Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, has praised the commitment of the Builders Merchants Federation (BMF) for encouraging more young people to enter the building materials industry.
During a visit to the BMF headquarters, the Mayor met with apprentices and discussed the career prospects for young people in the sector, which directly provides 330,000 jobs, across 23,000 companies in the UK.
The Mayor is said to of congratulated the BMF for establishing its own Apprenticeships Training Agency, which works to increase the number of school and college leavers considering a career in merchanting.
He commented: “I’m delighted by the work the BMF is doing to attract young people in the West Midlands and elsewhere in the country to take up apprenticeships in the building materials industry. As a region we have ambitious plans to grow, so we’ll need our materials supply chain to be performing at its best. This presents great opportunities for young people to start a career in an exciting and growing industry”.
The Mayor also met with John Newcomb, Chief Executive of the BMF, who welcomed the Mayor’s support for the industry.
John commented: “Merchants are delivering the building blocks for growth in all parts of the UK. We’re delighted by the Mayor’s vision for boosting the economic development of the West Midlands region, and this presents many new employment opportunities within the builders’ merchants industry.
“Our members are committed to supporting the training and development of staff, and the BMF is partnered with universities in Birmingham and Coventry to further develop young merchants’ skills and to make the most of the technological changes that will shape our industry over the coming years.
“We are grateful to the Mayor for his backing of our merchants apprenticeship scheme and we urge any school or college leaver to look into joining our industry”.
