Got a story? Ring us on 01732 748041 or e-mail twood@unity-media.com TRAINING/TECHNICAL Midlands promise as economy rises Denis Hird, chief executive of JTL, explains why Birmingham was chosen for the organisation’s National Centre of Excellence... It has the highest proportion of its population under 24 compared with any other city in Europe. It is the only British city to run a trade surplus with China and it will need an additional 6,000 school places by 2015. Birmingham is a city with a proud past and every indication that its glory days are far from over. Jaguar Land Rover, one of the country’s greatest engineering success stories continues to find new markets for its products and the impact of this is that the workforce is on an upward trend. The company has also calculated that for every person it employs another eight jobs have been supported within the supply chain in the local economy. For so long in the doldrums, Britain’s second biggest city is on the up, but a recent Birmingham Chamber of Commerce seminar heard that prospective skill shortages are one of the greatest hazards in Birmingham achieving its full potential. TALENTED YOUNG PEOPLE A similar picture within building services engineering (BSE) can be identified across the Midlands where many good employers in both electrical, engineering maintenance or heating and plumbing services are having to compete harder to find the talented young people who will safeguard the future. This is a reversal of the recent past when perhaps the number of quality school leavers available outstripped the sector’s capacity to find jobs at a time of economic stagnation. The change in the full-time education leaving age to 17 is already having an impact, but the interpretation of this is often misunderstood. A young person must continue through to 17+ on either a course of full time school study or as part of a recognised training programme such as an apprenticeship. Here we also see the potential for use of the new Traineeship category of learning, providing a preparatory step on the ladder for those who might otherwise slip into NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). Clearly there are good young people who for a variety of reasons decide that their future is not best spend in further full-time schooling or progression to university. It is, therefore, our job as a sector to capture their interest in vocational training that will help determine their career choice. There is nothing new in this. Little more than two decades ago, the vocational training route was the starting point to many a young person’s rewarding working life, then allowing progress through a combination of further training and experience. Today, there is a WWW.HPMMAG.COM difference and that is that the channels of reaching the young people with the good news about the opportunities available are more varied and often more sophisticated. Careers advisers have never had a great press but their importance remains significant - both in terms of the direct advice they provide, as well as the coaching of teachers in schools who, through cutbacks, have found themselves trying to offer a limited service. CAREERS PROFESSIONALS We take heart from the strengthening of careers advisory efforts through the work of the Careers Development Institute. At its annual Conference in November at Stratford-on-Avon, JTL was proud to carry the message of opportunities and careers for life, including through our recently upgraded website. It is essential that we as an industry continue to engage with both these careers professionals and parents who have such a significant influence on working life choices of their children. Clearly all in BSE will need to fight harder to get across messages of opportunity and promise in our working world. Reported wage pressure resulting from skills shortages may help. The Times last September reported that qualified bricklayers could now earn more than a qualified solicitor. No one wants to see such problems in our sector choke off recovery, so the time to act and recruit would seem best to be now. Given that a qualified electrician takes four years to complete their full Level 3 award and that a 36 FEBRUARY 2014 HEATING & PLUMBING MONTHLY plumber complete with Gas Safe certification takes something similar now is the time to secure those apprentices. Add to this Construction Industry Training Board statements that one in five workers in the construction-related sector will retire over the next five years and we have a potential time bomb that urgently needs to be addressed. LOCAL POPULATION Which brings us back to Birmingham. Thirty six per cent of the population is under 24 and the city council looks to add 5,000 smaller dwellings to meet local demand. Already seven per cent of the local population is engaged in some form of construction and a pace for change and development is being fuelled by a 36% increase in foreign direct investment that occurred in 2012. Furthermore, securing of the future of the contentious HS2 rail development is calculated as having the potential to create 40,000 new jobs in the city centre. All of these factors have contributed to JTL’s decision to locate our National Centre of Excellence in the very heart of England, offering excellent opportunities and facilities for young learners as well as more seasoned professionals looking to upgrade or add to business development through learning new skills. This was a major investment decision by our charitable company, but one that offers considerable potential for the wider Midlands industries. enquiry number 124 Young learners at JTL’s National Centre of Excellence are based in Birmingham which has the highest proportion of under 24-year-olds in Europe
HPM February 2014
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