Trainees in the UK timber trade are a highly prized commodity. We’ve got the evidence. When we launched the Trainee of the Year category in our TTJ Awards last spring, a couple of companies declined to put their employees forward. The reason – because they were afraid that if they let on they had a talented trainee, they’d be poached sooner than you could say NVQ.
Which is why new initiatives launched by the Timber Trade Federation itself and a consortium of the main timber and related trade bodies (including the TTF) look like a move in the right direction.
The TTF has created a new education, training and careers committee bringing together the expertise of individual timber companies, education establishments, the Institute of Wood Science, wood. for good and the Forest Education Initiative. It will look at current training across the industry and help identify best practice. The aim is also to improve communication so companies and employees know where to get training support and potential new recruits in school, college and the general job market will see the sector taking training seriously, imparting skills and offering a rewarding career.
One idea was to set up an online database so all information on the subject is available from a single, easily accessible source.
As TTF president Geoff Rhodes said. “There are valuable training initiatives under way, but they are fragmented and some are hanging on by their finger nails. We want to establish a conduit that brings the strands together.”
The UK Wood Chain Group, the other initiative bringing together the main forest product trade organisations, will be complementary to the TTF committee and the two will liaise closely. It will also map training resources and assess whether the timber and forest product sectors, which as a whole are not currently served by any of the UK skills councils, can get their hands on more government or EU money.
Meanwhile, TTJ will soon launch its Trainee of the Year Award 2004 . We believe the Award itself underlines the trade’s growing commitment to training and hope companies won’t be wary of participating. According to studies on the subject, they shouldn’t be afraid of rivals snatching trainees as another benefit of providing quality training, besides improving competitiveness, is that it boosts staff loyalty.
