A new campaign, Build A Career Without Limits, has been launched by The Worshipful Company of Builders’ Merchants (WCoBM).
The campaign is being aimed at young people leaving school or college who are looking for a career where they can develop new skills, build their qualifications and explore new avenues to support their ambitions.
It also hopes to target those already in construction, so they’re encouraged to stay, as well as people in other sectors who are thinking of switching careers.
The aim is to raise awareness of the varied and exciting jobs in builders’ merchants and suppliers. The core of the campaign includes a video on the benefits of working in the industry told by people who have done well in their company; and a new leaflet with key facts and figures on construction, with direct links to relevant organisations to find out more.
The campaign will also highlight the financial support which is available to individuals who want to further their training and education, recognising that some may need funding to help progress in their job.
The WCoBM Master Brian Blanchard commented: “Training and education are key objectives of our Company, and it’s an area we support with bursaries and donations from our charitable fund. The idea for the ‘Build A Career Without Limits’ campaign arose from attending exhibitions, talking to schoolchildren, parents and teachers, presenting in schools, and realising very quickly that as an industry we’ve not been very good at communicating what we do, what’s good about our industry, and why it matters.
“Awareness of construction is low, and what people think they know is often incorrect or negative, so there’s little motivation to join our industry. In fact, not only is construction not generally on the list of careers to consider, but parents and teachers tend to steer their children and students away from it.”
He continued: “At a time when the industry has a skills and capacity shortfall that’s a serious problem. The reality is, it’s a very attractive industry with tremendous career prospects. Compared with other industries the range of jobs is enormous, and the opportunities for learning new skills and training and development are excellent. Someone starting at the bottom of the ladder can work their way up to the very top – indeed many of our members have done just that, acquiring skills, qualifications and experience on the way. Some have worked their way up to run some of the largest companies in the UK.”
The new campaign has been developed to support and work with bodies such as the Builders’ Merchants Federation (BMF), CITB, Go Construct, CIMCIG and others to amplify key messages, improve the image of construction, and encourage people to join the industry, and stay to build a career without limits.
To watch the video or for more information, visit www.wcobm.co.uk or call 020 7329 2189.
