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Category Archives: Collaboration in construction

World Engineering Day

World Engineering Day for Sustainable Development is celebrated on 4th March every year as a UNESCO international day of celebration of engineers and engineering. 

The day offers an opportunity to highlight engineers and engineering’s achievements in our modern world and improve public understanding of how engineering and technology are central to modern life and for sustainable development.  

The celebration of World Engineering Day is also about promoting engineering as a career and how it is an opportunity to change the world for better. 

“Engineers aren’t very good at articulating the value of engineering and the impact that engineers and engineering have on society. This is a wonderful opportunity to talk about these aspects and engage the community in the work of engineerssaid Dr. Marlene Kanga, the Past President of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations. 

World Engineering Day 2021

This year, the World Engineering Day (WED2021), with the theme “Engineering for A Healthy Planet – Celebrating the UNESCO Engineering Report”, will focus on celebrating the launch of the 2nd UNESCO Engineering Report “Engineering for Sustainable Development: Delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals”. 

The report, officially published on 4th March, highlights the crucial role of engineering in delivering the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, shows how inclusive and gender equitable engineering profession can bring about new perspectives and thus respond to the shortage of engineers, showcases of engineering innovations for implementation of the SDGs, analyses the progresses in and challenges in engineering education and capacity building, and summarizes the regional trends of engineering development. Finally, it gives recommendations for developing engineering for the SDGs, and calls for global cooperation with multiple stakeholders to promote development of engineering for the SDGs.   

Building a sustainable future at JCA

At JCA, we are building a positive sustainable business that contributes towards our community by creating environmental and social value, as well as contributing to the broader societies in which we work.

Energy efficiency

We are deeply involved in ensuring that sustainability is embedded in everything we do. We develop programmes to ensure our business, employees and supply chain are sustainably competent and are committed to ensure we meet and exceed legal and ethical requirements. Our teams are driven to continually improve sustainable performance through control / improvement programmes.

We believe in incorporating energy efficient technology into all our projects and can help decide what options will make a building sustainable, both environmentally and economically. We design and build with sustainability in mind, and create award-winning projects that are not only sustainable but also enhance the wellbeing of the people who work in them.

Technical talent

Engineering is an exciting, varied and rewarding career however there is a shortage of younger people applying for engineering courses and engineering jobs in the UK. One of the prime reasons for this is that many young people are unsure what engineering is and what engineers do. The growing skills gap in the engineering industry is a worry. 

In the February 2020 issue of the Facilities Management Journal, JCA discussed how we found, trained and motivated our staff to ensure continuation of services in the years to come. Offering an apprenticeship is only one of the ways to help fill the skills gaps, upskill and revitalise the workforce to ensure the business is future proof and future ready. Another issue is the continuing gender disparity in engineering. At JCA, we are working hard at supporting women in varied roles, including engineering, throughout the business. 

 


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This is Engineering Day

This is Engineering Day, taking place today on 4th November, is organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering to raise awareness of what engineers really do and celebrate those who are shaping the world we live in. This year the theme is #BeTheDifference

Engineering is a critical part of the UK economy, employing around 20 per cent of the total workforce and generating approximately 23 per cent of the UK’s total turnover. Yet according to Engineering UK, there is a considerable shortage of appropriately skilled workers in the engineering sector. In 2017, vacancies in construction went up to 27 per cent.  

Engineering is an exciting, varied and rewarding career however there is a shortage of younger people applying for engineering courses and engineering jobs in the UK. One of the prime reasons for this is that many young people are unsure what engineering is and what engineers do. This is Engineering campaign provides information by showing examples of real engineers and presenting a positive image of modern engineering 

At JCA, we are passionate about our people as we are about the creativity and imagination of our engineering. We support apprenticeships as they assist our talent strategy and allow us to recruit, retain and develop those who want to progress their careers and be equipped with skills for life. We also support diversity in engineering and encourage women to enter this exciting and fulfilling career path. In the February issue of Facilities Management Journal (FMJ), we shared JCA’s approach to tackling the skills gap in the engineering sector. 

 


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We support apprenticeships

At JCA we are passionate about what we do and the diversity of our people. We support apprenticeships as they assist our talent strategy and allow us to recruit, retain and develop those who want to progress their careers and be equipped with skills for life. We ensure that both the educational and work activities are planned well in advance for our apprentices, so that joining us is a great experience.  

Introducing apprentices to all areas of the business and ensuring that all expectations are achieved are vital in the first few months to continue with the development of our new employees. It is a momentous journey and a great opportunity so we heavily invest our time and resources to create the best possible outcomes for our apprentices.

Meet our apprentice

To celebrate this year’s National Apprenticeships Week, we caught up with Jack Kemp, our Building Services Apprentice to find out why he decided to start an apprenticeship and how he’s been enjoying it so far. Jack works at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, one of JCA’s resident maintenance sites in London. The estate includes the main site at Fulham Road as well as several smaller clinics in the area. Service provision includes planned preventive, reactive and building maintenance, external areas maintenance, energy and utility maintenance, fire safety systems and procedures, the estate’s emergency and contingency planning, and statutory testing and is delivered by a team of around 30 engineers.

Jack, what made you want to start an apprenticeship in the first place? I wanted to do an engineering apprenticeship because I think this is the best way to get into an interesting line of work.

And why did you decide to choose JCA? I had an opportunity to speak to some of the company’s senior management and expressed an interest in engineering. They told me about JCA and the things they do and suggested that I come to JCA and have an interview with the team to see if this was something I wanted to pursue.

What was JCA’s communication like prior to you starting your apprenticeship?  JCA has been incredible right from the start, keeping me in the loop about what my course was and how it was developing. Emma Lee, our Organisational Development Lead, was particularly amazing, doing an incredible amount of work to get everything flowing smoothly.

How is the structure for your college learning so far? My college course so far has covered such a wide range of subjects from soldering tiny PCB boards to turning intricate parts on a lathe. I am currently doing a series of assessed tasks, now building up to my L2 Mechatronics qualification which I will have completed in June.

How did you enjoy the onsite experience at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital before starting the college course? Being at Chelsea & Westminster Hospital before starting college set me up for the things I was going to be learning. Before working at JCA, I had no real knowledge and understanding of the things that go into engineering.  Everyone on site was extremely helpful explaining how things worked and showing me around the hospital.

And finally, how is the first year of college going? My first year of college is going extremely well. All my teachers are fantastic, ranging from an ex Formula 1 mechanics to a former aerospace electronics engineer. The facilities at Oaklands College are amazing. In my first couple of months I have learnt how to create a piece on CAD, which then I used a 3D printer to bring it to life. 

 

If you are interested in becoming an engineering apprentice or would like more information on the apprenticeships scheme, get in touch with us – careers@jca.co.uk

For current vacancies and opportunities, including apprenticeships, please visit our Careers page.

For more information about JCA and our services, head over to Our services section.

To find out more about apprenticeships, visit the government’s website – Apprenticeships.

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