A pioneering careers campaign led by a national trade body is delivering a united voice across the multi-billion-pound building materials sector to address a major skills shortage in Scotland and across the UK.
The Building Materials Careers campaign, led by the BMF (Builders Merchants Federation), is the culmination of more than two years of cross-industry collaboration and harnesses the power of a £51 billion sector with over 1,000 companies to tackle the recruitment challenges ahead.
Focused on attracting new skills in vital areas of the sector, including sustainability, innovation and delivering products that can enhance productivity out on building sites, BMF members from across London have shared their own experiences and career journeys on the dedicated bmcareers.com website to provide a window on the opportunities available.
The campaign, launched at Ibstock I-Studio in London ahead of National Apprenticeship Week (10-16 Feb), targets school leavers and trainees to attract new recruits into building materials.
Its scope also extends to career leavers, such as Armed Forces veterans, as well as career changers, to attract the diversity of skills needed for the future success of the sector.
Gordon Banks, Director of Cartmore Building Supply Co Ltd, which has its headquarters in Fife, is Scottish Regional Chair of the BMF. He said: “There is a recognised skills deficit and lack of opportunity awareness in our sector.
“The work that the BMF is undertaking will be vital in addressing this by both ensuring that employers recognise the skills they need to take their businesses forward whilst also raising our sector as a great place for people of all ages and skills to work in.”
Richard Hill, Chair of the BMF, said: “Too few people in Scotland are aware of all that the sector has to offer and that, in turn, impacts on recruitment opportunities.
“Our members have a key role to play in delivering next generation products for the construction of new homes, the refurbishment of the UK’s existing housing stock, and to support infrastructure projects for the future.
“To tackle this the campaign centres around two main objectives, to launch building materials as a clear sector in its own right as part of the broader construction industry and to position building materials as a desirable place to work, to help BMF members tackle the skills gap.
“By establishing building materials as a distinct sector, it becomes distinguishable from the wider construction industry, defining the role of builders’ merchants and suppliers who make, sell and distribute all the products needed for the UK’s building and construction projects, offering a wealth of vibrant and dynamic career paths across product development, finance, logistics, marketing and distribution.”
John Newcomb, CEO of the BMF added: “This is a careers campaign that unites the building materials sector, bringing together organisations that collectively form a major part of the Scottish economy to showcase the opportunities for the future.
“We need to invest in a building materials supply chain that brings a diversity of skills to produce the materials needed for a new generation of construction projects for the future, including meeting the government’s pledge to build 1.5million homes in the UK.
“To address this, we are using the story-telling power of our membership to champion change and secure the diverse range of skills our sector needs to ensure prosperity and growth.
“Through people across the industry telling their stories about the sector and experiences, this information about job roles and responsibilities, along with details of qualifications and roles available sets out the sector as a magnet for talent with opportunities to make a material difference and help shape the world we live in.”
Laura Ford who has worked with Cartmore for four years, after a period in the food retail sector said: “I had never really considered working in a builders merchant and wasn’t aware of how my skills and experience could be added to by in-house training, thus allowing me to carry out my role in the admin and financial side of the business.
“It’s a rewarding and interesting sector to work in which I feel a lot of people don’t recognise.”
The Building Materials Careers website is the pathway to find out more about opportunities in the Scottish sector; bmcareers.com
