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BUILT ENVIRONMENT
AI is not going to take those jobs away; it is going to just increase the value of our trade.”
Saira Hussain who co-founded the Burnley architecture and planning practice HAD and Co, said: “It’s finding the right people with the right skills, and quite a lot of young people go to university and come out with not much experience.
“We’ve started taking on quite a lot of young people that are doing T-Levels in design and construction. They go off to university and when they are finished, we take them on for experience or as a training role. It’s really important for us to invest in our own people in Lancashire.
She added: “When I went to university, about 60 per cent of the younger architecture students dropped out because there was a lack of opportunity.”
Sarah Hall
TAKING A SKILLED APPROACH
Training providers and employers must work together to meet the demand for multi-skilled workers in a time of rapid change, delegates to the summit were told.
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Sarah Hall, director of B&FC for Business at Blackpool and the Fylde College, spelled out the skills challenge facing the built environment sector.
She said: “We are inundated with young people wanting to learn the traditional skills such as electrical plumbing and joinery. But speaking to businesses, they need more multi-skilled people.”
Giving an example she said that electricians needed to also understand data and software.
Speakman Contractors, described the ‘skills gaps’ facing the industry as a major headache.
He told the summit: “We have to deal with upskilling people in an ever-changing environment while making sure members of staff are ready and available for the next contract.
“There are new technologies out there and we have to retrain them up front for that.”
He added: “There are lots of people coming through colleges that have zero experience. When we start on jobs, we need to hit the ground running, not with someone who does not really know what they are doing yet.”
He said that businesses have to play their part We are inundated with young people wanting
to learn the traditional skills such as electrical, plumbing and joinery. But speaking to businesses, they need more multi-skilled people
And she added: “Businesses have to be front and centre when addressing skills gaps.
“We are there to support them and government needs to ensure that the funds are there to be able to allow businesses to get the skills that they need.”
Chris Speakman, director of Burnley based
in addressing the problem, adding: “We are responsible for developing skill sets. We see the industry changes quicker than anybody else. Policy might change but it’s up to us to react.”
Chris described working in the sector as “exciting”. And he told delegates: “No-one’s going to take over the skill sets of our technicians, joiners, or electrical engineers.
Alan Cavill, director of communications and regeneration at Blackpool Council, said it was vital that employers worked with skills providers.
He told the summit: “When it comes to dealing with skills gaps, we’ve all got to shout and we’ve all got to start, because we can’t wait for somebody else to do it.
“When we’re employing contractors, we have to try and persuade them to work with colleges. Colleges have to get out there and talk to people. We all have to sit around the table together and decide what the problems are and try and fix them. If we don’t do it together, we won’t do it at all.”
Anne-Marie Francis, vice-principal of Wigan and Leigh College, who also spoke at the event, explained how it was working with East Lancashire Learning Group and Blackpool and The Fylde College on an important new training initiative for the sector.
Wigan and Leigh has been named as the North West’s new Construction Technical Excellence College (CTEC) – one of just 10 in England – and is working with its partners in Lancashire to create a regional network to deliver high-quality construction skills training.
She said: “It is our time and technical skills are the backbone of the country. They have never been on the government’s agenda as highly as they are now.”
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