Careering ahead

Few would disagree that the industry needs apprentices, and future managers, to come through in big numbers if the industry is to cope with projected workloads brought on by the likes of the 2012 Olympics. Many contractors, however, are reluctant to take on young people because of the perceived costs and the fear that all their hard work will end up with their prized assets being poached by others that don’t bother with training.

Les Monks is one contractor who needs no convincing about the benefits that apprentices bring to the success of a business. Staff retention is good at the L J Monks Group; many people have been with the company for more than 20 years, and a number of key managers started out as apprentices.

As ECA president Bob Hall points out this month (page 15), staff are not likely to leave their job merely for a pay increase. If workers are given the opportunity to progress within a growing company, they will more than likely be happy to stay put.

Many firms across the country are reporting shortages of estimators, designers, quantity surveyors and contracts managers. Yet, where are the managers of the future going to come from if apprentices are not being taken on in sufficient numbers?

SummitSkills is working hard on developing the occupational standards that employers want. Firms have to do their bit by finding places for young people who see m&e contracting as a career worth pursuing. If they don’t, those young people will left to seek opportunities elsewhere.