By David Thornton, Chair, The Window Company (Contracts)
Last week, I joined the FIT Forum to give my thoughts on the issues which matter most to installation companies, in the hope that as many as possible of these can be covered at the conference running alongside next year’s show.
Unsurprisingly, the skills shortage was high on everyone’s list, and particularly the urgent need to attract the next generation of skilled fitters into fenestration.
What struck me most was the fact that the industry has already taken lots of positive, proactive steps to address this – from Building Our Skills to GGF Apprenticeships. Many are having a degree of success, but we are still in a situation where more skilled fitters are leaving the industry than are joining it. So, what else can we do about it?
The biggest challenge remains. How do we persuade youngsters – and their parents and educators – that fenestration is a credible trade which offers the same kinds of opportunities and financial rewards as becoming a plumber, mechanic or electrician?
From an installation company perspective, I think the group we probably need to mobilise are the skilled fitters themselves. We need to encourage them to spread the word about the opportunities and rewards available and give them more platforms to be able to do that – before they retire!
It might be controversial, but I think we should also be making it possible for them to take on the bulk of the training as well. Classroom training and paper qualifications are immensely valuable, and our fitting teams all have ongoing training programmes in place and hold or are studying nationally recognised NVQs. But, they are no substitute for the kind of on the job training you only get if you work alongside someone who has spent decades perfecting their craft.
Whenever we have incentivised one of our older fitters to take a trainee under their wing, we have invariably ended up with a highly motivated young employee who has stayed with us long term and gone on to achieve NVQs. They have learned from the experts the art of installing a whole houseful of windows in a single day and at the same time seen close hand the degree of care and customer respect that is essential in the commercial sector. Crucially, they have also seen just what it takes to earn the best rates and realised that you don’t become a top earning fitter overnight.
Interestingly, the benefits have not all been one way either. As well as being rewarded for their efforts, our experienced fitters have taken immense pride in their mentees’ progress and reported improved job satisfaction from having their skills recognised and valued. That increasingly looks like a win-win to me.
