A company that invests in training is far more likely to be able to retain and motivate its staff as well as grow its next generation of middle managers

Grove Village in Manchester is one of the Government’s largest housing renewal schemes. Large swathes of substandard housing are being bulldozed to make way for a market-led solution – new homes and a new community that will kickstart economic regeneration. We are renewing central heating systems and rewiring and modernising kitchens and bathrooms to bring existing homes up to the Government’s new Decent Homes standard and installing services in the new homes that are being built.

Training local, unemployed adults in construction skills is a key part of the package. Our m&e work for Manchester City Council at Grove Village involves a substantial training obligation – giving people the skills to help in the regeneration of their own community.

Training the unemployed makes a much needed contribution to tackling our industry’s growing skills crisis. Numbers of apprentices have been falling and there are fewer companies willing or able to train them. The trend towards self-employment and subcontracting is partly to blame and there are too few contracts like Grove Village where the client recognises the need to build in training costs.

We believe that there are business benefits to be gained for companies willing to invest in training. Instead of trying to undercut the competition by reducing overheads, m&e firms need to recognise that quality counts. Under the old adversarial system when companies won contracts on the basis of the cheapest quote there was no incentive to train. But where the client is looking for quality and where a long-term partnering relationship develops, clients can come to realise that it is in the industry’s best interest for it to invest in skills for the future. A company that invests in training is far more likely to be able to retain and motivate its staff as well as grow its next generation of middle managers.

The Government offers generous funding for retraining the unemployed, but could do a lot more to help adult career-changers. A large, untapped reservoir of talent, career-changers are round pegs in square holes – people with valuable skills and experience to bring to our industry.

The Government’s adult skills white paper promises employers and employees free entitlement to training up to NVQ Level 2, but ignores the needs of adults wanting to move from one industry sector to another.

Instead of trying to undercut the competition by reducing overheads, m&e firms need to recognise that quality counts

As a company we still offer four-year apprenticeships and we see no shortage of work for young people wanting to join. There’s always going to be a demand for skilled plumbers, electricians and gas fitters.

We welcomed Sir Mike Tomlinson’s recent report on 14-19 year-old’s education but are disappointed that the Government is not implementing it in full. Bringing academic and vocational studies closer together as part of a new baccalaureate system would in our view drive an improvement in basic life skills like communication, literacy and numeracy.

It is no longer enough just to know your trade inside out, you must be able to relate to the customer. A company may have very articulate managers but it’s the guy with his tools going into someone’s house who leaves the impression about what sort of company we are. He’s the one who can diagnose problems, deal with any other issues and sort things out to the customer’s satisfaction.

At the end of the day our operatives are our front line in delivering customer service. If they can’t communicate it puts us at a disadvantage.

Sheffield steel

Three and a half years ago Powerminster set up its own independent training arm, Sheffield Building Services Training (SBST), with the aim of tackling local skills shortages. SBST is currently training around 150 adults and unemployed annually as electricians, gas fitters and plumbers, mostly to NVQ Level 2. Training is tailored to match the needs of a number of client organisations – in particular Ambition Energy for adult unemployment and LLITE, a local training and enterprise scheme.

Around 70% of SBST trainees will go on to work for local m&e contractors; the rest will be employed by Powerminster. In this way the training provider maintains its independence and market credibility. All employers involved offer work placements to boost skills training, which gives SBST an advantage over FE colleges.

SBST helps Powerminster keep abreast of regulation in the industry and improve its skills base. To keep up their CORGI registration, gas fitters have to re-test every five years. Having its own training arm means Powerminster is not restricted to the courses offered by colleges. Says md Martyn Horton: “We get people qualified quicker as we train 50 weeks of the year. We have always believed in growing our own skills.”

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor

Postscript

Martyn Horton is managing director of m&e contractor Powerminster.