In a bid to address the roofing industry skills shortage, Bracknell Roofing says it has continued with a programme of investing in young people with the appointment of another apprentice. This takes the total number of apprentices and trainees to eight.
The company, which employs more than 80 people, has appointed 18-year-old Harvey Jellyman as a contracts apprentice, based at its head office in Burton upon Trent. He joins the team headed up by one of the company’s most experienced branch managers, Ian Bladon.
The vacancy was created after 20-year-old Angus Blair-Park completed his apprenticeship, and is now training to become a quantity surveyor.
Divisional director, Simon Smith, believes that the investment in a model to bring on young talent through both apprenticeships and trainee schemes is paying dividends for the company and they now account for a tenth of the company’s workforce.
Simon said: “We are particularly delighted by Harvey’s appointment as the vacancy arose because another young person who joined us from school has completed an apprenticeship and is ready to take the next step in their career development with Bracknell Roofing.
“Our training model is really coming to fruition and having a pipeline of talent not only serves to benefit our business in the future, but also sends out a strong signal to other young people that Bracknell Roofing can offer attractive career prospects in an industry that has real longevity. We have been impressed by Harvey’s enthusiasm and he is showing early promise.”
Harvey has reportedly already hit the ground running, learning about different disciplines within contracting, such as ordering and purchasing materials for projects. His apprenticeship will also cover areas such as estimating.
He said: “I’m lucky to be working for one of the UK’s leading specialist roof slating and tiling contactors, which provides me with lots of opportunities to progress.
“The team is great and I also get to work alongside Angus, former apprentice who is training to be a quantity surveyor ¬– so I get to see some of the things that entails as well.”
Simon added: “There’s been lots of debate in the roofing industry about the skills shortage, and there’s no doubt that it’s a real problem and needs addressing from the top down.
“But we can’t wait forever, so we’ve approached it from the bottom up. It’s been hard work, but we’ve rolled our sleeves up and got on with it, creating a model that works for us. We’re really pleased that it stands us in good stead to continue attracting candidates to secure the future of our business.”
