AEIAG0031

Written evidence submitted by NFRC (National Federation of Roofing Contractors)

Introduction

1.1. NFRC (National Federation of Roofing Contractors) is the largest trade association for the roofing industry in the UK. We represent the entire roofing supply chain from manufacturers to merchants to contractors.

1.2. The roofing sector is experiencing skills shortages that are set to worsen over time without intervention (see point 2.4), making comprehensive guidance and support for pupils who are considering technical careers and vocational qualifications a vital part of ensuring the UK construction industry can meet demand, now and for years to come.

1.3. NFRC is now delivering the Roofing Careers Service, an innovative new resource for young people and potential entrants to the sector, parents and employers, which provides sector-specific information and signposting to services such as Talentview Construction and GoConstruct, including encouraging our members to become STEM ambassadors.

1.4. NFRC welcomes initiatives that improve the available information and guidance on pursuing technical careers as part of pupils’ careers education, from being introduced to career paths right through to support for applications and starting work.

Whether organisations like the Careers Enterprise Company and National Careers Service provide value for money to the taxpayer.

2.1. We support the work of organisations like Careers Enterprise Company and the National Careers Service but have struggled to gain active cooperation in our efforts to help to improve its online content and information with regards to careers in roofing, which is currently quite poor and overly simplified.

2.2. Careers perceived as prestigious evidently have received more attention and the online content relating to those careers tends to be more extensive.

2.3. Consequently, NFRC would like to see better value from the National Careers Service and the Careers Enterprise Company to engage with sectors struggling to attract candidates to their sector such as roofing.

2.4. This is particularly important because of the skills shortage and looming demographic crisis faced by the roofing industry: the UK is at risk of having insufficient numbers of qualified roofing operatives to do the roofing work needed, especially if there is an expectation to meet the government target and manifesto pledge of 300,000 homes a year, level up the UK and deliver on the government’s infrastructure targets.

2.4.1. The quarterly NFRC/Glenigan State of the Roofing Industry survey for Q4 of 2021 indicated that recruitment difficulties faced by contractors have not eased: 41 per cent of companies reported difficulty recruiting roof slaters and tilers, for example.

2.4.2. This will be exacerbated by the sector’s aging workforce: it is estimated around 14 per cent of roofers are over 55—which equates to around 8000 set to retire over the next ten years.[1] In terms of new talent, so far during this academic year there are only 300 people on the sector-leading Roofing Trailblazer apprenticeship scheme.

2.4.3. Proper signposting into roofing as a career route is therefore essential to ensure this skills crisis does not continue to worsen, impacting public and private sector capacity to develop, build and repair buildings. It is poor value if careers guidance for pupils directs them away from a skillset that the UK is already crying out for, and that may well fit their talents very well.

2.5. Consequently, in order to provide better value for money for the taxpayer, the National Careers Service and Careers and Enterprise Company should engage with sector-specific organisations such as NFRC who are very willing to contribute information, and should endeavour to signpost to sector’s own hubs—for example, NFRC’s own Roofing Careers Service.

Whether the proposals for CEIAG in the Government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper will effectively address current challenges in the CEIAG system.

3.1. The Skills for Jobs White Paper of January 2021 notes that ‘over 80% of schools and colleges are now using the Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance to develop and improve their careers programmes, resulting in improvements in every dimension of careers support’. However, with regards to technical careers like roofing, we have concerns that the presence of the benchmarks is not always ensuring a sufficient level of information and support.

3.2. Out of those surveyed for the 2021 Youth Voice Census Report, whilst 86 per cent of young people stated that they have had apprenticeships discussed with them as an option, only 19 per cent of young people felt they were being supported when applying for apprenticeships. 65.6 per cent of young people said that traineeships (a key emerging route for beginning training in the roofing sector) had never been discussed with them; 72.7 per cent said the same with reference to T-Levels.[2]

3.3. We would therefore support the proposal outlined in the Skills for Jobs White Paper to ask Ofsted to undertake a thematic review to provide an up-to-date assessment of careers guidance in schools and colleges, and would recommend that Ofsted provides recommendations specifically aimed at improving practice with regards to provision of careers guidance for technical careers and qualifications.

3.3.1. We would suggest that there needs to be a quality mark for careers guidance that is outcome-focused; benchmarking without a metric or a form of quantitative measurement of success may not be sufficient to ensure quality. The Gatsby benchmarks, including ‘addressing the needs of each pupil’, are of course open to interpretation and do not guarantee (nor necessarily convey to all readers), for example, proper guidance and support to a pupil seeking information about an apprenticeship or a specific sector.

How schools could be supported to better fulfil their duties to provide careers advice and inform students of technical, as well as academic, pathways.

4.1. There needs to be greater coordination and publicity of both sector-specific and broader careers hubs. In construction, there are a number of resources such as GoConstruct and Talentview Construction that can be signposted for schools and colleges to use, and awareness of these could be a valuable support to schools in providing guidance, especially in sectors such as roofing where knowledge of various ways to train and progress are necessary to properly assess a pupil’s options.

4.2. There are a large number of disparate resources available and there is often no need to create new hubs; this need is better met by focusing on properly flagging and raising awareness of other resources.

4.2.1. In essence, schools and colleges need to be aware of the key resources available, and it must also be ensured that resources are connected. For example, the Roofing Careers Service links to wider industry hubs and careers resources such as GoConstruct and Talentview Construction. Broader hubs such as the National Careers Service can often be lacking in clearly referring pupils to the most up-to-date hubs and resources for a career pathway or sector.

4.2.2. Consequently the government should ensure two things:

4.2.2.1. Firstly, that measures are in place to ensure schools are signposted to resources available regarding technical careers.

4.2.2.2. Secondly, that the careers services and hubs provided by the government, such as the National Careers Service, properly engage with external resources and sector-specific hubs in order to ensure they are maximising the information available to pupils and providers.

4.3. Work experience is an excellent area of opportunity in sectors like roofing to introduce new talent. This is particularly important in the Key Stage 4 group, as many candidates exit school at the end of this stage.

4.3.1. From communication with our members, there is a strong suggestion that roofing contractors will often struggle to source young people from any organised talent pool or hub and often will rely on the family members of people already in roofing to find people who will join and stay in a roofing business. This suggests that new talent is not being introduced to roofing as a career option, and therefore the sector isn’t as diverse as it could be.

4.3.2. According to the 2021 Youth Voice Census Report, only 37.7 per cent of young people had the option of work experience during their time in secondary education.[3] This is a missed opportunity to open up new sectors to pupils.

4.3.2.1. It would be excellent to see the government partner with an existing service like Talentview to provide one single hub for work experience, and ensure all relevant government careers resources signpost this.

How careers and skills guidance could be better embedded in the curriculum across primary, secondary, further, higher and adult education, to ensure all learners are properly prepared for the world of work.

5.1. There is scope to be more innovative about embedding technical careers information in the curriculum for all ages.

5.2. In construction, school projects including retrofit can present an opportunity to engage pupils in the construction process. In particular, for schools, alongside these retrofit projects, pupils should be taught about the work and why it’s important.

5.2.1. Writtle Junior School's Learning Pod project is an example of how this can work. Pupils were involved with the design of their new classroom and engaged with designers, builders and other stakeholders, as well as having a presentation from the contractor on sustainability and construction.

5.3. Research from the University of Southampton, commissioned by the NFRC Charitable Trust and published in 2021, made a number of recommendations for how the UK’s roofs can be used for climate resilience. One recommendation made for the government was that construction projects in school can and should be used as a learning opportunity, especially when they involve green skills.[4]

March 2022