Learn a trade

Central heating, running water and even the roof above our heads may be things we all take for granted, but what would be done without the people that are responsible for them.

Skills shortage may not immediately concern us but we would soon realise its effects if there wasn’t a knight in shining armour on the end of the phone to mend the leaky washing machine or put up those new shelves.

It’s too easy to dismiss practical careers as somehow being second rate, but that’s certainly not the case.

"The construction industry plays a critical role in ensuring Britain’s prosperity. Not only does it contribute significantly to the gross domestic product and is a substantial employer, but it also provides the infrastructure essential for the rest of the economy," said Brian Wilson MP, former Minister of State for Industry and Energy.

"The industry currently faces a significant range of challenges; to increase its productivity to international levels, to modernise its processes, to better serve its customers and to manage its human resources better."

The view that there are not enough new recruits within the industry is one held by many, from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to massive multi-national companies.

"It is very difficult to find hard working apprentices, the calibre of apprentice today is certainly not what it was; they tend to be disinterested, lazy and mentally have no strength. There is no denying the work can be tough with days sometimes starting at 7.30 am and not finishing until 5pm. The physical side of the job is also tough but hard work is rewarded." Said Derek Cummings of A-Z Building Services.

"I see many experienced tradesmen going on to become supervisors and managers, leaving few experienced labourers behind on the job. There will have to be something done, quickly."

Large companies are also recognising the need for skilled workers and are recruiting more than ever.

"We have a long-standing commitment to apprentice training which we see as a vital element in our future success." said Steven Boyes, Barrat Northern Region Chairman.

"At craft level our target is to employ at least one apprentice per site, which means more than 50 trainees at current build levels in the North."

British Gas also recognise the need to train new recruits, with plans to take on almost 400 recruits in the North East. There is a forecasted industry-wide shortage of gas engineers due to an ageing workforce, a fall in the recruitment and training of new entrants and increased customer demand.

The Government also recognises the need to encourage people to gain skills and qualifications allocating an extra £130 million to extend the pioneering Employer Training Pilots. It has also set itself a new target that by 2010 90% of young people by age 22 will have participated in a full-time programme fitting them for entry into higher education or skilled employment. A new Modern Apprenticeship taskforce will be employer led and will be the new driving force behind the expansion and development of Modern Apprenticeships.

"There is a large number of adults in the UK workforce with no or very low level qualifications. This has to improve because the quantity and quality of skilled labour is essential to our productivity and growth." said Charles Clark, Secretary of State for Education and Skills.

In the North East there are currently just over 59,000 people employed in the construction sector, but to meet demands there will have to be an extra 2,500 new recruits every year for the next five years.

Working in vocational work can be extremely rewarding and satisfying, seeing a project through from start to finish. There is a huge gap in the labour market, with the present time being the ideal time to enter the job market. Wages are high and work is plentiful, and we desperately need to know that when disaster strikes an hour later a knight in shining armour will still arrive on the doorstep.

So who earns the money in the UK today? You’d be forgiven for assuming that it’s those occupations which require years of training and don’t involve getting your hands dirty.

It’s true that serious money may be earned by the likes of doctors and lawyers, but that’s not to say that those in less glamorous occupations can also make a very nice living.

You would think that white collar work would automatically pay more than those who do more manual labour, but that really isn’t the case.

A recent wage survey brings this fact starkly home - would you believe that an electrician earns more than an estate agent or that a carpenter brings home more cash than a cashier?

In the study of average wage earnings the average carpenter earns £379 per week compared to £323 a week earned by a cashier.

Building, roofing and plumbing may not be presumed to be lucrative lines of work, but these skilled tradesmen can earn more than many of their blue and white collared counterparts.

Working as a computer operator could provide a wage of around £385 yet a plumber will, on average, earn around £435 per week.

Other unexpected differences in wages include a plasterer earning more than an air hostess and a forklift driver earning more than a word processor operator.

Not that we would recommend this as a career choice, but the anomaly in who earns what is brought firmly home by the fact that a beggar with a good pitch in central London can earn a staggering £750 a week – that’s more than a bishop, a fireman, a nurse, a policeman or your average teacher.

And here’s a little pop quiz – who do you think earns the most cash? Is it a GP, an investment analyst or a brain surgeon?

