Clearview National March 2019 - Issue 208 | Page 4

PROUD SPONSOR OF
INDUSTRY NEWS
FROMTHEEDITOR
Open door
policy
Since I joined Clearview
last year, I have always been
impressed by the professionalism
– and personalities – that I have
come across in the industry.
» » I’VE MET SUPPLIERS, FABRICATORS,
installers, MDs, CEOs, and everyone in between, plenty
of people with plenty to be proud of; inspiring men and
women who have grown up in the industry or moved
laterally from other sectors. However, more recently I’ve
come to find out that many of the people in fenestration
fell into it by accident, and more surprisingly – and
worryingly – it isn’t seen as an attractive enough sector to
work from the outside looking in.
So, my question is: how do we change this?
At the recent Fabricators’ Forum (which you can read
about more in this issue of Clearview) it was suggested
that around a quarter of our industry will have retired
or moved out of the country in the next 10 years. Who
will replace these? While it is known that automation will
be used more and more in the future of fenestration –
especially for fabrication – we can’t take the ‘man’ out of
‘manufacturing’ completely, and when it comes to all the
other roles, who is going to do them?
The door and window industry is thought of as an aging
one, so it makes sense to suggest that we need to attract
younger people. It is also regarded as a male-dominated
sector, so it makes sense to suggest we do more to
encourage women to apply for jobs. Interestingly there are
two articles in this very magazine from two very well-
regarded women in the industry who share their own
experiences of this.
Clearview offers a window into what is happening in the
industry every month, but I want to know what is going to
happen too. I’m curious as to what companies are doing
(if they are doing anything) to encourage new people into
new roles. I want to know what happens when everyone in
a current role moves up a step, who is next line?
How would we describe fenestration to a 16-year-old
school leaver about to start a career that could shape
their lives forever? Because I don’t think ‘aging and male-
dominated’ is the best tag-line. What do you think is the
best way to promote our industry to newcomers, and how
does your company recruit its new staff?
Please let me know your thoughts, and I’ll see you all
next month.
Gemma,
Editor
4 » M AR 2019 » CL EARVI E W- UK . C O M
Manchester
tradesmen
get tuned in
» » FIX RADIO, THE UK’S
Radio Station for tradespeople
launched on DAB across London
on April 26th, 2017. Every facet
of the station was built with a
trade audience in mind and it has
seen rapid growth. The London
station now commands a growing
weekly audience of over 35,000
listeners.
To celebrate the launch of the
station, Fix Radio started the first
of its now famous bacon butty
tours. These involve handing
out fresh bacon butties to hard
working tradespeople across the
city. The success of the tour led to
it becoming a permanent feature
in 2018 and to date the station
has handed out over 15,000
bacon butties.
Since June 2018 Fix Radio has
been running Tradesmen Banter,
one of the UK’s largest online
trade communities. The Facebook
page provides entertaining trade
relevant content to its 450,000+
followers daily. The station has
partnered with some of the largest
names in the industry covering
a huge range of products and
services. Current partners include
Osmo, the FMB, Trade Direct
Insurance, Festool and many
others.
Wednesday 23rd January saw
Fix Radio launch a sister station
on DAB in Manchester. Fix
Radio Manchester features local
presenters, regional content and
the same fantastic music that is
synonymous with the FIX Radio
brand.
The breakfast show team
broadcasted live from the roof
as well as being based on a
crane at one of Salford’s newest
and prestigious developments
‘Downtown’ which is being
developed by McGoff
Construction. The show and
introduction from the radio’s CEO
Louis Timpany was watched by
key clients along with some of the
industry’s leading press. The first
of their infamous Bacon Butty
tour’s for Manchester also set off
providing over 100 bacon butties
to local sites which were no doubt
well received by cold construction
workers. The tour’s aim was to get
breakfast to every building site in
the city in just five weeks.
“This is an exciting time for
FIX Radio, and we are proud
to be expanding our coverage
to more listeners across the
UK. It is important to the team
that we not only provide great
entertainment but also regional
information on traffic and
weather specifically created to
support the tradesperson,” added
Louis Timpany.
Twitter @FixRadioUK
Facebook FixRadioUK
tradesmenbanter