Ductwork/Industry insight
www.heatingandventilating.net
Looking to the future I
the futur
Andy Sneyd, managing director of specialist in high integrity ventilation systems, MW Hargreaves, explores the important role training can play in addressing the skills shortage in the HVAC sector
t’s no secret that the HVAC industry is facing a skills crisis, with a significant number of experienced workers reaching retirement age and far fewer young people entering the industry to replace them. Nationally, moves are afoot to tackle this
recruitment shortfall, highlighted in a recent study by the Royal Academy of Engineering that estimates around 800,000 new science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) professionals will be required by 2020 in order to avoid a detrimental impact on the UK economy. The government is attempting to address the challenge through national campaigns, career fairs
Engineering Young Talent
MW Hargreaves set up the Engineering Young Talent Programme (EYTP) in 2012, with the aim of addressing the growing skills gap in the ventilation ductwork manufacturing sector. Our goal was to engage with three secondary schools close to our home town of Bury, Lancashire, to dispel the negative stereotypes through giving pupils a glimpse of the real working environment utilising hands- on activities. Each year group is offered a project – Year 7, for instance look at health and safety; Year 9 spend a day at our facility, taking part in demonstrations and activities; and Year 11 look at careers. We send the schools job profiles and students are asked to ‘apply’, sending in a CV and covering letter before attending a mock interview. We regularly recruit talented apprentices as a direct result of this. It gives pupils, teachers and careers staff an insight about what life in engineering is all about – removing any preconceptions they may have had about it being loud or dirty. Our first female welding apprentice was recruited through the programme and she is making outstanding progress.
The scheme has been successful, with
excellent recruits and national industry award wins, but more than this, it has proven to have a positive impact of the local community; we’re seeing a year-on-year increase in requests for work experience, engineering information and to take part in other EYTP related activities. This surely will secure growth and success for MW Hargreaves, our supply chain and the whole engineering industry.
and training schemes. However, the industry itself has a major role to play if a crisis is to be averted. The importance of innovative and engaging
training schemes cannot be underestimated; however, before this, we need to attract the interest of young talent to the HVAC sector in the first place.
Doing the groundwork
The 2017 Engineering UK annual report shows the number of students gaining engineering or technology degrees has actually risen by 9%, with England enjoying the highest number of engineering apprenticeship starts for 10 years. Demand for engineering graduates, however, still widely outstrips supply and in a post-Brexit Britain, the option of recruiting from the EU to fill this shortfall may no longer exist. The drive to recruit young people must start earlier than at the age of 18. Attracting 11- to 16- year-olds into training programmes straight from school is one challenge that we are continually working on. We have seen the many benefits of offering apprenticeships – they help to nurture a loyal, skilled workforce; essential industry skills are passed on; and the apprentices themselves fit well into the company culture. Sadly, the perception persists that
apprenticeships in this sector involve dirty, manual work, offer no real progress and are for low achievers for whom university is not an option. In reality, modern schemes are vastly different; apprentices today are given clear career paths and good opportunities to progress, while the courses lead to nationally recognised qualifications. The challenge for us, as employers, is to
communicate this to young people. Teachers and careers advisers can only share what they know – we need to work with them in order to promote our schemes. Schools have their own day-to-day schedules to stick to, so when working with them, it’s important to be flexible and arrange technology classes or open days to fit in with their timetables. Organising seminars, open days, apprenticeship events within the business and supporting the schools’ own careers evenings all give young people an opportunity to raise concerns, ask questions, share CVs and talk to the people who are already doing that job in order to gain real and practical advice.
It’s no longer just a man’s world
The gender gap is of particular concern. Only four per cent of young people entering apprenticeships are female, with women making up just six per cent of the UK’s registered engineering workforce – far
24 February 2018
lower than in other areas of Europe and India, where around one third are women. Research shows that girls are more likely to be motivated by the prospect of interesting work than financial reward, with females in the industry more likely to encourage others to follow their career path than their male counterparts. Yet misinformation still exists about what an engineering job actually entails. Hearing one of your peers saying ‘actually my job isn’t dirty or boring, it’s interesting and challenging’ is a powerful incentive and we need to demonstrate that modern engineering offers this chance to be inventive and creative. In addition, the terms ‘engineering’ and ‘manufacturing’ cover a huge number of roles – after all, everything from our central heating at home to our mobile phones and tablets has been ‘engineered’ at some stage. Making the terminology itself more specific and relevant will make it more appealing to women – not many would balk at a role as a ‘problem solver’ yet in essence this is central to the role of the engineer.
Get with the programme
Putting together a good apprenticeship programme is vital. Training programmes don’t cost the earth in financial terms but will require time and effort from colleagues to set up, particularly in operations that don’t have an in-house training adviser. Establish the basics of what your course will offer – will it be in fabrication, maintenance or technical, or a mixture of all departments in order to give a full understanding of the entire operation, and what qualifications will be gained through it. NVQ levels 3 and 4, for instance, have course requirements so employers should build in time for apprentices to study and have access to the right information in order to successfully complete all aspects of the programme. Communication is important, in order that the business understands the progress being made and for the apprentice to know how they are improving. For the vast majority, this will be their first experience of working life so make clear what is expected of them and provide a structured course they will stick to. Reward them and encourage team building, possibly through an award scheme to celebrate success and improve
engagement.
Andy Sneyd
www.heatingandventilating.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48
