Empowering the future of UK roofing from the ground up – Professional Builder hears from Mat Woodyatt, Technical Training Manager at BMI UK & Ireland
The roofing industry is experiencing rapid change. New regulations and innovative product solutions force the sector to continuously find and adapt to new ways of working, requiring a skilled workforce. Emerging from the lockdowns of a global pandemic, the demand for construction and roofing professionals is skyrocketing, while at the same time a nationwide skills shortage requires new approaches to help develop skills of those in the industry, and new approaches to show how rewarding a career in roofing can be. The role of continuous learning and upskilling is the key to solving the skills shortage, and inspiring a new generation of roofers to join the profession is important to secure the future workforce for UK roofing.
Naturally, product development and innovation require continued learning and upskilling, not just by roofers, but by everyone who works with and around roofing. And with the industry continuing to change at such a rapid pace, anyone with a stake in roofing will want to stay ahead – and learning by simply doing might not always be enough.
Positive change through continuous learning
Ongoing, regular training on new products, improved methods of installation, new tools and systems can close the gap and ensure that everyone, from experienced contractors right through to apprentices, is equipped with the right skills to secure the future of UK roofing.
To empower apprentices to showcase the varied skill set a roofer needs to possess, the annual Apprentice of the Year competition held at the BMI Academy in South Cerney recognises the great potential of roofing apprentices in the UK, whilst celebrating the vital work of employers, training providers, colleges, and industry experts in investing and supporting roofing talent from the ground up.
Speaking of the event and the role it plays every year in supporting the roofing industry, BMI’s Technical Training Manager Mat Woodyatt, notes that the biggest concern for the industry at present is the securing of the future workforce of roofers. An ageing workforce, a growing skills gap, and the challenge of securing funding for roofing colleges to offer apprenticeship schemes and Level-3 qualification, all add to the complexity of making roofing not only attractive, but also accessible.
“Apprentice of the Year speaks to all of these concerns by showing people that roofing is a career that can be very rewarding and offer a whole host of different opportunities,” Mat reflects. “It breaks all stereotypes around construction and roofing in general and shows that you can go beyond the tools and do so much more within roofing.”
And breaking stereotypes is a crucial step in ensuring and empowering the next generation of roofers, as access to continued learning and accredited qualifications is not always straightforward and can create a barrier for those wanting to pursue a career in roofing. While apprenticeship schemes and places at colleges have increased, colleges are not always getting sufficient funding for roofing courses, something which impacts the route into roofing for young people.
While Mat and his team are working closely with colleges and employers across the country, there is a huge discrepancy between flat and pitched roofing training opportunities – something Mat is desperate to see change in the future: “While I might be able to visit 15 or more training organisations who offer pitched roofing training, for flat it is in the single digits. I would like for the event to grow even further and for us to be able to embrace even more apprentices from the flat side.”
It’s so much more than a roof
The annual Apprentice of the Year competition brings together roofing professionals from all walks of life, connecting apprentices with members of trade federations, industry press, contractors, architects, roofing colleges, and fellow roofers in both pitched and flat roofing to engage in a knowledge and skills exchange. Year on year, Mat Woodyatt, who has been working with roofing apprentices for over a decade, finds himself amazed at the level of professionalism of the finalists, as well as the growing positive reception the event receives from the roofing industry.
“Taking part in Apprentice of the Year is always a transformative experience for the finalists, and every year they are really engaging with the spirit of what we are trying to do,” Mat explains. “We are looking at the joining between technical competence and personal confidence, and for apprentices to raise their aspirations and empower others to do the same.”
Competing in four different challenges over the course of two days, the finalists have to showcase their skills on a mix of practical roofing tasks and softer business challenges across individual and group tasks. All are overseen by a panel of independent judges from across the industry, but as Mat points out, they are more than judges. “What they are there for is really to raise aspirations, we deliberately choose people who are representatives of the whole roofing industry, from roofers to journalists to members of trade federations, who can inspire the finalists and offer career guidance by thinking outside the box.”
Recognising the vital importance of providing support and continued learning opportunities, BMI offers many different ways to access in-depth training and skills development from project specification to planning and build, to help make sure that new systems are specified and installed right first time.
The BMI Academy offers continued learning and upskilling opportunities to everyone in the roofing and waterproofing industry. Through both theoretical and practical courses, BMI Academy helps to drive excellence in roofing, providing best practice support on how to use new and existing systems and solutions prior to installation. Not just for roofers, these learning and training opportunities are also available to specifiers, architects, contractors, builders, and merchants, ensuring best practice right from the start.
Empowering the future of UK roofing starts from the ground up, and it is the apprentice of today that will empower the roofer of tomorrow.
To find out more about continued learning and skills development visit https://www.bmigroup.com/uk/bmi-academy/
