Aligned with her ongoing work to secure more opportunities for young people to learn traditional skills, Carol Mochan MSP has visited a site in Kilmarnock to meet with a group of roofing apprentices.
Ms Mochan, a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for South Scotland joined the team from DM Roofing & Roughcasting, an NFRC (National Federation of Roofing Contractors) Member, at a residential renovation project. The Scottish Labour MSP saw the traditional slating and leadwork being carried out and spoke at length to the apprentices working on site.
One of the issues raised was the challenges they have faced in finding the right college courses locally, with one of the apprentices explaining that a 5am start was required to attend his training course due to travel times on public transport. Another described how the lack of an apprentice leadwork course in Scotland meant he had to travel to London to complete this part of his training. Improving access to local training is something that Ms Mochan has long championed and has raised this issue through several parliamentary questions to the Scottish Government.
Following the site visit, Ms Mochan said: “Young people and industry experts alike are telling us that the challenges they face in finding jobs, skills, and recruiting are becoming insurmountable. We have to get through to government the importance of ensuring that further education places are available nearby, or at the very least that students are supported to travel, in order to meet the needs of industry.”
“I heard from these local apprentices about how great demands were made of them as they tried to succeed and train in traditional building trades. We cannot expect young people to travel for tens of miles and disrupt their day-to-day life at great expense just to get a qualification to work.
“I am going to be taking this forward in Parliament and call on the government and colleges to come together with the industry to make sure that traditional building trades are on offer at institutions everywhere in the country.”
Kellie-Ann Lees from DM Roofing & Roughcasting said: “We were very grateful that Ms Mochan came out and visited our apprentices at the site and had genuine interest in how the amount of travelling they have to undertake impacts their lives. Apprentices play a crucial role in the roofing industry, contributing to the growth, sustainability, and quality of the sector. Apprentices help bridge the gap in the industry’s demand for skilled labour and we feel more local training and courses will help significantly.”
Throughout Scotland, NFRC is committed to raising the profile of the roofing industry in the country and works across the country to promote traditional skills to the next generation. Ms Mochan’s visit follows her attendance at the Build Your Future events, at which NFRC has organised demonstrations of traditional roofing skills to introduce young people to a career path they may not have considered. NFRC delivered a four-day roof slating demonstration at this year’s Royal Highland Show and will also be presenting both the roof slating and leadwork demonstrations at the 12th Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival, which is taking place between 20 and 23 August.
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