THE National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC) has announced the launch of a new careers service to help tackle ‘chronic’ skill shortages in the roofing and cladding industry.
The NFRC Roofing Careers Service is a free online resource aimed at young people, career changers and employers offering careers information, guidance and links to other useful resources.
The service aims to attract new entrants into the sector and help employers to recruit. The move follows NFRC’s State of the Roofing Industry Survey for Q3 2021, which found that 77% of roofing contractors were experiencing recruitment difficulties.
The Careers Service is split into two categories. One is first steps on the ladder (getting in), aimed at young people and their influencers, providing them with careers advice, encouragement and signposting. The other is holding the ladder for others (employers portal), which is aimed at employers to help them to build their businesses, take on an apprentice or trainee, and recruit in an inclusive way.
Later this year, two extra sections on career progression/leadership and other professional roles will be launched.
The site includes roofing career case studies and job profiles from apprentices through to estimators and managing directors.
For employers, free resources include financial planning templates, advice on employment contracts, links to grants and funding opportunities.
Ruth Scarrott, NFRC head of careers, Ruth Scarrott, said, “Our industry has so many great career opportunities, and we want to showcase this—that is why we have created a dedicated Roofing Careers Service. Whilst there are already a plethora of resources on careers in construction, these are spread across lots of different places, which can make it confusing for a young person and are often not roofing specific.
“The Roofing Careers Service aims to tackle this by putting everything related to roofing careers in one central place that can be easily accessed. We will be working with the CITB and other strategic partners to join the dots for career pathways into our fantastic industry. Through this collaborative effort, we hope to attract many more young people to our sector.
“We know that over three quarters of roofing contractors are experiencing recruitment difficulties at this time, and that is why helping employers is an equally important part of the Roofing Careers Service. Whether it is supporting roofing contractors to grow their business, recruit the best talent, or ensure their teams are diverse and inclusive, the Roofing Careers Service is there to help.”
Lucie Wright, careers strategy manager at the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), added, “Informing, inspiring and attracting new recruits is essential to ensuring the construction industry thrives — and NFRC’s new Roofing Careers Service will form a valuable part of this alongside Go Construct.
“We continue to work with industry partners to provide careers support, advice and guidance on specialisms within the roofing sector.”
