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Barn Conversion in Yalberton

May 2007: Feature on Bovey Construction Barn Conversion in Yalberton

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April 2008 SME BOSS SPEAKS OUT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

Skills Summit Photo
John Chudley from Devon & Cornwall Learning & Skills Council; Rob Wye, National Director of
Young People’s Learning & Skills; Heather Maxwell, Principal, South Devon College;
Chris Leonard, CEO The Edge UK; Neil Turner, MD, Bovey Construction.

At South Devon College’s second annual skills summit on 29 April, Neil Turner, MD of the award-winning construction firm, Bovey Construction, spoke out not just for his own company but for small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs) in the South West. He welcomed the raising of the participation age, which requires that by 2013 all youngsters stay in education or training until they are 18, but highlighted some of the practical issues that SMEs, in particular, will be facing as a result.

A major element in the Government’s plans for young people from 2013 is the long-established apprenticeship programme. Yet, rather than take on more apprentices, the construction industry as a whole placed just 8,500 in 2007, rather fewer than in 2006 – and nowhere near enough to meet the expected demand in 2013. Why is this? According to Mr Turner, it is because the responsibility for recruiting and training young people has fallen by default on the shoulders of hard-stretched SMEs.

One problem is that major construction companies back off from apprenticeships: out of 63 companies employing 500 or more people, only eight employ an apprentice on a regular basis. As an apprentice costs his or her employer £12,000 in the first year alone, according to the Federation of Master Builders, and the grant is for just £2,000, you cannot blame them. This means that SMEs are contributing disproportionately; young people are being let down; and skill levels are at risk.

This is not happening at Bovey Construction, which won a National Training Award in 2006, and where Neil Turner leads by example, having himself achieved an NVQ Level 5 in contracts management. Consequently, his staff are, unusually for construction, qualified; his five site managers in addition have NVQs at Level 3 or 4 in site management; seven of his 30 staff are currently in training, five of these through apprenticeships. Is it a co-incidence that both the quality of craftsmanship and staff retention rates are high, and repeat business is the norm?

While it is unlikely that blue-chip companies can be persuaded to follow suit, it is important that the sector as a whole fights to ease the burden on SMEs like Bovey Construction. To get things started Mr Turner outlined at the conference his five-part strategy for training success that really could mean gain not pain:

1. Clarity not jargon.
2. A one-stop shop offering straightforward advice on funding and training providers.
3. Sensible and consistent funding policies that do not penalise employers who want to retrain people with NVQs from a former career.
4. Flexibility so that apprentices who finish an NVQ early can transfer immediately to the next level.
5. Support for leadership and management training so young people with a flair for supervision and support can be trained to inspire new entrants to the industry.

Neil Turner will be discussing these and other issues at a reception in the House of Lords Terrace on 7 May, set up so MPs can find out more about the positive impact of apprenticeships. He was invited as a personal guest by David Lammy, Minister for Skills, and Gordon Marsden, Chair of the Associate Parliamentary Skills Group.

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