC jerseys by winning out SuperBru league. The winners were...

In 1st place... Jamahl Beri (pictured right)

In 2nd place... Dan Fraser

In 3rd place... Chris Scarlett

Well done to everyone that took part, we hope you had fun!

UK Construction Market Update - September

The ONS have released figures for Output in the Construction Industry, August 2015, showing that output was estimated to have decreased by 4.3% compared with July 2015, and 1.3% compared with August 2014.

This is the first fall in output since May 2013. All work types decreased in August 2015 compared to July 2015, with new work decreasing by 3.6% and repair and maintenance decreasing by 5.6%.

Manual Handling Training

Construct Recruitment are proud to announce we now offer online Manual Handling training, approved by RoSPA.

The 35 minute course teaches you all you need to know about safe Moving and Handling, including lifting techniques, LITE, and why Manual Handling training is so important to your everyday health.

It's suitable for all employees, including staff and managers and fulfils your legal obligations to comply with the Manual Handling Operations Regulations (1992).

Changes to the CSCS Construction Related Occupations (CRO) Card.

From October 1st 2015, new measures will be introduced which will pave the way for the eventual withdrawal of the Construction Related Occupations (CRO) card.

CSCS have said their primary objective is to provide evidence that individuals working on construction sites have the required training and qualifications for the type of work they carry out.

CSCS Mock Test B: Health and Welfare

Section B of the 2015 CSCS Health, safety and environment revision book (for operatives) contains Health and Welfare questions.

Topics covered are:

• Health ad Welfare
• Personal protective equipment
• Dust and fumes (respiratory risks)
• Noise and vibration
• Hazardous substances
• Manual Handling

Before sitting your test you should be able to answer all questions in this section but here are 10 questions you can use to test yourself.

UK Construction Market Update - August

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry June 2015 and Quarter 2 figures. These show that in Q2 2015, output was estimated to have increased by 0.2% compared with Q1 2015. Also that between Q2 2015 and Q2 2014 estimated output increased by 2.4%.

This saw all new work increase by 1.0% for Q2 2015 driven by rises in Private New Housing of 3.9%, Infrastructure by 0.5% and Public Other New Work by 3.9%. For the year, output increased by 2.6% in June 2015 compared to June 2014

The World Rugby Rankings pre- RWC 2015

Rugby Championship heavyweights New Zealand, Australia and South Africa will go into RWC 2015 as the top three nations in the World Rugby Rankings. On the other end of the table, Namibia, Uruguay and Canada are ranked the lowest.

UK Construction Market Update - July

The Construction Products Association published its latest Construction Trade Survey for Q2 2015. The survey shows that most firms across construction reported growth for Q2 2015, making this the 9th consecutive quarter of growth for the construction industry. However contractors did not have it so good, with one in four reporting falling profit margins.

CSCS Mock Test A: Legal and Management

Section A of the 2015 CSCS Health, safety and environment revision book (for operatives) contains Legal and Management questions.

Topics covered are:

• General Responsibilities
• Accident reporting and recording
• Emergency procedures ad first aid

Before sitting your test you should be able to answer all questions in this section but here are 10 questions you can use to test yourself.

UK Construction Market Update - June

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry figures for May 2015. These show that in May 2015, output decreased by 1.3% compared with April 2015. With repair and maintenance decreasing by 1.0%, made up of falls in non- housing R&M of 1.9% and private housing R&M of 0.8%. These decreases are slightly offset by an increase in public housing R&M of 1.8%. New work also showed a decreased of 1.5%, with all types of new work except infrastructure, with the largest reported fall being total housing, decreasing by 5.8%.

National Minimum Wage Increased to £7.20 per hour

In today's budget, George Osborne announced a new National Living Wage, declaring that "Britain deserves a pay rise".

A new compulsory National Living Wage for working people aged 25 and over of £7.20 an hour will be introduced from April 2016, following a pre-announced rise to £6.70 in October 2015.

Where to Watch the Super 15 Final in London

 It's time for another Aussie Kiwi sporting clash as the Otago Highlanders take on the Wellington Hurricanes tomorrow in the Super 15 Final.

If you're looking for a place to watch the match in London, our friends at Kiws in London have a few suggestions for you!

• Chatsworth Acton - doors open 8am, £2.50 Steinlager Pures, £5 breakfasts or £3 bacon rolls 
• Bison and Bird - doors open at 8.30am, kitchen opens at 9am
• Jetlag Bar - in the city is a popular choice as well!

If you have any ideas, say so below in the comments or you can also look at MatchPint for ideas too!

London's Best Outdoor Screens to Watch the Wimbledon

If you've missed out on tickets and don't want to queue, here are 10 other places to watch the tennis outdoors...

UK Construction Market Update - May

The ONS have released a statement defending their UK construction output data. The statement says that ONS figures were ‘the biggest and best measure of the UK construction sector’. This follows criticism for accuracy of their data by construction economists last month, due to the ONS figures suggesting the construction sector entered recession at the start of 2015.

The Best Ways to Search for a Job

Here are a few tips to help you with your job search and help you and find that dream job!

• Check your network - many people get jobs through friends and friends of friends. Who do YOU know?
• Set up job alerts - trawling through websites can be exhausting. Get the websites to send you jobs when one you're interested in is advertised

UK Construction Market Update - April

The Construction Products Association have released their latest State of Trade Survey for Q1 2015. The survey indicates an 8th consecutive quarter of increasing sales for construction product manufacturers, with further growth anticipated for Q2 and further into 2015. This anticipated growth is supported by domestic demand, exports and a reduction in fuel and energy costs.

