With concerns around the skills gap in the property services and construction sectors ever-growing, Breyer is constantly looking for new effective ways to secure new talent. This is why our Head of Social Value and Communities, Liz Obertelli is joining forces with the Cross Industry Construction Apprenticeship Taskforce (CCATF) in blazing a new recruitment-focused trail through a fresh, collaborative approach to this ongoing challenge.
The CCATF and Breyer have just announced a pilot programme designed to bring together key organisations across the construction, training and talent management sectors, with a view to increasing awareness, engagement and employment opportunities. By focusing on the individual and ensuring they are mentored throughout the recruitment, upskilling and job placement process, the new programme seeks to ensure that job seekers are consistently considered and supported during the job-hunting process, so that they are ultimately placed in the right role for them, while skills gaps are also filled.
Chris Selby, Head of Marketing, Communications & External Affairs at the CCATF, comments:
“While many organisations have launched talent acquisition programmes in the past, few have achieved a truly collaborative outcome. This has meant that, in many cases, individuals passing through their recruitment process can be lost from the sector if, for whatever reason, they don’t fit the role or business in question. The result is wasted investment and the loss from the sector of an individual who might have been well-suited to an alternate role elsewhere in the construction industry.
“Our long-term ambition with this new initiative is to engage with as many organisations as possible with the shared objective of closing the skills gap and increasing employment in the construction sector, particularly for the disenfranchised or disadvantaged. This underpins why we’re working with external stakeholders including the AP Foundation to engage ex-offenders and, additionally, the DWP which ensures we achieve maximum local awareness. We’re also developing additional partnerships with a number of training providers to help interested, promising talent get the right training needed to prepare them for suitable positions.”
Breyer and Skanska are the first contractors to get involved with this new scheme, as part of a pilot to ensure processes and procedures are effective before inviting other relevant organisations to join the movement.
Liz Obertelli, Head of Social Value and Communities, adds:
“We’re really excited about the potential that this new programme has to benefit all parties involved in the talent acquisition process. We believe new entrants require support to find the best career path for them. Therefore, we embrace the Taskforce offer of pre-employment training and work placements to ensure the right role and organisation are matched with each learner according to their interest and ability. The flexibility to try multiple roles and organisation, enabling both the individual and the organisations to decide where they might work best in the long-run will help retain individuals within the construction sector and in life long careers.
“All of this means that while Breyer may not always gain a new employee each time, the construction sector will. I believe that it’s this kind of joined-up, generous thinking that will ultimately provide a solution to the skills gap issue. What’s more, this approach will reduce the risks attached to wasted onboarding costs and talent loss.”
The first cohort of learners have now been interviewed and selected by Breyer’s Social Value and Communities Manager, Bobby Lorraine. Supported by Romford Jobcentreplus and iSip Training, the pilot will enable CCATF to finetune the processes and procedures involved in this new recruitment and talent placement scheme. Having created a solid blueprint for organisations and individuals involved, the CCATF will be able to work with future interested parties to ensure a smooth process for all.
For more information, please contact [email protected].