A study by Hochiki Europe, which polled hundreds of fire safety and emergency lighting installers from around Europe, also found that only 39% of installers work for a company that offers an apprenticeship programme. Just 17% reported that their employer offers a graduate programme to attract university leavers.
The Federation of Master Builders (FMB) recently released figures showing that the shortage of skills in the construction sector, which includes fire engineering, is at a four-year high.
“The skills gap both in our own sector and across the built environment has been a pressing concern for a number of years but, as the survey shows, our industry is doing too little to address the issue,” said Ray Turner, general manager of operations at Hochiki Europe.
“If the industry is to continue to grow into the future, it is imperative that manufacturers and installers create the training opportunities necessary to equip the next generation with the skills they need to build a fulfilling career as life safety professionals.”
The study also identified a lack of enthusiasm among school leavers for the life safety sector as a potential career.
Some 78% of respondents felt that young people know too little about what jobs are available in the industry, with 68% concerned that they don’t view the sector as a desirable vocation. And 93% agreed that the sector had a responsibility to educate secondary school pupils on the range of life safety roles available and their merits in order to change perceptions.
“At the same time as creating great apprenticeship and graduate programmes to attract people to the sector, we need to do more to reach out to students while they are still at school and thinking about their future careers, and highlight the benefits of working in the industry,” continued Ray Turner.
“Working closely with schools and universities – as individual companies and in partnership with others in the industry – will be crucial to help promote the array of career options, and the paths into the sector. Taking this kind of action now, we can ensure we have the expertise we need not just to thrive today, but to face new challenges tomorrow.”
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