We’re proud to be founding members of Trade-Up – a not-for-profit campaign run by HomeServe and Checkatrade to train an extra 10,000 skilled workers annually.
The UK faces an ongoing shortage of workers across numerous industries, and the trades industry is no different.
With an ageing workforce and many workers leaving the UK between 2019-2020, the demand for skilled workers is higher than ever. And with just 32,000 new workers entering the industry each year, a significant gap needs filling.
This gap is having a significant impact on how we do things now in the industry. But as the government push towards ambitious climate targets, without the professionals required to help meet these targets, the demand increases, and the likelihood is we will fall short.
Richard Harpin
Speaking on FixRadio earlier this year, Richard Harpin, CEO and founder of HomeServe, said:
“We need to recruit 1 million new trade workers by 2030, and that needs to be a combination of more apprenticeships and retraining adults that want to come into our industry where plumbers and heating engineers can earn a lot of money.”
At Options Skills, we’re passionate about helping people of all ages and backgrounds in the trades industry. Our goal is to set them up with skills that will last them a lifetime.
During our ten years providing trades training, we’ve helped thousands of people learn skills and knowledge and gain the qualifications they need to launch their trades careers – but we want to increase that number further.
This is where Trade-Up comes in.
Trade-Up Members
We’re part of a group of training providers and a dedicated recruitment agency to make it easier for workers to change their career paths and learn a skilled trade.
“We’re going to get them all working together to double the number of places they have available to train adults in their 30s and 40s to become those skilled trades”. – Richard Harpin
To become members of Trade-Up, we went through a careful vetting process. The process included reviewing trustworthiness, knowledge, equipment and professionalism. And we’re proud to be one of the gold-standard training providers involved.
Government Targets
With the government aiming to build 300k homes annually throughout the UK, tradespeople are needed to make it a reality. As such, we are working with Trade-Up to encourage people to consider the trades as not just a career option but a lucrative, necessary and appreciated career option and take the steps needed to get there.
Trades training isn’t to be seen as a short-term solution to the industry demands but as a strategic effort to assist people into new careers that will benefit them personally and help the UK meet housing and low-carbon living targets.
Trades Shortage
With the ageing workforce and fewer workers due to Brexit, since the pandemic, overall demand for the trades has grown as people focus on home improvement.
But with fewer workers and more demand come issues, so new workers are necessary to help meet that demand.
Stanley Black and Decker recently found that just 16% of students would consider a trade career. This is despite a positive view of the career path.
But it’s not just those leaving education that can help the industry. Adult learners looking for a career change are crucial to meeting the shortfalls in the UK labour market. However, many don’t know where to start to enter the industry, with apprenticeships seen as being for younger learners.
We want to focus on the positives of high-quality training courses, showcasing the opportunities that can come from them.