It’s none of these three but the arguably less skilled glamour photographer who brings in an amazing £4,800 every week.

That leaves the doctor at £1,156, the analyst at £1,007 and the brain surgeon at £1,538 a long way behind.

The recent study shows that vocational careers are not viewed as second-rate work but on a par and in many cases earning more than other professions. Of all the construction industry jobs, electricians earn most at £473 per week with plasterers at the bottom end but still bringing in a respectable £326.
Good careers don’t have to involve years of academic study or having to wear a shirt and tie for work as this survey proves.

John Kelly is 16 yrs old from Peterlee

John could have been typical of many teenagers that have recently passed the age of having to attend school.

Leaving school with few, if any, qualifications, having not taken to the education system, and certainly not wanting to go to a college or training provider, an uncertain future coupled with low aspiration, unable to claim any benefits, bored and with time on their hands.

But John realised that doing nothing was not an option for him.

He had hung about with mates on the streets around his area of Peterlee, and had seen the older ones looking for ways to relieve their boredom.
This was not how John saw his life panning out.

He enjoyed physical work and didn’t mind working in an outdoors environment. John also believed that he could develop the talents and skills that would lead to a job with a decent wage attached.

He decided to try a bricklaying course at his local East Durham and Houghall Community College.

John said, "I wasn’t very good at school, and didn’t really enjoy it, but I knew that I still needed to do something positive with my life, and didn’t fancy just hanging around the streets. I thought that bricklaying was a good idea, as some of my mates were already there doing it. I found that I really enjoyed building the walls and arches and thought, if I learn enough, I could always move away and find work.

He added, "It wasn’t until this bloke came to the college talking about Lifelong Learning and how we can always keep on learning after school, that I really started to think on, he told me that I didn’t have to leave Peterlee to be successful and earn good money. He said that the district needed young people like me with bricklaying skills, and other young people who could do plumbing, joinery, metal work and things like that.

He said that he had just paid somebody £30 to cement 9 bricks around his out-side sink to stop the splashing. "I thought, I could have done that easy! I reckon I can make my fortune doing bricklaying round here"

Learning through, for and about work

The ‘hidden’ activities of businesses at grass roots level may be making a nonsense of the official estimate that only one in 10 UK businesses is involved in activity supporting education or the provision of work-related learning to young people.

We have no doubt that the work-related learning culture is much more deeply embedded in the Tees Valley than official figures credit. Businesses recognise the advantages of contributing to the education of their future employees and are prepared to make practical contributions.

There is wide recognition that a cultural change is necessary to meet the needs of both students and employers in the 21st century. This fact has been responsible for the flow of initiatives and programmes that have created a good deal of confusion within the worlds of Education and Business as to who is responsible for the provision of work related learning. At the same time, it should be noted that many have welcomed some of the innovations responsible for the confusion, as meeting business needs.

Many Business Support Organisations, for example, welcome the role of the Education Business Link Network and approve of Work Experience being one of our core activities; they are ‘highly supportive’ of the Modern Apprenticeship programme; they like the concept of City Technology Colleges and support the Specialist Schools programme; and they welcome the re-focusing of careers advice through the new Connexions programme. Businesses are also starting to get to grips with the concept of CoVE’s - Centre's of Vocational Excellence, which involve the establishment of specialist areas of vocational provision at Further Education Colleges through a £100m programme.

However, it is the introduction of Applied GCSE’s, new qualifications designed to raise the prestige and profile of Vocational Education that could have the greatest impact of work related learning.

While all this activity is inevitably confusing, it means there is now more scope within Vocational Education to cater for present business needs and more flexibility to adapt to its future needs. Moreover, there is much greater recognition of the fact that businesses should not be passive customers of the system but should play their part, as key stakeholders, in helping to ensure it continues to develop and grow to meet new challenges and demands.

One element of our role is the major task of involving more and more Tees Valley businesses in the development of their future workforce. Employers can make a massive contribution to introducing and embedding a dynamic new educational culture in the region, to the benefit of themselves and the young people who will become their future employers.

If your business is based in the Tees Valley and you want to contribute your ideas or practical support towards the realisation of this aim, or if you would like to find out more about learn2work or any of its services, please contact James Glancy on 01642 353229 or by email at james.glancey@learn2work.net