Except fenestration wasn ’ t my career of choice . My route to this role was complicated and convoluted . For five years after graduation , I worked in an opticians , then a two-year stint as editor of a bodybuilding magazine . While I was working there , I helped write and edit marketing proposals and company profiles for the company that published the magazine .

I found I loved marketing and it led me a role at a creative agency . On my first day I wrote a press release about a systems house in Burnley sponsoring a local football team . It was the first time I heard the word fenestration .

From this , I was asked to help promote a locksmithing and security event . When the owners heard about my magazine background , they asked would I be interested in taking over the role of editor of The Locksmith Journal . Then an opportunity at Clearview came up , then Pro Installer . Seven years later and I ’ m still the editor of all three .

If you talk to 100 people in our industry , you ’ ll get 100 different versions of how they ended up in fenestration . So , the question is , if you have so many routes into this sector , how do you define and describe the way to get new people in ?

I think the answer is to get as many of those people as possible into one room , invite 1000 students and get them all talking to each other . Evidentially , I ’ m quite good at the latter so when Building Our Skills – Making Fenestration , Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice came to Barnsley ( another place that ‘ chose me ’ rather than the other way around ) I couldn ’ t wait to set out my stall – metaphorically and literally .

The bespoke careers fairs took place at Barnsley ’ s Oakwell Stadium and Manchester ’ s Etihad Stadium – going back full circle to that ‘ Fixtures & Fittings ’ press release I wrote on my first day on the job . Thankfully I now know more about fenestration than I ever have – or want to – about football . For the 700 students that attended across the two days though , more explanation was needed .

BOS had the ingenious idea of colour-coded ‘ trading cards ’ that split around 120 job roles into categories to visually demonstrate the variety of opportunities on offer in fenestration . Every representative from each company in attendance had their own trading card , and the rooms full of stalls were sectioned in a similar way . Some students came with a certain area of expertise in mind , some were more open to each category , most asked the same question : “ how much money do you earn ?” And , miraculously Rob and Steve were nowhere to be seen whenever that happened !

Joking aside , I was very impressed with the students ’ questions and interests . The range of schools , colleges and academies that participated was certainly vast . Some of the young people had a very clear idea of what they wanted to do , some had none at all . Many were somewhere in between . Most seemed engaged and enthusiastic about their future though , which was as reassuring as it was surprising , I ’ m not ashamed to admit .

What really impressed me however ( sorry kids ) was the attendance and engagement from the other companies . There was an approximate total of 50 of the biggest and best brands and businesses in our sector . In between ‘ sessions ’,

I put my journalism skills to work and walked around each stall to speak to the different companies . Almost all of the people there are already proactive in not only getting new people into the industry but upskilling the talent we currently have . From in-house training centres , to STEM sessions with local schools , recruitment fairs , apprenticeship and work experience schemes .

These are exactly the people we need presenting and promoting our industry to the next generation . And interested and inquisitive young people who are looking for what to do after school or college are

exactly the people they need to be talking to .

So , the final piece of the puzzle in getting those two parties to come together ; step up Building our Skills and GQA . What a fantastic job they did with the two events , and what a brilliant role they play every day in our industry , making our sector a stronger and more skilful place to work , an exciting prospect for the next generation and a better place for those already in it .

With two careers fairs already under their belt and another four in the pipeline , I expect to see more companies getting involved and I expect to see a lot more football grounds than I ever thought I would as I attend them too .

As I drove home from Oakwell Stadium with my bag of swag from the other stalls and a collapsible magazine stand ready for the next outing , I asked myself if I ’ d have gone to one of these when I was at school , would I have joined the industry ? It ’ s impossible to know , but I almost certainly wouldn ’ t have had to secretly Google ‘ fenestration ’ or ‘ systems house ’ on my first day in my new job …