COMMENT


The Youth of Today...are OK


T


here is absolutely no point in, a page that is destined for the printing presses, in trying to write something profound, erudite or just plain snarky, about the goings-on in Government and, more particularly, in and around 10 Downing Street. Anything that does get written will be out of date more quickly than Rishi Sunak snapped shut the lid of his Mont Blanc suitcase and high-tailed it out of 11 Downing Street. We won’t, probably, have a new Prime Minister by the time this is printed, but we might have a clearer idea of who the front-runners might be. At the time of writing, I can throw a rock over my shoulder and hit a prospective Tory Party leader on the head with it. Some of them I have even heard of. So, instead, allow me to write about something that’s a little more connected to the day job, and which is, for reasons obvious to anyone who knows me, very dear to my heart.


At the end of May, I took part in a Hidden Careers session at Pimlico Academy, a secondary school in London. It was part of the Maddie Rose Campaign. Run in partnership with the Construction Youth Trust, the Campaign aims to encourage students to enter the supplier and merchanting sectors. Our goals are to engage more than 200 pupils across 11 target pilot schools and colleges opening up to them the fantastic career opportunities in the supplier and merchanting sector. It was fascinating and uplifting to see how engaged the youngsters were with the subject. I know from my own teenagers how hard it can be to get them to be interested in anything that’s not on Tik-Tok, but these Year 9 pupils (third year secondary school in old money) were really engaged and interested in everything that the volunteers had to say.


There were six volunteers from various parts of the industry, covering merchanting, construction and manufacturing and construction journalism and we were split across two classes.


CONTACTS Builders Merchants Journal


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EDITORIAL Group Managing Editor: Fiona Russell Horne 01622 699101 07721 841382 frussell-horne@datateam.co.uk


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Production Controller: Nic Mandeville


The Hidden Careers section involves a series of questions, to which the volunteers can answer only Yes or No. The pupils asked loads of questions and managed to work out my Hidden Career quite quickly, just by asking the right questions and working it all out.


The second part of the session involved a challenge where groups of the pupils had to design a new building, taking into account things like the location, what it could be used for, and appearance. It was fascinating to see how they all worked together, and what matters to them in terms of their built environment. Sustainability and energy management all formed a key part of all the designs, as did food: there were a lot of restaurants and cafes in each building, so it’s clear what motivates them. Gratifyingly, there were also a few groups who took account of the materials required to construct their buildings, and how those materials could be delivered. They did really well, and seemed to get more out of it than just missing Double English.


At the moment, the pilot scheme is just in London, where the Construction Youth Trust has its partner schools and colleges, but we plan a roll-out to other parts of the country later in the year. I can’t stress enough the importance of getting young people engaged with this industry. We all know how true that is. The Campaign also aims to build on those initial engagements by arranging work experience placements with companies across the sector. I urge anyone who is interested to check out the website (www.constructionyouth.org.uk/ maddie-rose-campaign/maddie-rose-campaign) and see how you can get involved, either now or as part of the roll-out. It really is worthwhile. I promise you, you won’t regret it, and it will feel so much more inspiring than Westminster-watching. BMJ


Fiona Russell-Horne Group Managing Editor - BMJ


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law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.


“ John Fitzgerald Kennedy ” CONTENTS


4 Newsround The news from around the industry


8 News Extra: NMBS Conference 2022 The main conference points highlighted


16 People


Who’s moved where and 10 Minutes With…


18 Business Helpdesk How to deal with Kitchen and Bathroom design training


20 In Person


BMJ chats with Stelrad CEO Trevor Harvey


21 BMJ Industry Awards 2022


Check out the nominations for this year’s event


25 Viewpoint Comment and thought leadership


28 Roofing


Trends and developments in the roofing sector


38 Sustainability BMJ talks to merchants and suppliers about ways to mitigate the industry’s effect on the planet.


44 Sealants news from the sticky sector


46 BMF Industry Voice The BMF’s own pages bring you all their news


48 Product News Latest products and


developments from suppliers


50 And Finally Try your hand at the BMJ Brainteaser prize crossword


July 2022 www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net 3 Change is the


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