CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF THE PRODUCTION OF THE BUILT ENVIRONMENT (ProBE)
DATE: Friday 20 May 2011, 10.00am – 17.30pm
VENUE: University of Westminster, Room M421, 35 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5LS
(Opposite Madame Tussaud’s and nearly opposite Baker Street tube station)
For a full programme, see attached or: http://www.westminster.ac.uk/about/news-and-events/events/2011/centre-for-the-study-of-the-production-of-the-built-environment-probe-symposium-and-launch
To reserve a place please contact: Amanda Willmott willmoa@westminster.a! c.uk or 020 7911 5000 ext. 2702 For further information please contact: Colin Gleeson: (020 7911 5000 ext. 3403); or Linda Clarke: (ext. 3158)
ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM The not-to-be-missed symposium offers the opportunity for an informed, critical, open and international discussion on an integrated system with a range of professiona! ls, employers, employees, trade unionists, academics, researchers and all those interested to participate. It is an old subject, but one which does not go away and is becoming ever more urgent, and we hope that the outcomes of our discussions can inform policy and challenge the current unsatisfactory system.
The symposium presents an international perspective on the subject with leading speakers from as far away as Melbourne (Paolo Tombesi), Sri Lanka (Milinda Pathiraja), the Netherlands (Anneke Westerhuis), Denmark (Roger Taylor) and Rome (Riccardo Vannocci), as well as from Britain – including Tony Burke (Univ. Westminster), Tim Fenn (P3Eco & ECO2H2O), Fran Bradshaw (Anne Thorne Architects), Tom Hardacre (former Unite official) and Don Ward of Constructing Excellence. It is organised in association with the European Institute for Construction Labour Research and also provides an opportunity to formally launch ProBE to the outs! ide world.
The day is organised around three key problem areas:
· An industry wide and permeable VET system: In Britain, education and training for different manual occupations has become narrower, with limited possibilities for career progression. In contrast, in other leading European countries, such as Denmark and the Netherlands, VET is based on the principle of broad occupations and a restricted number of professions. Theme 1 will focus on education, providing examples of more integrated systems, including in Australia.
· Cooperation and conflict between built environment occupations: There exist perennial problems associated with the range of different construction trades and professions and overlaps between them. These have wide-reaching implications, both for the education system and on site. Theme 2 will identify and illustrate some, from the perspectives of an educationalist, an architect, and a builder.
· An integrated practice for construction: There are alternative ways of approaching and integrating design and practice, despite all the difficulties of communication (especially given contractual relations). These have implications for the education system and for relations between a) professionals and labour and b) the different trades, which will be explored in this session.
The symposium will conclude with a platform discussion, intended to bring the different themes together. This will be followed by the formal launch of ProBE.
ABOUT ProBE
ProBE (Centre for the Study of the Production of the Built Environment) is ideally placed to organise this symposium, being a joint research centre between Westminster Business School (WBS) and the School of Architecture and the Built Environment (ABE), one committed to the development of a rich programme of research and related activities, including projects, oral history, film, exhibitions, and seminars. ProBE provides a research hub, a forum for debate and discussion, and a focus for interdisciplinary and international activity related to the production of the built environment, as a social process, and its members have long experience of research on VET in the construction industry in Britain and abroad.
Fri 20 May 2011, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
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Created 10th May 2011
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