Guides
Smart glasses for electricians: where do they actually help?
A head-mounted camera can help someone else see what you see. You can talk through a fault without holding the camera. The useful bits are narrower than the adverts suggest.
Topic
Hiring and apprentices
News
Specialist Upskilling Fund: CITB picks who will back training for your trade
CITB has picked one organisation per specialism, from roofing and dry lining to heritage and tunnelling, to support specialist training and NVQs. Courses, costs and start dates are still to be published.
News
Subcontractor pay rates: plumbing leads as self-employed earnings hit a record, Construction Enquirer reports
Construction Enquirer says self-employed tradespeople in England and Wales averaged a record £1,110 a week in Hudson Contract's figures. What that means for the labour line in your quotes, and what it can't tell you.
News
Construction college network launched: it's not just for new recruits
Construction Management reports a Leeds-led network prioritising bricklaying, carpentry, roofing and electrical work. Existing workers are included in the plans, but the report gives no course availability or enrolment details.
News
West Midlands skills academy deal announced, but no opening date given
Employers are meant to help shape local training under the CITB agreement. There is no published course offer or route for businesses to take part yet.
Explained
Will AI replace electricians? The tools take on tasks, not responsibility
Machines drill planned holes. Apps record test readings. Automating those tasks does not mean taking over the completed installation or your responsibility for it.
Explained
Will AI replace plumbers? The headline isn't a forecast for your job
The biggest job-loss headlines count different things. The original papers tell you more about plumbing than the headlines do, but none gives you a reliable forecast for your own job.
News
FIR training app rolls out UK-wide with modules in Polish and Punjabi
The Supply Chain School App offers short modules on Fairness, Inclusion and Respect in languages including Polish and Punjabi. CITB confirms a UK rollout, but does not publish a price or full access terms.
News
Sexual harassment law: Acas warns you could be liable for customer harassment
Acas says prepare now for a stronger sexual harassment prevention duty and a separate change covering harassment by customers and other third parties. Both changes are announced for 30 October 2026.
News
Gas Safe Register check: HSE warns after business sent an unregistered installer
HSE's cases include a fake Gas Safe logo and an unregistered installer sent by a contracted business. If you subcontract gas work, check the person, not just the advertising.
News
Employment tribunal delays hit 70,000 open cases: what that can't tell you
Individual claims are arriving faster than the tribunals can finish them, and the open caseload is the highest the Ministry of Justice has recorded. If your business has a claim open, budget for a wait. The count cannot tell you how long yours will take.
Guides
Smart glasses for construction workers: what UK sites allow, what the kit does and where it lets you down
When your people work on someone else's site, the principal contractor gets a say before the supplier does. The useful jobs are specific, and permission comes before the kit.