A skills and labour shortage affecting our sector currently is increasingly being referred to as a “crisis”. The risk is that skills built up over generations will be lost to the trade forever, as older floorlayers retire and younger skilled workers are not encouraged to come into the sector, leading to declining quality and viability going forward. It is made worse by the fact that there is no quick fix. As we all know, it takes years, on-site and in training environments to build up good floorlaying skills.
Like everyone else, CFA recognises this situation as one of the key challenges that our industry faces at the moment (along with a good few others!). It is, and always has been, committed to upskilling the industry. The annual Contract Flooring Industry Training Guide from the CFA is the definitive source for the latest information about flooring industry training opportunities in the UK and is overseen by Shaun Wadsworth, CFA and FITA Training Manager. Email: shaun@cfa.org.uk
The Guide provides a full and comprehensive reference point for employers with training needs, covering all areas within the flooring sector. The content covers core training areas such as floorlaying apprenticeships, funding and how to access it, and assistance with recruitment. Specific and relevant information is provided for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is information on NVQs for experienced workers and how to access them, as well as a comprehensive list of 1 – 4 day courses offered by the Flooring Industry Training Association (FITA) for both the commercial and domestic markets.
The Guide is available as a free download from the CFA website.
The importance of the Flooring Apprentice of the year Competition should not be underestimated either. CFA have proudly promoted this award in conjunction with Contract Flooring Journal for the past nine years and we see very high levels of engagement from employers, apprentices, training providers and sponsors, one of which is F. Ball of course. The competition is a platform for apprentices to showcase the skills that they have learnt during their apprenticeship. For the companies which employ the apprentices involved, it shows their commitment to training their workforce and their investment in the next generation of flooring fitters. So this is another opportunity to congratulate this year’s winner, Jack Gray from Veitchi Flooring in Glasgow.
We recognise and are grateful for the huge investment that companies like F. Ball and other manufacturers put into training. It is sponsorship from the industry which enables us to deliver training via FITA which has that combination of quality and affordability, while using the best available materials. All CFA members can get 15% off the cost of training at FITA. Further details are available on the website.
We do recognise however that we all need to do more and at the CFA we are happy to facilitate and encourage the provision of additional training facilities and apprenticeship resources where we can, whether that is via colleges, additional FITA Training Centres or provided by suppliers.
BUT the impetus for this, in order for it to be sustainable and successful, must come from the industry itself. We would ask all contractors to consider whether they can assist by either employing one or more apprentices or by advertising new roles to those from outside industry within their businesses which come with supported training from manufacturers like F. Ball and training organisations like FITA. Web resources like Talentview (allowing flooring contractors to post fitting vacancies and/or apprentice opportunities for free) or Construction Talent Retention Scheme (a space designed to ensure skilled labour does not leave the construction sector) are excellent and can really help with recruitment. GoConstruct provides a place where you can send someone new to flooring to understand more about the opportunities and the role.
CFA member companies will get free support on this journey – and it is only by all pulling together and lobbying Government for support when we need it that we can improve the skills and labour shortage in the immediate future.