Gone are the days of carrying round huge text and reference books during study time or learning on the job. This was never practical, particularly in a construction environment, books aren't water or mud proof! Now you can even ditch the clipboard and have everything you need to organise your life on your pocket sized smartphone (waterproof case optional). Apps aren't just about crushing candy and angry birds, they can be really useful in the work environment too.

Many growing businesses find themselves running out of space in the office faster than they ever would have thought. If you work in or own a growing business, you'll know exactly what we mean! Before you know it meeting rooms are used for desk space, and the microwave's balanced on top of the printer. When the office is feeling overcrowded, it's good to get out. Staff can get irritable when they're working on top of each other, and it's certainly no place to bring clients to. Lastly, it can be far too easy to neglect meeting and training sessions when you don't have the space for them; so what's the solution?

Maybe you always wanted to be a labourer, or maybe you just landed up in the trade? Whatever your reasons for ending up on site, if you love what you do but just wish you had a little more responsibility and a little bit more money at the end of the month, then it's time to start thinking about ways you can progress.

Good question! In the summer of 2014, changes were made to the Construction Skills Certification Scheme. The changes introduced a new range of cards to the scheme, and the green card became the Labourer CSCS card.

NEBOSH is a well-known organisation in the Health and Safety and Construction trades. The National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health have just celebrated awarding their 175,000th General Certificate, which is a qualification that is much desired by employers.

If you're in a professional position such as Site Management, working as a Surveyor or in a Supervisory role, you'll be well aware of the importance of being aware of your own Continuing Professional Development to make sure that you're on top of your game. Each company tackles staff development and appraisal in its own way, but sooner or later we all have to take stock of our skills and make sure we're still working safely and are aware of legislation changes, especially those of us working in an ever-evolving industry like construction.

With so many different options for training and personal development, and undoubtedly some less than professional "training" websites and resources out there, finding the right certification to lead to certain career progression can be a minefield.

Even though asbestos was a building material of the last century and awareness has been raised of its danger to workers, it still haunts us every day. There are still many schools, office buildings, homes and hospitals that have asbestos within the building and when it becomes damaged it can be a hazard to anyone in the vicinity.

The construction trade creates a unique, multi-teamwork status that's hard to find in other industries. Any building project or renovation will command a vast array of trades to work together as part of a wider team. Construction is one of the only industries where sub-contracting is consistent and necessary; and with this trend comes its own set of benefits and challenges.