A recruitment crisis could damage the region’s recovery but here Rob Moore, JTL’s North East Regional Manager, looks at how some employers are training for the future.
The construction industry as a whole lost many young people during the last recession and while numbers started to recover in the past decade the present downturn could have a disastrous future impact on the industry if this pattern is allowed to repeat itself.
In 1990, more than one in five workers in the construction industry were under 25 but today, a little more than a tenth of the sector’s workforce is within this age group.
Without an increase in the uptake of apprenticeships one in six workers are due to retire within 10 years coupled with a 50 per cent fall in 16-19 year olds employed in construction the sector since 2008. (1)
The implications for the skills base are quite serious which is why businesses throughout the North East are working with JTL to make it easier for young people by financing all college fees, providing a highly qualified training officer that supports the apprentice in their daily working life and taking care of all on-site assessment and essential administration.
Throughout England and Wales JTL provides employers with approved applicants in the 16 to 24 year category for Advanced Apprenticeships in Electrical, Plumbing, Engineering Maintenance and Heating & Ventilating trade areas.
One of the North East’s fastest growing mechanical and electrical engineering firms Intelect UK Ltd is one of JTL’s employer partners which has just welcomed two electrical and one heating & ventilating apprentices to join its 130 strong workforce;
Intelect’s Managing Director Fran Cormican said: “We recruited our first JTL apprentice in 1998; we now employ 20 apprentices and our policy means we have a home grown qualified team who are fully versed in the way we do business. To enable us to service specialist sectors we need to be highly skilled, able to diversify and build up a superb reputation for getting the job done.”
JTL apprenticeship schemes attract government funding for young people between the ages of 16 to 24 and as a registered charity, every penny we receive is invested into improving training provision and financial support for employers.
Despite the economic downturn, the reason firms working with JTL are still taking on young people and as Fran concluded; “we can’t afford not to if we want the right skills to win future business.”
For further details: Contact JTL on 08000 852 2308 or go to www.jtltraining.com
(1) Research provided by Construction Skills www.cskills.org
BookmarkThis
Back