August 2018

Apprenticeships
“WE NEED THE SKILLS TO INSTALL IT”
Julian Gomez, Director of Marketing at CUPA PIZARRAS, discusses the importance of
supporting the next generation of roofers in light of recent apprenticeship figures.
The government’s target to build a million
new homes by 2020 has put a huge amount
of pressure on those within the roofing
industry to deliver on this ambitious target. A
growing skills gap – particularly within the slate
roofing industry – that is developing due to a lack
of new apprentices and the increasing amount of
experienced roofers retiring, poses a risk that this
target might never be met.
As of April 2018, the UK government introduced
the Apprenticeship Levy, which significantly
changed the structure of the apprenticeship
funding system. The Levy encourages employers
who have annual wage bills over £3 million to
invest in apprenticeship programmes and to raise
additional funds to improve the quantity of
apprentices taken on.
Despite this, a report recently released by the
Office for National Statistics (ONS) has
highlighted that apprenticeship starts between
August 2017 and March 2018 have decreased by
28% compared with the same period for the
previous academic year.
With most businesses putting this decrease down
to the Apprenticeship Levy overcomplicating the
system, others say that the levy funding does not
cover the high cost of training in technical fields.
This is particularly the case for those lower down
in the supply chain, such as sub contractors, who
can only receive up to 10% of the Levy funds
passed on by larger firms.
Manufacturer support
This skills shortage has a knock-on effect on
manufacturers too. No matter how high quality a
product is, it is only ever as good as its
installation, meaning a skilled workforce is
crucial to ensuring a quality build. In light of this,
manufacturers are playing an increasing role and
looking to support apprentices and training in
whatever way possible.
Recognising this, throughout 2018 CUPA
PIZARRAS has put a great emphasis on
supporting apprentices within the slate roofing
industry, through product and tool supply as well
as apprentice and award sponsorships.
At the beginning of 2018 the company committed
to supporting a group of apprentices from
Lincolnshire-based, roofing company, The Roofing
Corporation. The support includes providing all
three apprentices with CUPA PIZARRAS’ natural
slate for training purposes, slate roofing tools,
CUPA PIZARRAS’ branded clothing and an all
expenses paid week trip to the company’s
headquarters in Spain.
The visit to Spain provided the apprentices with
an overview of how CUPA PIZARRAS’ slate is
quarried and produced, through a visit to one of
the company’s 16 quarries, La Medua – the
biggest natural slate quarry in the world. This
was followed by a trip to one of CUPA PIZARRAS’
22 transformation centres where they watched
the extracted pieces of slate being sawed, shaped
and bevelled. In addition to this, they also got to
meet the CUPA PIZARRAS marketing team and
the Sales Director to get a full understanding of
the company’s position and commitment to
developing future apprentices.
Additionally, CUPA PIZARRAS also sponsored the
Roof Slating and Tiling heats of the CITB’s
SkillBuild competition 2018 – one of the largest
multi-trade competitions in the UK for
construction trainees and apprentices. We
supplied over 4,000 of the company’s natural
slates to ensure that the young roofers competed
with the best quality materials, as well as polo
shirts and caps for all competitors to wear.
With most employers tied up with the ins and out
of the Apprenticeship Levy, manufacturers have a
vital role to play in supporting apprentice schemes
and awards with the future generations of roofing
contractors. Ultimately, any progressions we
continue to make in the production of slate will not
make any difference if there isn’t someone there
with the skills to install it.
CUPA PIAZARRAS is supporting apprentices from The Roofing Corporation and took them to a quarry and its HQ in Spain.
Contact CUPA PIZARRAS
01312 253 111
ww.cupapizarras.com/uk
@CUPAPIZARRAS_en
46 TC AUGUST 2018