Apprenticeships hold the key to unlocking the future of BEMS, says BCIA president

By Stacey Lucas, President of the Building Controls Industry Association

As in any industry, attracting and encouraging young people and giving them career opportunities is absolutely vital. But it has never been more important for the building controls and automation sector to do so – especially with the current skills shortage.  

National Apprenticeship Week got me thinking about what more the sector, and the government, can do to encourage new talent into the industry. Not to mention how we can all do more to nurture and support them throughout their careers.

Generating interest early is essential

With government research revealing that in the past two years, 46% of businesses have struggled to recruit for roles that require data skills, it has never been more imperative to generate interest in the BEMS and Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sectors.

However, it’s probably fair to say that many young people currently doing their GCSEs, A-Levels, or undergraduate degrees aren’t aware of the exciting career possibilities available to them in the sector. I’ll be honest – I wasn’t really aware of building controls and automation when I was that age.

It’s therefore down to all of us in the industry to help young students and aspiring engineers to understand the opportunities this incredible sector can offer, so they can make more informed decisions about their future. With that in mind, industry professionals could look to work with local schools and colleges by visiting the premises and educating pupils about the importance of building controls and its impact on sustainability and energy efficiency in buildings.

Providing as many opportunities as possible

With the Labour government raising concerns over the ‘plummeting numbers of apprenticeships’ and highlighting widespread skills shortages and a lack of opportunities for young people, it proposed a Skills Guarantee for all young adults aged 18 to 21. As a result, every individual in that age group is set to have guaranteed access to training, support in funding employment, or an apprenticeship.

This gives all of us across the BEMS sector the ideal opportunity to introduce apprenticeship programmes, enabling the development of future specialists from the ground up and nurturing a healthy pipeline of future talent.

Apprenticeships offer real potential for growth

Giving young professionals the opportunity to develop their skills and increase their understanding of the industry, apprenticeships often lead to more engaged and motivated employees. Likely due to the fact they have chosen to pursue an apprenticeship because they’re interested in the work and keen to learn more.

Additionally, having a clear pathway mapped out will help them identify what they need to know to advance and how best to further their career.

Business owners looking to generate a loyal workforce will also find apprenticeship programmes offer a great opportunity to do just that. Indeed, research recently revealed 95% of apprentices would stay with their company if they were offered a job after their apprenticeship.

Opportunities for further development can often be a major factor in company loyalty, with many candidates choosing to enrol on apprenticeship programmes because of the structured progression and career paths offered. As a result, staff retention is enhanced and recruitment costs are reduced.  

Apprenticeships are also a superb way of enhancing long-term skills development, not only for apprentices and new recruits but also existing employees. Typically, apprenticeship standards across the BEMS sector are developed by employers and leading names in the industry, so programmes are designed to be the best, and most appropriate, for the sector.

This is especially pertinent with the BEMS sector, and the built environment as a whole, seeing ever-tightening quality standards and sustainability targets. Enabling the company to keep up-to-date with the best practice behaviours and compliant with any regulation changes, apprenticeship programmes can give apprentices the opportunity to help upskill existing employees to ensure the workforce is able to adapt to developments and changes in the BEMS sector.  

How the BCIA is helping support apprentices

Keen to enhance quality standards and encourage more talented professionals into the industry, the BCIA introduced the BEMS Controls Engineer Apprenticeship three years ago. The Level 4 technical apprenticeship scheme currently has 245 apprentices of varying ages on programme, a substantial achievement and reflective of a growing sector where specialist skills are essential.

Following the apprenticeship scheme is an accompanying End Point Assessment to ensure the talented BEMS Controls Engineers are able to utilise the technical skills they have learned to keep the buildings of tomorrow running as efficiently as possible.

Additionally, as the industry’s only association for the BEMS sector, the BCIA offers a myriad of training opportunities and an Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) card scheme to help secure a brighter future for the sector and better built buildings for the end user.

Giving talented professionals of all ages the ability to gain formal BEMS skills and enabling any company in the sector to develop and upskill while creating an engaged workforce that’s more likely to stay with the business for many years, apprenticeship programmes provide the key to unlocking the future of the BEMS industry.