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PRO BUSINESS
DECEMBER 2016 PRO INSTALLER
www. proinstaller. co. uk
Apprenticeships are a priority
Boosting the quality and quantity of apprenticeships through construction small and medium-sized enterprises( SMEs) will be the key focus of the National President of the Federation of Master Builders( FMB). Gary Lewis was elected National President of the FMB, the UK’ s largest construction trade association, in September at the National AGM and Conference in Newport, Wales. He said:“ I’ ve always been extremely passionate about passing on my knowledge to the next generation and ensuring that we have enough skilled workers in the construction sector. My own firm is one of the many thousands of SMEs that provides broadskilled apprenticeships. Indeed, two-thirds of all construction apprentices are trained by SME firms like mine.“ FMB members are already playing a pivotal role in improving the quality of apprenticeships through the development of two new Trailblazer standards in bricklaying and plastering. However, root and branch changes to apprenticeship policy are on the horizon with the implementation of the government Apprenticeship Levy and the corresponding reforms to the Construction Industry Training Board( CITB) levy. These fundamental changes could make or break the quality and quantity of apprenticeship training and therefore it’ s vital that the FMB ensures that the new system works for smaller firms. If it doesn’ t, we could risk exacerbating the construction skills crisis.” At the National AGM and Conference, Arthur McArdle was elected as the FMB’ s new National Vice-President and Dave Bentley, the former FMB National President, will now serve as the Immediate Past President.
www. fmb. org. uk
Small firms report strong growth plans
Nearly three-quarters( 73 %) of small businesses with over five employees plan to grow‘ dramatically or moderately’ over the next two years, according to a report from independent venture capital investor, Albion Ventures. Across the third quarter of 2016, the company commissioned global market research and data company YouGov to interview a sample of 1,014 British small businesses. They were asked about challenges and opportunities they face in growing their business. The research showed that finding skilled staff topped the list of challenges, up from third place in 2015. It was a particular problem for manufacturing, construction,
‘ root and branch changes to apprenticeship policy are on the horizon’
medical and healthcare companies. In sixth place, the decision to leave the EU ranked below perennial challenges such as red tape, regulatory change and the difficulty of accessing new markets. Lack of access to finance- one of the major problems voiced by small businesses during the recession- had fallen to 13th place from fifth last year. On a sector basis, over half( 52 %) of IT and telecom firms were open to equity finance while construction trailed at just 13 %. Other key points from the report were that manufacturers and tech firms were the most optimistic, and East Midland-based entrepreneurs were the most bullish.
UK TRADESPEOPLE DEFY SKILLS GAP PRESSURES
UK tradespeople are refusing to let sector challenges affect their job performance, new research has found.
A study by Ironmongery- Direct has revealed that homeowners are still impressed with the work that is being carried out by trade professionals, despite noticing that the numbers of tradespeople available are dwindling. Nearly 90 % of the public gave praise to the high quality of service they received once they had sourced someone to complete the job. 88 % said they were happy with the finished result, 9 % said it was satisfactory and only 3 % said they were not happy with the work undertaken. The survey of 1,000 people, who have required the services of a tradesperson over the past year, also revealed the increasing difficultly to hire a skilled professional to carry out home renovations and repairs. One in six people( 16 %) spent more than three weeks looking for someone suitable to undertake the work, and two thirds( 36 %) said they noticed a significant shortage of skilled professionals when trying to find a person for the job. Last year the Federation of Master Builders( FMB) found that 66 % of small firms had been forced to turn away work due to a lack of staff and resources, showing that the situation has not improved. Wayne Lysaght-Mason, managing director at IronmongeryDirect, said:“ The lack of skilled tradespeople in the industry is a huge concern, especially as the public is now starting to see evidence of this.“ Despite there being fewer skilled tradespeople around to meet existing work requirements, it’ s encouraging to see that the ones who are available are doing a good job and managing to keep up excellent standards of work, despite the pressures being put upon them.
“ Having said this, we urgently need to attract more talent to the sector to ensure standards don’ t slip and prevent people from having to wait for long periods of time to get a job completed. Steps must be taken to encourage more people into the industry to develop the skills needed for a sustainable future, perhaps by inspiring young people into a construction career or creating more apprenticeship opportunities.” The research was undertaken as part of IronmongeryDirect’ s‘ More Skills Required’ report to find out what effect the skills shortage is having on the UK’ s ability to find qualified tradespeople, while aiming to suggest ways of easing the pressures on the sector.
For more information, visit www. IronmongeryDirect. co. uk / research