The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) is urging military engineers transitioning to civilian life to consider becoming trainers, assessors and building safety auditors.
With engineering and construction-related businesses reporting huge shortages of suitably trained people able to fill their widening skills gaps, the Association is reaching out to army leavers in a bid to address the critical shortage of apprenticeship trainers and assessors that continues to undermine the delivery of building services courses.
It is urging them to consider signing up to BESA’s fully funded Skills Legacy programme which was launched this year with the aim of recruiting 100 trainers and assessors to help further education (FE) providers deliver more building services apprenticeships.
BESA’s nationwide scheme is bringing together employers and training providers to create a pathway for anyone with the right skills, experience and qualifications to become a trainer or assessor qualified to a Level 3 Certificate in Assessing Vocational Achievement (CAVA).
It will also train engineers to become qualified building safety auditors in line with the ISO 9001 management standard to help the industry cope with new competence requirements created by the Building Safety Act.
“68% of UK employers struggled to find skilled workers in the past year, with the shortfall costing businesses a collective £4.4 billion,” said BESA’s head of competence Stuart Rattray. “Yet there is an often-overlooked solution hiding in plain sight in the shape of highly trained people leaving our armed forces“.
“However, as well as being ideal direct recruits into the built environment workforce, they can also be rapidly re-trained to help our colleges deliver more of the specialist courses we so desperately need.”
Army leavers have a range of technical and leadership skills developed in challenging situations which gives them the attributes needed to become trainers, assessors and building safety auditors.
They are used to working under pressure, adapting to new technologies and environments quickly, and delivering results against tight deadlines – and, while many can be recruited directly into the sector’s workforce, BESA is keen to encourage others to focus on training up the next generation of building engineers.
“With a background that values commitment, structure, and integrity, former armed forces personnel are ideal for passing on a strong work ethic and the importance of reliability to a new generation – things that are hugely valuable to employers,” said Rattray.
“They can also hit the ground running which is also extremely valuable at a time when our industry is struggling to cope with an ageing, and therefore shrinking, workforce.”
By way of illustration, two members of the Royal Corps of Engineers reached the final of this year’s WorldSkills UK refrigeration, air conditioning, and heat pump section, which is organised by BESA, with one of those, 18-year-old Isaac Jervis, going on to take the gold medal.
The Manly Charitable Trust is co-sponsoring the scheme and is committed to funding the first 50 participants. Founded in 1991 by former BESA President Graham Manly in memory of his father Alfred Manly, the trust provides financial assistance to charities that provide opportunities for young people in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and help advance engineering education.
For more information about joining BESA’s Skills Legacy programme, visit the website here, and more information about the Manly Trust can be found here.