Building technicians, draughtsmen to acquire license to operate

The National Board of Control for Building Design, Technicians and Draughtsmen has begun an exercise to register and categorise members for licensure.

From September 2017, it shall be an offence to practice in the country as a building technician, technologists or a draughtsman without a license.

The board is under the auspices of the Architects Registration Council (ARC) and the Ministry of Water Resource Works and Housing (MWRWH).

At an introductory workshop held by the council to announce the registration process, the Registrar of the ARC, Arc. Stella N.D. Arthiabah, disclosed that the formation of the board was at the request of the Ghana Institute of Architects and the Association of Building Technicians. “With the help of the Ministry of Water Resource Works and Housing the Board has been set up with the aim of ensuring professionalism in the delivery of technical services within the built environment professions” she stated.

Importance

Mrs Arthiabah observed that in the light of challenges being faced in the construction sector such as the collapse of buildings country, it had become imperative on the council to streamline and regulate the activities of all relevant technical bodies.

“Regulating their activities will make them responsible for their work which will compel them to deliver quality services for the country to have a sound built environment” she explained.

Mrs Arthiabah therefore urged stakeholders in the industry to support the board to regulate and bring sanity into the industry to improve public confidence.

Process

On the registration process, the principal assist. registrar of ARC, Robert Fraiku urged all architectural technologies, building design technicians and draughtsmen in the country to register with the board. He indicated, “those already registered are to update their data and also indicate their classification within the established categories as set out by the board.”

According Arc. Fraiku, a training workshop will be organized in June this year on the licensing process.

A member of the board and a senior lecturer at Accra Polytechnic, Mr Olufemi Fatonade observed that, most building technicians went outside the realm of their capacities to embark on shoddy works and that it was for this reason the regulation had become necessary.