Graham Ellicott, chief executive of the Association for Specialist Fire Protection, comments on the initiative to encourage younger people to join the specialist passive fire protection industry.
Several years ago I was approached by a lady at a fire related event who commented: “The problem with your industry is that there are too many middle aged men with a technical background who have no passion or emotion for the business.”
Well, at first I took this as a compliment. As somebody who is routinely asked by my children … do I tie my dinosaur to the lamppost? … the accolade of ‘middle aged’ came as a surprise. Generally ‘old’ or ‘very old’ emanates from the mouths of the younger Ellicott’s in my household!
But after a while it sank in that this throwaway comment was not a compliment but was born from her perception of the fire industry. Perhaps she was inferring that if the cap fits, wear it!
While in retrospect I did not totally agree with her comment, whenever I now attend a meeting I look around the room to see if there is anybody less than 35, or female, in the vicinity. In 75 per cent of cases there is not! If there is not, I then look for people of a non-technical background and in general there are few of them as well. This situation set me to thinking about the future of the UK fire protection industry and how could we encourage younger people into the sector, while at the same time not losing the indispensable expertise that comes with age. That’s not to say that the older generation lack passion or emotion, I am only talking about fire here, of course, as I wouldn’t dare to presuppose on anything else!
Because of this (perhaps) overdue look to the future, the ASFP has launched two initiatives to encourage younger people into the industry, namely a Student Grade of Association membership and a Construction Apprenticeship.
The attractive thing about Student Membership is that I get to re-live (well, at least for an hour or so) my student days, as the pitch to get them to join generally involves beer and pizza. Homer Simpson has not sent in his application yet, but we live in hope! The beer and pizza follows a brief presentation about the passive fire protection industry and the benefits of joining the ASFP for GB pound 10 per year. The benefits to the students are free copies of all ASFP publications, free entry to all ASFP seminars, access to the ASFP Members Area of our website, plus the expertise of both our members and staff. So far it is proving a winner for the students, although my waistline and hangovers are suffering.
The Construction Apprenticeship in Passive Fire Protection (PFP) has just been launched by the ASFP in conjunction with the National Specialist Centre of CITB-Construction Skills. This apprenticeship will lead to the NVQ Level 2 in PFP.
Individuals of all ages are eligible for the apprenticeship which will take approximately two years for them to complete. While aimed at all ages, ASFP contractor members seem, in the main, to be concentrating on putting forward candidates for the scheme who are less than 30 years old. Both outside agencies and the employing companies themselves will deliver the required training for the apprenticeship. These training modules include one that gives apprentices the underpinning knowledge necessary to understand why they are carrying out the passive fire protection installation and another, which explains the ramifications of what will happen if they carry out a shoddy job. Other modules include best practice on site, including health and safety and site operation.
Stuart Littlefair, Specialist Manager (NSCC), National Specialist Department, CITB-Construction Skills commented at a recent ASFP meeting that: “The advent of the Construction Apprenticeship in PFP is a positive step forward in demonstrating a career path in this important profession, which contributes towards the safety of the UK’s buildings.”
The majority of the trades now working in the construction of commercial building are specialists (including our own passive fire protection), while the training colleges are still concentrating on turning out those involved with the ‘biblical trades’, for example carpentry and bricklaying. While these trades are important, they are not those that are in the shortest supply. Surely the Government’s Department for Education and Skills should be encouraging training providers to look at the specialist trades, such as those involved in the fire protection industry, shouldn’t they?
The advantage that the training colleges have over trade associations is that they are able to find their way through the ‘jungle’ of funding that is available from agencies such as the ‘Learning and Skills Council’. In addition, some funding is only available to training colleges and thus, if they do not offer courses for specialist trades then the apprentices that want to pursue them are disadvantaged.
That is enough of my hobbyhorse. At my age it is prudent to dismount before you put your foot in your mouth and fall off, much to the amusement of all around.
In summary, we all need to encourage younger blood into the industry, as that is the future. And I am sure that they will be willing to listen to the older (middle aged in my case!) members of the industry.
Now back to the lady in question … that throwaway comment led to two valuable initiatives and if you are reading this then thanks for your input. Now, I wonder whether that six and seven-eighth cap still fits me.
