News analysis with BESA
President puts focus on youth
Younger engineers are best placed to exploit digital technology in construction
Poppleton and has been working in the building engineering sector for 35 years. He is the third Association President to come from
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Poppleton after Gareth Vaughan, who was President of what was then the HVCA in 2008/9, and also the founder’s grandson Edgar Poppleton, who served in 1988/89. The company, which is based in Colwyn Bay, has been a member of the Association for almost 60 years.
Mr Hopkinson said the main focus of his year as
BESA President would be to “drive emerging talent into our industry” and empower young people to set the agenda for the Association’s future. He added that he would be unveiling a major new initiative at the annual BESA President’s Lunch later this month that would set a new direction for the sector’s “future leadership”. “It is one of the great strengths of BESA that we have a rich heritage of expertise and achievement and that we can trace our roots all the way back to 1904,” he said in his speech to the Association’s annual general meeting.
Talent
“Very few trade bodies can boast such a legacy of influence and industry leadership, but it is important that we build on the past to shape an even better future for both the industry and for our Association. That is why I have chosen that my main theme for the year will focus heavily on young people and our industry’s future talent.”
He added that this would also be part of his
campaign to raise the profile and status of the building engineering profession and make careers in the industry more attractive and exciting for young people of any gender and from truly diverse backgrounds. The President also called on the government to deliver “a swift, but positive resolution to negotiations with the EU
ew BESA President Tim Hopkinson is managing director of the ductwork manufacturer and installation contractor E
Tim Hopkinson is putting the next generation of building engineers at the heart of his year as BESA President
that allows UK industry to face the future with a clear idea of what it needs to do to drive growth”. Improved certainty for UK businesses following
an unprecedented period of political upheaval was crucial, he said, to create the right business environment for employers so they could also invest in apprentices and new technologies. “We have a considerable and growing skills gap –
not likely to be helped if there isn’t a swift resolution to the issue of freedom of movement and the status of EU workers in this country,” said Mr Hopkinson. “There is no doubt that Brexit is creating doubt
and uncertainty. Likewise, the recent general election has compounded this position – and with uncertainty comes a risk to confidence and potential delay. Delayed decisions on projects; delayed investment in new skills and technologies; and delayed economic growth.” He said that various recessions had starved the building engineering sector of investment in skills and training and, this made it even more important to attract a greater number of young people to the sector. He said support for the new Trailblazer
apprenticeship framework would be a priority during his presidential year and he described creating a more diverse workforce as being “critical to the sector’s ability to deliver successful projects in the future”. “I am greatly encouraged by the Association’s efforts to develop a wide range of apprenticeships at all levels and covering multiple sectors including installation; service & maintenance; ductwork; ventilation hygiene; refrigeration, air conditioning and heat pumps,” said Mr Hopkinson. “The training department is working tirelessly on a
variety of initiatives spearheaded by the impressive project to develop Trailblazer apprenticeships.”
Energy
However, he said the government needed to “show more energy” in its support for apprenticeships by delivering on its funding promises and fully backing essential training and development. BESA is working with building engineering
employers to ensure training is up-to-date and relevant to the skills they need. It is developing apprenticeships from initial technician grades right up to degree equivalence that will meet the industry’s future skills requirements.
Mr Hopskinson congratulated the training department for ensuring BESA was listed on the new Register of Approved Training Providers, which he said was all part of “our commitment to deliver a range of training benefits to BESA members and guidance on the funding available to help them”. “Clearly employers must have some certainty of the future pipeline of work in order to invest in apprenticeships. Therefore, the government will have an essential part to play by providing a commitment to build when planned and its role as a client will be increasingly important in the post- Brexit era. “Yet, fundamentally, it is our responsibility to develop young people so they can set the agenda for the industry’s future
14 September 2017
www.heatingandventilating.net
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