APPRENTICESHIP FEATURE

Can we afford not to invest in our future workforce?

The benefits of entering young workers on apprenticeships schemes are often underplayed, whilst  companies focus on the cost of time spent at college.  Ron Wilson Regional Director of the Federation of Master Builders has commissioned a study of the true cost of apprenticeships and applicable true hourly rates for first, second and third year students taking into account time spent at college, holidays and balancing these against ConstructionSkills grants.  

The figures show that whilst the investment in the first year is quite high, the figures (assuming full attendance and successful completion of a level 2/3 qualification) for second year and third year students are only slightly higher to the hourly rate they would have been paid if they had not attended college.   At the end of an apprenticeship these young roofers have most of the skills required by a competent roofer.  

In the roof slating and tiling courses, Newcastle and Leeds cohorts starting this September will follow a new apprenticeship pilot scheme which offers a much broader range of training than the existing Construction Awards.

During the pilot candidates will still gather evidence from site towards their NVQ, but if successful the scheme could be adopted so that the NVQ is gained via a Skills Test within a year of finishing college. This is a Construction Skills initiative which is supported by the National Federation of Roofing Contractors. Kevin Taylor of the NFRC who was co-opted to work on the development of this pilot said ‘I think this is a great opportunity to get back to something like the training I was lucky enough to receive as an apprentice. I think it will expand the skills of young roofers, allow trainers to get on with training, and over the longer term free employers up from the burden of gathering work based evidence’.

If our businesses are truly committed to raising standards in the industry and ensuring continuity of good workmanship participation in an apprenticeship is essential.  Throughout the Yorkshire & Humber and the North East Regions there are currently less than 100 roofing apprenticeship places.   These courses turn out some of the best young roofers in the country—see the feature overleaf on Skillbuild.   Each of our young roofers could be 1 in 100  - the best in the business.