INDUSTRY VOICE
BMF in National Apprenticeship Week
THE BMF WAS in Parliament again last month to attend events by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Apprenticeships.
The first was a meeting arranged to celebrate National Apprenticeship Week and hear direct from 6 apprentices about choices they made on leaving school. Brett Amphlett, Policy & Public Affairs’ Manager, represented the BMF.
Debate and discussion at BMF All-Industry Conference
Three distinct themes emerged: • Teachers put pressure on pupils to go to university, because it counts towards school performance in league tables • Stigma: parents see
apprenticeships as being for kids who are educational failures • Young learners find it difficult to afford travel costs - it is not uncommon to spend more than half their wages on travel. A reception for employers, apprentices and training providers followed this APPG meeting, at which Education Secretary Damian Hinds MP spoke. He praised the apprentices, but there was criticism that when young people choose university, there is huge support from parents, schools and UCAS. This is absent from those who choose to take technical education or vocational training. APPGs are a good way for the BMF to reach politicians. The BMF spoke to MPs from Sussex, Birmingham, Blackpool and Newcastle and peers from four different parties in the House of Lords.
DELEGATES AT the BMF All- Industry Conference in Dubrovnik in June will have a choice of four interactive industry workshops to attend as part of the Saturday morning programme, each offering a thought-provoking platform for group discussions. The format is based on the specialist BMF Industry Forums which are growing in both number and popularity. There are now more than 15 such Forums meeting on a regular basis serving various sector and functional interest groups within the building materials industry.
Delegates will be able to attend up to two of the following special interest workshops at the BMF All- Industry Conference: Marketing Forum Mark Mallinder, Marketing Director of EH Smith is guest speaker at this workshop, setting the scene before a Q&A session that is certain to consider the
impact of Brexit on business development and marketing strategies. The session is chaired by Lucia Di Stazio, MD of MRA Marketing, the sponsors of this forum.
Plumbing & Heating Forum P&H is the longest standing of the BMF Forums and one of
BMF DIARY DATES
APRIL 16 BMF Decorative Forum, Crown Paints, Darwen
24 BMF Scotland regional meeting, VELUX, Glenrothes
25 BMF Finance Forum, BMF, Coventry
30 BMF Supplier & Service Member Forum, JCB, Rocester
MAY 14 BMF Technology Forum, Sophos, Abingdon
15 BMF Yorkshire regional meeting, venue TBC, York
16 BMF Transport & Distribution Forum, BMF, Coventry
23 BMF Timber Forum, BMF, Coventry
JUNE 13-16 BMF All-Industry Conference, Dubrovnik
JULY 5-7 BMF Young Merchants Information trip to Toulouse.
11 Bob Beaver Memorial Shoot, Royal Berkshire Shooting Ground
12-14 BMF Mastermerchant, Ambleside
SEPTEMBER 5-8 Pavestone Rally, Reims to Lake Como
18-19 BMF Members’ Day Annual Conference and Awards, St George’s Park, Tatenhill
OCTOBER To book your place or for more information about BMF events please visit
www.bmf.org.uk/events 44
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net April 2019
2 BMF Marketing Forum, BMF, Coventry
8-10 UK Construction Week, NEC, Birmingham
15 BMF North East regional meeting, venue TBC
17 BMF Finance Forum, BMF, Coventry
17-19 UFEMAT Congress, Montreux, Switzerland
NOVEMBER 14 BMF East Midlands regional meeting, venue TBC
DECEMBER 4 BMF Yorkshire regional meeting, venue TBC
the most well-supported. The guest speakers for this special Conference session are Andrew Harrison, CEO of Travis Perkins’ Plumbing Division and Jonathan Collier, MD of Monument Tools, who are sponsoring this workshop. The session will be chaired by Mark Bradley, MD of Plumbase.
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