A scheme launched by the Building Engineering Services Association to tackle a critical shortage of trainers and assessors is to receive significant financial backing from a leading charitable trust.

BESA aims to recruit 100 trainers, assessors and building safety auditors through its Skills Legacy programme to plug an alarming gap that it says threatens to “leave the building services industry unable to train and assess new entrants to the sector or cope with increasing scrutiny of its safety processes following the Grenfell tragedy”.

The Manly Trust, which has been supporting charities that work with young people and create opportunities through engineering training for 34 years, will fully fund the first 50 candidates who complete the assessment process.

“This is a game changing development for this crucial industry initiative,” said BESA’s head of skills & policy Stuart Rattray. “The shortage of trainers and assessors is a serious barrier to the recruitment and development of the next generation of engineers, so this generous funding from the Manly Trust could have a huge impact on the future of our industry.”

The Association said its Skills Legacy programme aimed to recruit experienced engineers motivated to give something back to their industry by passing on their expertise to help the further education (FE) sector meet growing demand from employers.

Competence
The scheme will also recruit building safety auditors to help the industry cope with new competence requirements created by the Building Safety Act.

The Manly Trust was founded in 1991 by former BESA and CIBSE President Graham Manly in memory of his father Alfred Manly to provide financial assistance to charities that provide opportunities for young people in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) and help advance engineering education.

It has since provided more than £1.8 million in funding through grants made to more than 130 different charities and causes.

A G Manly & Company, based in Wandsworth, was founded in 1948 and became one of the largest independent building services engineering firms in the UK. Graham joined the company in 1972 and became managing director 10 years later. The company was sold to Gratte Brothers in 2002.

Both Alfred and Graham served as presidents of the Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association (now BESA).  Graham was also President of CIBSE in 2004 and was awarded an OBE for his contribution to building services engineering in 2012. He died in 2019.

“My father championed many causes throughout his 40-year career but had a particular passion for supporting young engineers through education, training, and career development,” said Graham’s son David Manly, who is a trustee.

“He set up the Trust to make sure this support would continue. Causes like BESA’s Skills Legacy programme are exactly the sort of initiatives he envisioned as they work towards developing and promoting future generations of building services engineers.”

BESA said the scheme should give FE colleges and other education providers greater reassurance that building engineering training courses would be supported. The lack of appropriately qualified people to deliver and assess training and apprenticeship schemes means the sector is often regarded as ‘high risk’ by FE providers leading to a shortage of training capacity nationwide.

“Our workforce is ageing and is already under intense pressure,” said Rattray. “The average age across construction related sectors is 53 so without a dramatic increase in numbers of young people coming in, a labour force crunch is looming.

“However, simply improving recruitment will not address the fundamental problems we face. Unless we address the shortage of trainers and assessors who can deliver programmes, the industry will be unable to meet demand within a few short years.”

Pathway
BESA’s nationwide scheme is bringing together building engineering employers, represented by the Association, and the FE sector to provide 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).

Those seeking to become qualified building safety auditors will be assessed in line with the ISO 9001 management standard.

“However, this goes beyond simply working for your local FE college,” said Rattray. “Employers also benefit from having trades assessors and auditors in-house for a variety of assessment requirements, including the new safety regime.

“End Point Assessment Organisations (EPAOs) are always looking for qualified assessors and quality assurance personnel, as are private training providers.  So, individuals have lots of different ways to ‘give something back’ that will be of premium value to the industry and themselves.”

Training to become an assessor/trainer will be delivered by the FE provider via a ‘hybrid’ remote and in-person format. BESA is also developing an assessor register and will work with educators and employers to celebrate those who complete the programme before embarking on their crucial role helping a new generation of apprentices.

For more information about joining this vital initiative, visit the website here, and more information about the Manly Trust can be found here.