ROUND TABLE
A YOUNGER PERSPECTIVE
BMJ joined a conversation between three younger Partners, chatting about developing younger people through the industry.
BMJ: Has the industry changed how it views younger people coming in? LP: I’ve found that the more established people in the industry are really quite open to the younger, newer ones. They love to bring you along with them.
EP: I agree. They’re really happy to share the experience that they’ve developed through their time in the industry. They might see you as a younger person, but they don’t talk down to you. It’s more like, they’re thinking: “OK I’ll talk to this youngster and maybe share something that will help them come along.” I think other industries might suffer from people pulling up the ladder as they go off to higher things, but this one feels very much the opposite. They’ve made all the same mistakes and there’s a real feeling of trying to help us, as the younger generation, not to make the same ones.
LP: The campaigns to try and open up the industry to younger people are going to be really helpful, I think. It’s really good to finally see that we are actually doing something. Now, I feel like we talked about it for so long and it’s a really positive step that BMF has started the campaign and we are trying to attract young and new talent.
When I first joined the industry, I think it was fair to say that it was mostly made up of middle-aged men. There weren’t many youngsters in leadership positions and few women. I think we still have a long way to go, but it’s good that we are starting to take steps in the right direction. I think at the Conference this year we can see that there are more young people walking around. And that’s really encouraging to see.
22 LOOK WHO’S TALKING
Lauren Penney, Operations and Marketing Manager Chandler Materials Supplies.
Ed Parlato, Branch Manager Browns Builder’s Merchants.
James Scott, Manager Professional Traders Ltd.
JS: One of the best things about this industry is that so much of it is based on friendships and on good, solid relationships. Anyone who is something of a social butterfly will thrive in this sector. You just have to be a people person. If you are, then somebody will help out if you need it, not just because they’re being sociable, but because they want you to do well.
What’s great is that there are so many things to get involved in and that builds your knowledge, not just about the industry, its structure and the products, but also the people. I came to my first NBG Conference last year and this year I have seen so many more people that I know to say hello to.
EP: I think that’s one of the big differences to previous years: the number of younger people that the Partners have brought with them to the event. In the past, it would have been the Suppliers. Because they might come with four people, they have the chance to bring one of their younger Account Managers, or newer Directors. This year, we’ve seen the merchants get younger as well.
BMJ: Have you seen any issues within your own businesses to do with being the younger ones, or bringing younger people in? JS: There is a bit of a...let’s call it a knowledge prejudice. It’s not necessarily on purpose, but people can assume that you don’t have the knowledge. Yet we’ve come into the industry to learn about it and we are learning in the same way that every new person did. It’s more a general assumption that someone older will have the knowledge.
LP: I think in my business, we’ve worked really hard to try to break that. And even within management of the business – the people that make the decisions – when I was first starting out, I had to fight quite hard to get my voice heard. But after a couple of times of it being heard, it’s less of a fight now. Once you earn your place and earn the respect, the age doesn’t really matter.
EP: It’s interesting that we all have that to a certain degree. We’re bringing younger people through now and we know we have to learn how to manage them in the same way that
January 2025
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