Advancing the Cause of MMC with Smarter Advocacy and Promotion
As a partner of Skillnet MMC Accelerate, the CIF’s Smart Off-Site Association (SOSA) represents members keen to keep MMC upskilling high on the industry’s agenda.
Please Review the CIF SOSA reports:
MMC Report.pdf
Defining-MMC-Business.pdf
SOSA-Capacity-Survey-2024L.pdf
A relatively new addition to the CIF’s range of constituent associations representing various sub-sectors of the construction industry, SOSA was set up to foster the burgeoning off-site manufacturing sector and represents 2D panellised and 3D volumetric manufacturers. The primary objective of the Association is to promote the use of off-site manufacturing in the built environment and support the interests of its members to the benefit of society as a whole.
Further, SOSA aims to assist and work with Government to establish policy that fosters the entrepreneurial and innovative culture that exists and create a national environment that awards constant improvement in the sector. It also supports the development of regional clusters that drives the development of local communities through the sustainable provision of employment and career opportunities in regional areas.
Denise Tuffy, SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF, says the new Skillnet MMC Accelerate platform should act as a useful central resource.
It will help to promote skills in the industry and allow the various partners to come together so they are all aligned.
SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF
She says that the series of roadshows organised to date have also helped serve this purpose.
Anything that gets the benefits of off-site out there, increases the public’s understanding and boosts the education side, both for the industry and the public as a whole, will benefit our members in many ways.
SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF
Some SOSA members are already taking the initiative to partner with academic institutions to develop traineeships and /or take advantage of programmes that that are in existence to upskill their own staff. Examples of these opportunities under way involve SOSA members Vision Built and CPAC, both of whom are putting their staff through training with (respectively) Laois & Offaly Education and Training Board and the Atlantic Technological University.
These training opportunities help attract and retain talent while filling specific role and knowledge needs within the companies. In relation to timber in construction, a current gap in the market is the training in the use of timber by professionals, which curtails its use. This remains an issue, and members of SOSA are keen to see this area advance.
SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF
Many manufacturers that have been in existence for decades at this point have developed their own in-house training that has been already gone through continuous development, resulting in top class Irish products entering the market. The awareness of what these companies are doing will be a major benefit of the programme and will hopefully attract further talent as these companies continue to grow.
A major part for the programme is the onsite element – where manufacturing meets construction. With the right support, teamed with an appetite from industry, upskilling in these areas will become the norm as traditional construction embraces new ways of working.
Nevertheless, anything that can be done to make upskilling in Modern Methods of Construction (MMC) as easy as possible to access is a step forward. A prominent weak spot currently, in terms of upskilling, is a gap in senior management skills to lead the industry.
This is where the decisions are made, and if there isn’t an awareness at that level it makes it hard if not impossible for MMC to be incorporated into projects efficiently.
SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF
Nevertheless, with time she believes there will be a much greater adoption of all types of off-site construction. It is the natural evolution of the building sector that will increase the productivity of the sector. She says that speed is the main benefit of off-site construction, and therefore as the need for speed takes precedence, it will up the ante on MMC training.
It’s a learning curve for the whole industry right now. But, once we get past that curve, I believe there will be more widespread adoption of all types of MMC practices.
SOSA Secretary and Specialist Contracting Director at the CIF