The Minister for Employment and Learning, Dr Stephen Farry, has announced the appointment of three new Board members to CITB-ConstructionSkills NI.

CITB-ConstructionSkills NI is the only remaining statutory training board in Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to encourage the training of those employed or intending to be employed in the construction industry in Northern Ireland.

The following appointments take effect from 1 January 2013 for a period of three years:

Ciaran Brolly has been appointed as an employee representative. He is currently employed as the manager of UCATT's (Union of Construction, Allied Trades and Technicians) "Building Learning" project in Northern Ireland (NI), which seeks to address the issues of upskilling in the construction industry. He is an employee member of the Joint Council for the Building and Civil Engineering Industry in NI, a member of the Branch Officers and Shop Stewards Committee of UCATT in NI, and a member of the Steering Committee of the "Qualifying the Existing Workforce" project which is being led by CITB/Construction Skills (NI). Mr Brolly is a former member of the Board of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, and of its Audit Committee, and was also Head of the Department of Continuing Education and The Arts in the North-West Regional College. Mr. Brolly will bring significant employee experience and knowledge to the CITB, including a keen awareness of and experience in upskilling and workforce quality issues.

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Maire Nawaz has been appointed as an employer representative. She is employed with the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) since January 2006, currently as Northern Ireland Director. The FMB is an independent and non-profit making organization with a membership of approximately 400 in NI and is the UK’s largest trade association within the building sector. Members are typically small construction companies employing up to 10 workers. Mrs Nawaz served as a co-opted member of the Board of CITB-Construction Skills from October 2011 to April 2012. Mrs Nawaz will bring strong enthusiasm and commitment to skills and quality improvement from the perspective of a representative body dealing mainly with smaller employers.

Bryan Vaughan has been appointed as an employer representative. He is Company Managing Director (since 1992) of the Vaughan Homes Group and has been Group Director since 1995. Mr Vaughan serves on a range of construction industry committees including the Construction Employers Federation (CEF) Private Housing Committee, the CEF Council, the National House Building Council (NHBC) NI Regional Committee and the NHBC NI Technical Committee, and is a past member of the NHBC National Council. Mr Vaughan would bring a wealth of direct experience and knowledge of specific and contextual issues for the construction industry and as an employer of more than 350 employees would be a very valuable addition to the Board, with a demonstrable commitment to improving skills and quality.

(CD)