Roofing

Training
Recruiting Tomorrow’s Roofers
Lorraine Gregory, Go Construct Manager, CITB
The dust is still settling in the aftermath of the Brexit vote and
construction, like all UK industries is navigating unchartered waters.
Uncertainty is not surprising – we can only speculate on the likely
impacts to the sector and beyond. While we wade through this
archipelago of unknowns, what we do know is that the skills and
recruitment challenges employers have been facing aren’t going to
disappear overnight.
For roofing, as with many sectors of the construction industry, employers
are looking to recruit the best talent available to strengthen and grow
their firms. According to the latest Construction Skills Network research,
the UK construction industry will need an additional 1,360 roofers every
year for the period 2016 – 2020. The highest demand for these jobs in the
UK will be in the North West followed by South West, Yorkshire &
Humber, East England, North East, Wales and South East.
The question is how are these roles going to be filled with the calibre of
talent that the roofing sector needs?
Go Construct
Go Construct [www.goconstruct.org], a new industry-led recruitment
campaign and careers website has been developed to arm the sector in
the war on talent (and it is a war). To attract the brightest and best
construction has many hurdles to overcome. The sector’s lack of appeal
is often referenced and there are many possible causes – the perceived
lack of stability in the industry, inadequate careers advice or lingering
misconceptions about construction. The main problem seems to be
however, that many people, including those making or influencing career
choices, simply don’t know enough about the construction industry.
Go Construct is the first time that industry has come together to address
this challenge head on to try to make a real difference.
The story so far..
Last September saw the launch of the new Go Construct campaign and
its accompanying website. Funded by CITB, it was designed with input
from over 400 organisations, including employers, careers advisors,
teachers, lecturers and construction ambassadors. Go Construct aims to
become the single definitive source of information on the industry’s
offering for anyone interested in joining. Importantly, having just one ‘go
to’ for careers information will help avoid duplicating patchwork efforts
across the sector and help to bolster a substantial and collective
recruitment drive.
The campaign is being developed over three years and its
website’s resources will continue to grow over that time. So far,
there are over 150 construction roles
[www.goconstruct.org/construction-jobs/careers-a-to-z/] profiled,
nearly 800 pages of content, 50 case studies
[www.goconstruct.org/working-in-construction/day-in-the-life/]
and dedicated areas/materials for employers
[www.goconstruct.org/information-for-employers] careers advisors
[www.goconstruct.org/parents-careers-advisors-educators/] parents
[www.goconstruct.org/parents-careers-advisors-educators]
returners and ex-military [www.goconstruct.org/information-foremployers/recruiting-ex-military].
Roofing roles explained
As with other specialisms in construction, the website offers a
clear introduction to roofing roles
[www.goconstruct.org/construction-jobs/career-explorer/roofingoperative/]
and what they entail. So at a glance visitors can find
out the difference between a hard metal and cladding roofer, a
single-ply roofer or felt roofer, or the role of a chargehand, surveyor
or consultant. It offers information on salaries, qualifications, entry
routes into these roles and information on federations and
associations. There’s also a case study profile of a cladding
operative and his journey into the sector.
The Experience Matching Service – what is it?
The latest development in Go Construct is its ‘Experience
Matching Service’ [https://sms.goconstruct.org/] which offers
people the chance to ‘experience’ construction and employers to
make those experiences available. Experiences range from more
formal arrangements such as a week or two of work experience or
a mentoring programme, to one-offs such as school visits, site
visits and mock interviews.
The addition of the ‘Experience Matching Service’ enables
industry to take direct action on showcasing the industry and
enhancing its appeal. The importance of getting out and engaging
with potential recruits cannot be underestimated. Work experience
in particular is a useful way to give people interested in the sector
hands on experience and insight into construction. As it stands
only 21% of construction firms offer work experience compared to
35% of businesses in the wider economy. Seventy four per cent of
employers agree however, that people looking for their first job in
construction do not have enough opportunities to get work
experience in the industry.
Go construct can make a real difference as a recruitment drive but
only if more employers get behind the initiative. So far 269
employers have signed up to offer experiences – 126 of those are
work experience. But there’s strength in numbers and more are
needed. Only by reaching out and casting the net wider can
construction attract the quality candidates and talent that it
needs.
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