Website to link firms and job seekers

Exclusive by Tim Wood



Contractors and consultants are being urged to 'sign up or lose out' when a new user-friendly website is launched by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) in October.

So far a dozen contractors, including Balfour Beatty, Costain and Mowlem, and seven consultants such as Mace, Ove Arup and Buro Happold, have signed up to designajob.co.uk from the 40 companies approached earlier this year.

The website, run by the CITB as part of a joint initiative with online solutions company GTI, offers companies a chance to put information on the work they do, opportunities for work placements or full-time positions, or whether they offer sponsorship on a site, which graduates or school leavers can log onto.

Marike Koppenol, the site's project manager, said: "This is an information site that will save graduates time when looking for a job or work experience.

"They can log in to one particular area of industry and find all they need at a click of a button without having to pay.

"Companies can advertise and should be able to fill vacancies easier. It's a two-way thing that should pull together both firms and job seekers to the benefit of the industry."

In the run up to the site's launch during National Construction Week, architects, quantity surveyors, local authorities, clients, and town planners will also be urged to sign up to the website.