Home / Campaigns / The ‘Inspiring the Future’ Campaign

The ‘Inspiring the Future’ Campaign

We have started out on a journey to inspire youngsters to become the future workforce of the Fenestration Industry. You can play your part. Why not get in touch and see how you can get involved…

Talking to young people about our industry cannot start too soon.

The Education Sector is increasingly keen to engage with the Business Sector to learn about different industries and the career options they offer, and for the Fenestration Industry the timing could not be more perfect.

We all recognise that the industry is facing a skills shortage, and this campaign is designed to offer a long term solution, while other areas of the Building Our Skills campaign look for short and medium terms solutions.

Tell me more….

Our Inspiring the Future campaign is being promoted in association with FENSA and the Education and Employers Organisation and is a great starting point for this journey. It is an initiative that anybody can get involved with.

All you have to be able to do is give up one hour a year to talk to school children about the job you do and the industry you do it in.

If enough people from our industry sign up to do this we can make significant inroads into getting the word Fenestration into the minds of young people in a way we’ve never done before, and help them to understand the amazing array of career paths open to them if they make the industry their career of choice.

This is how we can start to develop a future workforce for the industry and make sure that there is no skills gap in the long term.

Our campaign goal is to recruit 100 Fenestration Industry employees by the end of 2021 to help promote the industry to the education sector….

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 inspire – all you need to do is be yourself, your natural passion for the job you do will shine through. and will inspire.

How do I get involved?

To get involved simply get in touch, either by completing the form on this page or by emailing sayhello@buildingourskills.co.uk

We will come back to you and talk you through how it works, what we need to do and the next steps.

Remember, all you need to do to be a part of the campaign is commit one hour a year, you’ll be amazed at the impact that one hour can make….

What would I be asked to do?

Pre-Covid 19 the way it worked was that a school local to you would invite you to go in and talk to a class of children about the job you do and the industry you do it in.

In the current situation those ‘visits’ have been changed to online presentations, still in front of the classroom. The Education Sector is working hard to ensure that everything it was doing previously can still carry on, even if it is in a different format. They are committed to education and industry coming closer together.

We all hope in the not too distant future that we will be able to go back into schools and present in person.

Will I have training and support?

Absolutely. Building Our Skills will provide a toolkit for you to use and will give you training before you engage directly with a school. Training can be ongoing, we are here to help one another and the Fenestration Industry.

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.’