David Cameron's Government

Following the 2015 general election, David Cameron has formed his second ministry:

7 Things to Look for in a Recruitment Agency

When you're looking for a job, a recruitment agency can be your best friend. They take your CV, and they do the hard work for you. They match you with jobs, keep an eye out for new vacancies, and then organise interviews for you.

Yet you want to know that you're working with an agency that have your best interests at heart; an agency that want to help find the best role for you, as opposed to just trying to close a deal for commission as quickly as possible.

Election Promises on Housebuilding

We know we are not building enough houses – and, thank goodness, all the main political parties realise that too. This is how they plan to tackle it according to their manifestos:

UK Construction Market Update - March

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry figures for February 2015. Output in February 2015 was estimated to have decreased by 0.9% compared with January 2015, with all new work and repair and maintenance being the main contributors to the fall. When compared with February 2014 output in February 2015 showed a decrease of 1.3%. The ONS also report a decrease in output of 2.6% in January 2015 a fall of 3.1% year-on-year.

The Psychology of First Impressions

You'll have had this experience - you meet a new person and within moments you feel good or bad vibes about them. This is you performing "thin slicing" - deducing information about a person based on "tells", some more obvious than others.

Psychologists have studied this process in detail. For example, they've shown that we form a sense of whether a stranger is trustworthy in less than one tenth of a second. With some accuracy, we can also deduce rapidly more specific information such as their intelligence and sexual orientation.

This post delves into the science of first impressions:

CSCS Test Revision Material 2015

There are a range of revision materials available to help you revise and practice for the CSCS Health, Safety and Environment Test - we usually recommend you use the official CITB-ConstructionSkills revision book. This contains all the questions and answers for the 38 knowledge based questions in the CSCS test.

You should be able to find these in large book stores like W H Smith or you can easily buy them online on sites like Amazon. We also sell them at our CSCS test centre in Acton if that's easier.

Cricket World Cup 2015 - Aus

What an incredible Cricket World Cup the Aussies have seen so far! With the all Antipodean final on Sunday on home turf, here's the Aussie Cricket Teams' story so far:

Cricket World Cup 2015 - NZ

What an incredible Cricket World Cup the Kiwis have seen so far! With the all Antipodean final on Sunday, here's the Black Caps' story so far:

UK Construction Market Update - February

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry figures for January 2015 and new orders Q4 2014. These show that in January 2015 output in the construction industry decreased by 2.6% compared with December 2014, and compared with January 2014 output decreased by 3.1%, making this the first year-on-year decrease since May 2013.

The Beginners ABC's of Cricket

With the ICC Cricket World Cup well under way on home turf, it's time for us all to get Cricket Fever! For any newbies to the sport, here's a quick guide to cricket jargon and slang will make you sound like a seasoned cricket follower.

Anchor - A top order batsmen who can bat throughout the whole innings, often scoring slower than the other batsmen around him.

UK Construction Market Update - January

The ONS have released their Output in the Construction Industry figures for December and Q4 2014. These show that output was estimated to have increased by 0.4% in December 2014 when compared with November 2014. Output in December 2014 increased by 5.5% when compared with December 2013, making it the 19th monthly period of year-on-year growth.

Our Top 10 Seriously Weird Jobs

Bored of your job and wish you had something a bit more quirky? We've searched the web for some of the weirdest jobs around to either inspire or knock some sense in to you!

Some seem fun... but more are just downright wrong, so you'll either find your dream career in our list or it'll make you feel so much better about your job.

Join our Super15 League

With the biggest professional rugby union competition in the Southern Hemisphere kicking off on Friday the 13th, we thought we'd throw in a little more healthy competition for another year. Come join our league in SuperBru's Super 15 prediction game!

All you have to do is predict the results for each Super 15 match: the closer you are, the more points you'll earn and at the end the ultimate winner will be crowned.

It's free, it's fun and anyone (even you Highlander fans) can enter!

Just click here http://www.superbru.com/superrugby/pool.php?p=11359077 and register with your email address or Facebook account. Once you've registered, the quickest way is to just click on this link again and create your profile or you can find us using our pool code: hearhour

Let the games begin!

P.S. Go Chiefs!!!

The 9 Types Of Hangover

If you've done Aussie day right you should be experiencing at least 2 of these 9 types of hangover. Please read sensibly.

CAUSE: 4-6 pints/glasses of wine
SYMPTOMS: mild nausea, mental and physical slowness

This garden-variety hangover is usually the result of a 'quick one after work' that went on a bit longer than you'd intended, without things actually getting 'silly'. Like the common cold, it's not debilitating, but it does make performing the simplest of tasks around 30% more difficult and annoying.

Construction Market Activity 2014

In the final quarter of 2013, for the first time in 5 years, the construction industry saw growth over 3 consecutive quarters. This heralded the end of recession, and marked the beginning of growth for the construction industry. So what have been the highlights of 2014 so far? And what could 2015 hold?

UK Construction Market Update - December

The Glenigan Index has been published for January 2015, which covers the value of projects starting on site during the three months to December 2014. These figures show that the index is flat compared to a year ago, with a 14% fall in Civil engineering activity which is masking a 4% rise in non-residential starts. However the data also suggests the industry remains in a strong position going into 2015, due to a growth in project starts of 10% in 2014, matching pre-recession levels.

Kiwis in London Card Deals

You can now buy a Kiwis in London Card from the Construct office in Acton. Here are the deals you'll get with a KIL Card, for just £5 for the year: