NAPIT Training says more needs to be done to encourage younger people to train to become installers in the construction services industry.
 
The industry is looking to fill 182,000 jobs in the next five years to aid recovery and, according to the latest Construction Trade Survey from the Construction Products Association (CPA), activity within the sector has continued to grow despite various challenges. This has led to increasing demand for installers who are already busy during the financial recovery.
 
Ian Halton, NAPIT’s Training and Business Relationship Director, said: “The construction industry desperately needs an influx of skilled installers to meet increasing demand and apprenticeships are a great way to achieve this. We feel that more must be done to ensure younger people are still entering various trades within the construction industry and gaining the appropriate skills to do so. If this skills gap is allowed to grow, the future of the industry is not looking secure.”
 
NAPIT launched the Apprentice/Work Experience Scheme (AWES) this summer to offer students the opportunity to work with, and learn from, members of a Government-approved Competent Person Scheme. NAPIT is keen for future installers to learn from professionals who uphold the same high standards it has promoted for more than twenty years. Working alongside NAPIT installers will highlight the importance of competency in the industry.
 
The benefits of apprenticeships to businesses are plentiful, with 96 per cent of employers who take on an apprentice reporting positive steps for their company [3]. Whilst shaping the future of the industry; employers profit from a cost-effective, motivated addition to their workforce who is keen to listen and learn. At the end of the apprenticeship the business will have a potential long-term employee who has been trained by its workers, and thus is familiar with their company processes and ethos.
 
Are you an installer who’s looking to take on apprentices? Contact NAPIT on 0845 5430330 or email awes@napit.org.uk for more information about the scheme. All NAPIT installers who take on apprentices will get £30 off their renewal fees and up to £30 off for providing a work experience placement, depending on the length of the placement.
 
NAPIT Training offer industry recognised courses for a wide range of installers. To view the full list of courses available on offer, visit www.napittraining.co.uk