Constructionshows
There is a strategic need to promote the construction equipment industry to young
adults and their parents. Leading this part of the equation is the Construction Plant-hire Association (CPA) with their ‘Stars of the Future’ scheme. This was intended to recognise the achievements of young adults training to become plant mechanics, but the PR value to the industry as a whole is equally significant.
The inaugural Stars of the Future programme ran during the 2012/13 academic year and attracted 489 entries from a dozen colleges throughout the UK. The first award ceremony took place during the Plantworx show in May and attracted hundreds of interested parties.Presenting the awards was Richard Noble OBE – a land speed record holder and the pioneer of the current Bloodhound project – who said, “There is a serious problem finding engineers in the UK. The majority that we do find are in their 40s to 60s – we need new blood – and Stars of the Future is a good start.”
Haydn Steele, CPA’s training manager, said, “It was amazing to see so much support for the Stars of the Future, which encapsulated the ethos of the industry, employers, trainers and the next generation of engineers. We have set a very high benchmark but we intend to make the scheme even bigger and better next year.”
The CPA is now busily planning for the 2014 Stars of the Future award event, which will be held at the Vertikal Days show, taking place at Haydock Park, Merseyside on 14/15 May 2014. The presentation will take place on the first day of the event.
The entry criteria for Stars of the Future 2014 remain the same; it is open to plant mechanic apprentices on courses at Level 2 and Level 3. The two national winners will receive a substantial amount of tool vouchers and the 20 regional winners will each receive valuable vouchers. (Amounts to be confirmed).
To date ten colleges have committed to the 2014 competition and, in addition to the Finning Academy and the National Construction College, they include Askham Bryan, Bridgend, Coleg Lysfasi, Myerscough, North Glasgow, Reaseheath, Wiltshire and Stafford.
Stafford College construction plant lecturer, Eddie Peake, said, “The Stars of the Future event was fantastic and the students who attended found the speech from Sir Richard Noble very inspirational. Seeing their peers receive awards also gave them something to aim for and they found that aspect really motivational. We are looking forward to participating in the 2014 event.”
Why are ‘Stars of the Future’ and other apprentice schemes vital to our industry?
A recent survey published by PwC has highlighted just how important ‘Stars of the Future’ and other apprentice schemes are. PwC economists have predicted that there could be as many as 100,000 jobs on the cards for industry sectors by 2020! Jobs comprise of 50,000 new UK manufacturing jobs, 40,000 jobs in transport and 17,400 new jobs in construction!
Another published report from CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development) suggests that there will be 13.5 million job vacancies in the UK over the next 10 years, but only seven million school and college leavers.
Of particular concern to the construction sector are leavers with professional level grades, everything from field service people to manufacturing employees, in addition to the beating heart of our industry; machine operators and plant mechanics, which keep our machines on the move.
Nick Ground, president of the Construction Equipment Association (CEA) and MD of GKD Technik said, “The construction equipment sector is as advanced as aerospace and offers engineers of all disciplines the opportunity to be involved in the creation of advanced vehicles. What surprises me is the high number of our sector CEO's that were once apprentices. Surely that is attractive to future engineers?”
To find out more about Stars of the Future call Haydn Steele CPA training manager on Tel. 020 7796 3366 or visit www.cpa.uk.net/stars. Don’t forget to put 14th and 15th May in your diary and see you at Vertikal Days.