Monthly Archives: April 2023

Meet the Future: How employers gain from helping young people get career ready

It has been said that 83% of businesses within the wider construction industry are feeling the strain from a lack of skilled workers. There is also serious concern that the construction industry and associated trades are an ageing workforce. It appears that young people don’t see the construction industry or skilled trades as viable or probably more accurately, an exciting place of employment.

Twinfix, as a UK manufacturer share these problems, they have a skilled workforce with a heavy bias towards construction and engineering skills. They carry out product design and testing and, due to the reliability of their products, are the choice of many professional construction companies and architects.

The challenge

So, if you’re a high quality, safety focused, British manufacturer and installer of roof glazing and canopy systems. A family owned and managed business, with a long-standing history of providing quality products in the roof glazing and canopy market. You work across many sectors, including rail, education, industrial and retail, offering a full service from initial enquiry and advice on projects, to design, manufacture, and installation. And you pride yourselves on product development and introducing new roofing and canopy products to the market…

How do you attract new people to the company, ensure they have the ability and competence to carry out the highly technical and specialised work along with the determination and integrity to ensure they provide the highest quality service to the client? How can you gain insights into new ways of thinking while remaining traditional and true to your roots? How do you keep up to date with the latest developments, the latest thinking and the latest technology while remaining lean and efficient? In short how can you locate and identify the future engineers and technicians without risking your business?

The answer

Up and down this great nation of ours the school, colleges and universities are working hard to excite and shape young minds, but what they need is a real-world environment to watch a student thrive. They need some hope and something tangible to push the students to achieve, especially in today’s world of multi-millionaire influencers and z list celebs. Industry and Academia can work together in a symbiotic, beneficial, collaborative arrangement. There are plenty of opportunities for a company such as Twinfix to gain the insights into current thinking and technologies. Internships, apprenticeships, work experience, industrial placements, all offer the company the chance to benefit from a new way of thinking, a new approach and a fresh pair of eyes. Depending on what the company is looking for these opportunities offer everything from bringing someone in at ground level and developing them over time to find their natural fit, through to a dedicated problem solver, who can spend three months or more looking at a specific challenge and fully developing a solution. This offers the company an additional resource to focus on the problem who isn’t getting side-tracked with day-to-day issues. It also offers an extended interview period, giving the right person a chance to shine rather than perform for an hour or two. There are plenty of schemes around that offer financial support for taking on young people looking to gain industry experience to augment their academic learning. These schemes also offer courses on mentoring and leadership for the company, these skills can have far reaching benefits and not just with the intended recipient.

The right person

They get an opportunity to work somewhere that values their input, somewhere that needs their help and is grateful to hear what they have to say. They get to experience real world problems and use real world equipment along with their knowledge and ability to solve those problems. They get mentoring and support from both the company and their academic institutions. They often get paid to carry out the work and for many this is the first experience they will have of a company. That last bit is important, there is a reason why degree students are offered an industrial placement year and recruiters actively look for those who have taken this opportunity. The placement gives them the chance to put their knowledge into practice, learn specific technical skills, and develop as an individual and a professional.

Local employment in the community

Giving young people a chance to find employment has got to be a good thing. Students from the local area being able to stay where they grew up and find solid, reliable, respectable employment can only be a benefit. Bringing in new talent who offer skills and knowledge will help the community grow. As a family-owned business, it has always been important to Twinfix to give back and support those around them wherever possible.

A valuable outcome

Twinfix has supported lots of students over the years, be those school leavers starting an apprenticeship, university students looking to take their first steps on a career or even PHD students. Looking to make a difference and increase the understanding and learning in the world. Some of these have found a home at Twinfix and are already filling gaps allowing others to progress within their career. Some have found that what they always wanted to do isn’t what they thought it was and have gone on to identify other career opportunities. Each of these is a valuable outcome for both the company concerned and the individual. Learning something about yourself and your place in the world can only be a good thing, being able to do that with the aid of a safety net makes sense for everyone.