SPONSORED BY GQA AND BUILDING OUR SKILLS

GQA Qualifications is the only issuer of CSCS cards for the Glass and Fenestration industries.

Building Our Skills is a strategic campaign designed to help bridge the growing skills gap in the Fenestration Industry

Careers New Appointment

Building Our Skills To Launch Bespoke Fenestration Industry Careers Fairs

Building Our Skills - Making Fenestration, Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice has commenced consultation with its Advisory Panel and wider supporters group to discuss the potential of launching a series of bespoke industry careers fairs in 2024.

The aim of these fairs would be to engage very directly with the education sector in its widest sense, to raise awareness of the industry and to support the longer term aim to create a workforce for tomorrow.

It is intended that two pilot events will run early in 2024 in partnership with the local education authorities in Greater Manchester and South Yorkshire to coincide with National Careers Week. After this, the programme will be rolled out in other areas of the country.

Commenting on the initiative, Building Our Skills’ Partnerships Manager, Mark Handley says:“We have begun a process of consulting closely with both fenestration industry and local education authority representatives, and the latter have confirmed that there is a strong appetite for bespoke careers fairs organised by Building Our Skills . We’ve been making great progress in getting education departments to recognise the industry as an excellent source of varied, long-terms career opportunities, and this is a sensible, and ambitious next step for us. The fact that we can help careers professionals in schools to realise their curriculum goals makes this a win-win for all parties.”

Morgan Fisher, Marketing Executive of KUBU, an active member of the Building Our Skills Advisory Panel adds: “Bespoke

New Technical Consultant Supports Uk Growth For Iso Chemie

careers fairs could be invaluable to us. We would be very enthusiastic to be part of such an initiative. We all have to pull together in order to ensure that the skills shortages that have dogged the industry for years become a thing of the past, not just immediately but in the long term as well. The more we can all do to get youngsters talking to us and considering a career in fenestration, glass and glazing the better.”

Further details of the new industry-bespoke careers fairs will be available following the conclusion of the consultation process, but it is expected that up to twenty companies would be invited to attend each event. These will include a mix of ‘enablers’- organisations that can advise on training, qualifications, routes to industry, apprenticeships and other pathways to employment; national companies that can inspire and excite youngsters about the industry through technology, innovation, environmental advances etc; and local companies who can offer follow-up ‘Inspiration Day’ visits to their factories and facilities in the area, work experience and potential job opportunities.

ISO Chemie, one of Europe’s main producers of foam sealants for windows and doors, has appointed a new technical consultant for east and central UK following continued expansion and growth.

Charlotte Davidson, who has more than 15 years’ experience in trade sales across the fire protection and wholesale market sectors, will be responsible for developing additional new business among window and doors fabricators, installers and specifiers for the company’s range of advanced sealing solutions.

ISO Chemie specialises in the manufacturer of foam products from polyethylene (EPE), polypropylene (EPP) and polyurethane (PUR) using the latest production techniques. Its products are used for the fast and effective air tightness sealing of windows as well as other joint and gap sealing applications in the building, ecobuild and construction sectors.

Andy Swift, ISO Chemie’s sales and operations manager - GB and ROI, said: “Charlotte’s technical knowledge and business development expertise will be of great benefit as we look to step up the promotion of the benefits of energy efficiency window sealants. She understands the issues involved when it comes to installing products onsite and the easy-to-use, added value product solutions customers require to improve installation times and quality.” www.iso-chemie.eu/en-GB/home

Anyone interested in getting involved in the programme of industry-bespoke careers fairs should email sayhello@buildingourskills.co.uk or pick up the phone to Mark Handley on 07860 844296.

For the remainder of this year, Building Our Skills will continue to attend other cross industry careers fairs, and would welcome industry representatives who wish to be involved in these also to get in touch. Venues include Liverpool, Sheffield, Rotherham, Truro, Leeds, Bradford, Doncaster, Derby, London, Manchester, Stoke and Barnsley. The dates for each venue can be viewed at https://buildingourskills.co.uk/news/ building-our-skills-signs-up-to-careersfairs-programme-for-2023/.

Careers

Merseyside Manufacturer Commits To Job Creation Through Strategic Partnership With Workforce Development Organisations

Warwick North West, Merseyside’s largest trade manufacturer of windows and doors and a strategic partner of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, has joined forces with two separate renowned workforce development organisations, Nobody Left Behind and Inside Connections, in an effort to address the persistent skills shortage plaguing the manufacturing sector.

Nobody Left Behind uses sport to build positive mindsets among young unemployed people, before providing industry specific skills training in preparation for sustainable and meaningful employment.

Inside Connections, meanwhile, is a community interest company providing support and training for prison leavers and young people at risk of offending, making a positive impact on individuals, families and communities.

John Burton, Founder of Inside Connections, said: “We are proud to be working with Warwick North West on this exciting initiative. We are dedicated to changing lives by providing opportunities to gain important skills leading to employment, which can play a significant part in diverting young people from crime and reducing reoffending.”

Through these partnerships, Warwick North West will help support comprehensive training programmes tailored to the manufacturing industry, providing the

New Appointment

necessary skills and knowledge required to thrive in the sector.

The company also aims to absorb a significant number of qualified people into its workforce, enabling them to apply their newly acquired skills and contribute to the company’s overall growth.

Warwick North West Director Greg Johnson explains: “Not only are we proactively seeking solutions to the industry’s skills shortage, but we are trying to do it in a way that gives back to the city and community. As an employer, we genuinely care and want to provide employment opportunities to people in the manufacturing and fenestration industry.” Visit www.warwicknorthwest.co.uk, www.nobody-left-behind.co.uk and www.insideconnections.co.uk.

New Appointment

Vista Sales And Marketing Manager Appointed To The Board After 18 Years Of Service

Following 18 years of service with leading composite door manufacturer Vista Panels, Sales and Marketing Manager Ian Smith has been appointed to the company’s Board of Directors.

Ian’s new role on the Board will see him bring in fresh perspectives and innovation, marking an exciting new chapter in his career.

“As an established industry leader in the uPVC panel and composite door markets, Vista has achieved remarkable success over the years,” Ian says.

“I am thrilled to join the Board of Directors and work towards further advancing the company’s strong position in the market.”

Ian joined Vista in 2005 as a factory operative, before moving into the office as an order processor, and then into the sales team.

“I not only became interested in the selling of the panels and composite doors, but also in the marketing side,” he said. “I have really embraced the creativity of being able to contribute to the design of the brochures as well as looking after all of our social media platforms.”

Vista’s Managing Director Keith Sadler comments: “Ian’s expertise and technical knowledge perfectly align with Vista’s