Pro Installer August 2016 - Issue 41 | Page 45

PRO INSTALLER AUGUST 2016
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PRO RECRUITMENT

BRI-STOR PUTS FAITH IN APPRENTICES

Bri-Stor Systems describes its apprentices as the company ’ s engineers and electricians of the future – and says they are fundamental to the group ’ s success . The Staffordshire-based business , which has been offering careers since 1983 , manufactures and fits bespoke light commercial vehicle conversions , working with large fleet customers such as British Gas , RAC and BT . Every year , it hires new apprentices .
The apprentices have a varied career using state of the art technology to build up experience in key manufacturing areas . Dexter Crust and Ben Wadsworth , two of the auto-electrician apprentices , described what it ’ s like to learn their trade at Bri-Stor Systems . Dexter said : “ I ’ ve been an apprentice at Bri-Stor for over nine months . A typical day at Bri-Stor for me involves installing electrics in various types of commercial vehicles . I fit and wire lights , beacons and sensors . My favourite part of the role is that I get to work on my own vans - I enjoy the responsibility of getting jobs done on time . In the future , I see myself as a qualified auto-electrician and working my way up the ladder at Bri-Stor .” Ben has also been working at Bri-Stor for more than nine months . He said : “ The environment is friendly and hard working with everyone focused on commercial vehicle conversions . My favourite part of being an apprentice is learning new skills whilst earning money .
‘ learning new skills whilst earning money ’
When I complete my apprenticeship , I want to carry on with auto-electrics and progress my career further at Bri-Stor .” As an employer of over 400 people in Staffordshire , Bri-Stor recognises the importance of building great teams . To give its apprentices the essential skills for a career at Bri-Stor , one of the company ’ s methods was to take nine apprentices out of their normal environment on a three-day programme to learn essential communication , physical and leadership skills .
bri-stor . co . uk

HOUSEBUILDERS SUFFER FROM GROWING SKILLS SHORTAGE

The housebuilding industry will need to recruit a million more construction workers if the UK is to build enough homes by the end of the decade , according to specialist recruiters Randstad .
The business made its comments following the announcement of the final results of Telford Homes Plc , the London focused residential property developer . Telford commented in the results that there was an ongoing housing crisis and a clear imbalance between the supply of homes and the needs of a growing population . Owen Goodhead , managing director of specialist recruiters Randstad CPE commented : “ Housebuilders are bearing up under a sea of adversity – battling on despite a growing skills shortage
. For businesses like Telford , well-worn worries about building enough homes aren ’ t just theoretical restraints . This industry has always been about competing for contracts , grappling with deadlines and struggling for a profit . Now , battling for the right people can be added to that list . “ Headline numbers demand action on training . Our own research shows that if the United Kingdom is to build enough homes by the end of the decade – a monumental challenge of doubling total output to 300,000 homes per year – then the entire industry will need to
‘ the entire industry will need to recruit a million more construction workers . That means finding hundreds of thousands of bricklayers , carpenters , plumbers and planners . It means filling 30,000 quantity surveyor jobs and finding 28,000 architects ’
recruit a million more construction workers . That means finding hundreds of thousands of bricklayers , carpenters , plumbers and planners . It means filling 30,000 quantity surveyor jobs and finding 28,000
architects . Within these huge totals , there is a day-to-day exertion to fill jobs with skilled people – and housebuilders are struggling . “ Other issues matter too . Planning and materials shortages also
cause delays . But the serious question is increasingly ‘ who ?’ will build enough homes , beyond the often-simpler ‘ where ’ and ‘ when .’ For Telford Homes these headwinds may be manageable , but – just as for anyone looking for a home in which to live – there is a danger that a skills shortage could become more of a hurricane than a headwind .”
Further information on research cited here from Randstad CPE ’ s ‘ Age of Housebuilding ’ report is available online : https :// www . randstad . co . uk / cpe / age-of-housebuilding /