With less than a year before the first wave of students begin to take the Construction and Built Environment (C&BE) Diploma UCAS, the body responsible for deciding the points system used to report achievement for entry to higher education, announced the C&BE Diploma would be worth as much as 3.5 A-levels, providing a wake up call to the employers yet to engage with the new qualification. Schools Minister Jim Knight accepted the recommendation that the new Diplomas should be judged equivalent to 5 GCSEs grade A*-G at the foundation level, 7 GCSEs grade A*-C at the higher level and 3.5 A Levels grade A*- E at the advanced level in the achievement and attainment tables. Jim Knight went on to confirm an investment of a further £45 million in teacher training to support the roll out of Diplomas in 2008/09. He also announced details of £28 million cash funding for Diplomas in 08/09, meaning schools and colleges teaching Diplomas to 14-16 year olds will receive around an extra £1,000 per Diploma student. This funding is on top of the cash already invested in the system for 14-19 education over the next 3 years, which includes£110 million so that 14-16 year olds can get hands-on practical experience in schools, colleges and the workplace and£15 million to ensure joint working between schools and colleges. Nearly 4,000 pupils are set to take the C&BE Diploma from September 2008. It offers employers in the sector a real opportunity to help inform the education of young people and shape the skills of the future workforce but greater numbers are needed to offer work experience, teaching support or site visits to give students an insight into industry. A large number of employers are already involved including Wates, Balfour Beatty, Lovell, G&J Seddon, CB&I, Kier Group and Bovis Lend Lease, but many more are yet to fully engage. Today's announcement should change that. Schools Minister Jim Knight said: “Diplomas are the first qualification to be developed with such a high level of input from employers and universities. QCA and UCAS are confirming these are rigorous and challenging qualifications. Pupils can now be confident they will study valuable, first class qualifications when they take a Diploma, and universities and colleges can be assured of their quality. We have reached another important milestone in delivering the Diplomas, with the opportunity to combine theoretical and practical options that brings. “ Nick Gooderson, Head of Standards and Qualifications, ConstructionSkills said: “Since September 2005 we have worked closely with industry, Government and education providers to develop the C&BE Diploma. We have made good progress with employers to make sure that they don't miss out on this opportunity to get involved with shaping and delivering the new qualification, but the QCA and UCAS announcements provides tangible evidence that this is a heavyweight qualification offering real value to industry in terms of training the future workforce.” Chris Simpson, Training Manager, Wates, said: “Here at Wates we are passionate about the continuing development of the construction and built environment industries, and fully support initiatives like the Diploma, which can only serve to improve perceptions and people. Changing the image, and content of young people's introductions to our thriving sectors are key to ensuring a larger, better prepared pool of recruits for employers like ourselves to build Britain's future.” The Construction & Built Environment Diploma has been developed in consultation with industry to ensure it reflect the needs of employers. It combines practical skill development with theoretical and technical knowledge, taught by people with relevant industry knowledge. It will give young people the opportunity to gain real hands on experience, previously unavailable through traditional education methods. The new Diploma will require young people to demonstrate numeracy and literacy, but also ability in a number of important practical issues relevant to the construction and built environment sector such as health and safety, sustainability, work based practical learning, and the impact of the built environment on the Community. The Diploma will teach students about professions such as architecture, civil engineering and building services, the regulatory framework, design processes, and the enterprise and management challenges which construction poses. Following the announcements Chris Meunier, Director of Curriculum Development, ThamesValleyUniversity said: 'The Reading area has long been at the forefront of work-related construction learning, and we have looked forward to the Diploma as a great way to bring all of this experience together. The strength of the qualification for this area lies in the design- with employers, for employers, ensuring work-ready young people. We hope to engage students deeper in learning, by allowing them to experience all areas of the UK's biggest industry.' Employers are being urged to find out more about getting involved by visiting www.cbediploma.co.uk or through requesting a copy of the new Welcome Pack. To register your interest in supporting the delivery of the C&BE Diploma contact Jenny English on jenny.english@cskills.org or lourdes.goodman@cskills.org - ENDS - Notes to Editors:

Case studies highlighting employers already involved in supporting the Diploma are available on request 1) £45 million will be spent on teacher training in support of the first 10 Diploma lines. Five Diploma lines will be available from September 2008, they are: * Society, health & development * IT * Construction & the built environment * Creative media * Engineering And five more Diploma lines will be available from September 2009, they are: * Business, administration and finance * Hair & beauty * Hospitality * Environmental & land based studies * Manufacturing & product design 2) UCAS have confirmed that the Advanced Diploma will be awarded a maximum 420 Tariff points - the same number awarded for 3.5 A Levels. The UCAS Tariff is a points system used to report achievement for entry to higher education (HE) in a numerical format. It establishes agreed comparability between different types of qualifications and provides comparisons between applicants with different types and volumes of achievement. The Tariff works in the following ways: • Points can be aggregated from the different qualifications included in the Tariff. • There is no ceiling to the number of points which can be accumulated. • There is no double counting - applicants cannot count the same or similar qualifications twice • Achievement at a lower level will be subsumed into the higher level, ie, AS points will be subsumed into the A level points for the same subject. The same principle applies to Scottish Highers and Advanced Highers, VCE A levels and Double Awards, Key Skills and Music awards at different levels or grades. • All certificated Key Skills in Application of Number, Communication and IT will attract points whether achieved through proxy or not. Please contact Byron Price at UCAS on 01242 544 987 for media enquiries. About the C&BE Diploma – www.cbediploma.co.uk  The C&BE Diploma is being developed by the Diploma Development Partnership. ConstructionSkills are the lead DDP which includes five Sector Skills Councils and ECITB, as well as employers and education institutions.  Construction and the Built Environment is among the first sectors to launch a Diploma. It will be available in approved schools from 2008 and will help lay the foundations for the future of the industry.  The Diploma combines practical skill development with theoretical and technical knowledge within the context of construction and the built environment § It will comprise elements of current qualifications, such as numeracy and literacy, supplemented by sector specific content including: - Health and safety - Sustainability - Work-based practical learning - The impact of the built environment on the community - Professions such as architecture, civil engineering, building services - The regulatory framework - Design processes - Enterprise and management challenges involved in construction  Diplomas offer quality, broader qualification equivalent to GCSEs and A-Levels.  They provide the building blocks into other qualifications and industry – from apprenticeships and degrees to entry-level jobs. The C&BE Diploma Development Partnership (DDP) are: - ConstructionSkills (representing the construction industry from craft through to professional occupations across the UK) - Summit Skills (representing building services engineering, electrotechnical, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, refrigeration and plumbing) - Asset Skills (representing the property, housing, facilities management and cleaning services sectors ) - Proskills (representing manufacturing including coatings, extractives, building products, glass and print) - Energy & Utility skills (representing electricity, gas, waste management and water) - ECITB (overseeing the industry's role in designing, constructing and maintaining process plants for the oil, gas, water, environmental, food, power generation, pharmaceutical and chemical industries)

For further information please contact:

Andrew Mabey Tel: 020 7367 9807 Email: andrew.mabey@cskills.org