Matching Britain's Young Talent with the Wood Industry

For the first time woodworking and joinery companies across the UK are able to register their apprenticeships and work placements online.  The British Woodworking Federation’s (BWF) WITForum is launching a free online apprenticeship matching facility to enable employers in search of apprentices to register their roles.  The facility will make it quick and easy for school leavers and young people seeking work placements to look for roles and give employers the opportunity to consider a number of candidates.

The apprentice matching facility is another initiative the BWF’s WITForum has created to tackle the concern about recruitment of able Apprentices and to raise the profile of training in the woodworking industry. 

The skills shortage in the UK construction industry is not a new story, but with Government targets to double the number of Apprentices it is becoming imperative that the process of taking on an apprentice is simplified.

Changes in the Apprenticeship an educational system in the1970s and 1980s led to a decline in traditional apprentice schemes, with new universities proving successful in recruiting greater numbers of school-leavers to a wide range of non-vocational courses. 

According to the ConstructionSkills, it is within the woodworking industry that the shortfall in construction skills will be most acute over the coming years. Their 2006-2010 blueprint shows that in order to meet demand, 11,000 people need to join the industry every year – more than double the number currently being recruited annually.

Leah Williams, WITForum manager says 'I regularly hear from employers that the demand for skilled workers is high, but the supply is simply not there.  Our new matching facility will make it easier to find apprentices and train them in the right skills area.'

 'We strongly encourage employers to use this service to recruit and train apprentices in the skills they feel are missing from today’s workforce.  New college funding is influenced by how they meet the needs of the industry, and so we are hoping that this, too, will help to address the skills deficit within the woodworking industry' she said.

The matching facility forms part of the wider BWF WITForum website which features a comprehensive database of colleges providing NVQs in wood machining, wood occupations, carpentry, joinery and bench joinery, along with City & Guilds courses and others. The database functions via an interactive map of the UK, users can enter their postcode and access a list of details for training providers in that area.

The website also houses a comment and rating function. This allows students and employers to mark a college against set criteria resulting in a star rating to help people make informed decisions when choosing a course that is right for them.  In addition, comments can be left on the site about what students and companies have found useful about a college and what could be improved.  The rating and comment function will be used to feedback to colleges what the industry is looking for from training and help them to provide students with the right skills.

For more information about the WITForum please contact Leah Williams, WITForum Training Manager on 0870 458 6949, e-mail bwf@bwf.org.uk or visit http://www.bwf.org.uk