The ‘Inspiring the Future’ Campaign

Underlining its commitment to bringing more youngsters into the fenestration industry, Building Our Skills – Making Fenestration, Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice has strengthened its collaboration with the Education and Employers Charity to promote their ‘Inspiring the Future’ programme.

Inspiring The Future has been designed to connect young people with the world of work by encouraging volunteers to visit schools (in person or virtually) to help inform youngsters about the possibilities for their future careers and what they could achieve. With the pandemic now largely behind us, this renewed collaboration is seen by Building Our Skills as key in helping to acquaint school age children, and their teachers with the fenestration industry, and to communicate to them the broad range of job roles and career paths it offers.

The campaign connects volunteers to state primary and secondary schools via its free match-making platform. Volunteers are asked to give at just one hour a year to the programme, although they can do more if they would like to help inspire children. The first step is to register on the Education and Employers website and complete a very simple form. Teachers who have signed their schools up to the programme can see details of the volunteer, where they are based and the industry they are in, and then invite them to talk to their school about the job they do and the industry they do it in. Invitations for in person school visits are based around volunteers being local to the school in question, whereas virtual visits can be delivered from anywhere in the UK.  Volunteers are supported by the Inspiring the Future team and are given access to training videos as well as training webinars and forums should they wish.  Building Our Skills will provide key facts and figures for volunteers to use about the industry itself.

Volunteer Now!

Simply follow this link to register as a volunteer for the Building Our Skills – Making Fenestration, Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice Inspiring The Future Campaign:

https://educationandemployersprogrammes.force.com/s/signupitf?campaign=Building+Our+Skills&campaignOptIn=true&type=volunteer 

Building Our Skills has highlighted the Education Sector as the single most important area for the industry to focus on to raise awareness of the opportunities it offers and to inspire future generations to look to Fenestration, Glass and Glazing as a career of choice. Ambassador for Building Our Skills, John Ogilvie, says: 

“I urge the fenestration industry to acknowledge the need to get more involved with schools and colleges. Working with Inspiring The Future is a great approach to attracting new talent to the industry. It’s a fantastic opportunity to be able to show youngsters the vast range of  career opportunities they could aspire to, long before they reach the age when they have to decide. Helping teachers and parents – who are key influencers in this process – to inspire young people to experience what future options are open to them is something that will benefit the fenestration industry greatly. We all recognise that the industry is facing a skills shortage, and this campaign is designed to offer a long-term solution.

Katy Langham Director of Operations and Programmes for Inspiring the Future adds:

“We’re delighted to have strengthened our partnership with Building Our Skills to get fenestration sector volunteers out into schools and talking to young people about the exciting careers that it offers. I too would like to urge employers and employees in the sector to come forward and volunteer. It’s incredibly rewarding, and I can promise volunteers that they won’t regret it!”

Building Our Skills’ immediate aim is to get 50 industry volunteers to sign up to support the campaign and to grow it from there.  It is perfect for anybody in the industry, in whatever role, who wants to play a part in making a difference and raising the profile of the industry to make Fenestration, Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice for future generations.

 

 

Find out more about The ‘Inspiring the Future’ Campaign

Who can get involved?

Absolutely anybody can get involved.  It doesn’t matter what your role is or which company you work for. so long as it is in the Fenestration Industry.  The aim of the campaign is to raise awareness of the industry amongst school age children and inspire them to think about it as a potential career of choice.  The more we can introduce the industry to the education sector, the greater the chance we have of bridging our skills gap over the long haul.

Volunteer Now!

https://educationandemployersprogrammes.force.com/s/signupitf?type=volunteer&campaign=Building%20Our%20Skills

How do I get involved?

To get involved simply complete the form on the link below.  The Education and Employers Organisation will then share your details with schools local to you.

Important – when you complete the form make sure you tick the box to allow your details to be shared  so that we can support you with collateral, news and case studies.

Alternatively, if you would like more information get in touch with us first, sayhello@buildingourskills.co.uk

What would I be asked to do?

With the Pandemic hopefully behind us schools are starting to welcome people back into their premises.  You will be invited by schools local to you to go in and talk to them about the job you do, the company you work in  and the industry.  There is no set format and teachers or school heads will talk to you in advance to agree who you are going to speak to and when.  You don’t have to prepare a formal presentation.

But it is worth noting that there are still schools who would prefer an online meeting and those options will be requested by schools individually depending on their circumstances.

 

 

Will I have training and support?

Absolutely.  Building Our Skills will provide a series of things you can take with you to a schools and the Education and Employers Organisation will provide training if and when required.

Case Study - Gary Tamburro, Area Sales Manager, Kommerling

Gary Tamburro, Sales Manager Profine Limited – Building Our Skills  Champion

Gary (on the right of the picture) has always been a huge supporter of Building Our Skills, mainly because he believes in the benefits a career in Fenestration can offer young people, and this is one of the reasons he signed up to support the ‘Inspiring the Future’ campaign.

The campaign is designed to encourage volunteers from the Fenestration industry, introducing them to schools and colleges in order for them to speak to students about their job role, career, and the industry itself.

Gary’s passion for the industry stems from his own personal experience, gaining a fantastic career working firstly on the shopfloor to now employed as an account manager selling for one of the industry’s largest PVCu profile companies.

Inspiring The Future – Case Study

Gary attended Thorpedene Primary School in Southend-on-Sea. The school wanted the children to gain knowledge of different jobs and careers, so alongside other volunteers from different industries he was asked to chat to Year 2 students (6-7 year olds). He also attended a ‘Guess My Line’ morning assembly, where children asked yes or no questions to guess the job role of each volunteer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘I joined the Inspiring The Future programme because having young children myself, I imagine how difficult it’s going to be in the future for them to decide on a choice of career. Schools don’t always have adequate resources and have to rely on parents or teaching staff to introduce children to career choices; often overall knowledge is limited.

‘No one ever told me about the Fenestration industry when I left school, and my whole working experience has been based in this sector. The Inspiring the Future campaign allows representatives from any sector – from any job role, and at any level to sign up and make a difference by sharing their own work experiences with young people and children to help them better understand what’s available to them and to inspire them to think about their future.

‘I was able to take props into the assembly and demonstrate the products I work with and explain my role in sales, but prior to revealing my job role, I was asked if I was a footballer, singer, actor, YouTuber.  Expanding knowledge of the Fenestration industry to school children is not going to happen overnight, but the more industry people who get involved the better chance we have of attracting young people in the future.’

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