Investing in the Next Generation: Why Apprenticeships Matter More Than Ever
Creating jobs, developing skills and giving young people genuine opportunities to build careers are moving higher up the agenda for UK businesses.
Plans outlined by Andy Burnham, and reported by the BBC , would place greater emphasis on these areas when companies bid for major public sector contracts.
Under the proposals, businesses would be expected to demonstrate how they are creating employment opportunities, supporting young people into work and helping address local skills shortages.
For the engineering and facilities management sectors, it raises an important question:
Are we doing enough today to develop the skilled workforce we'll need tomorrow?
At CMS, this is something we've been investing in for years through our apprenticeship programme and the CMS Academy.
While engineering remains a major focus of our apprenticeship programme, opportunities at CMS aren't limited to engineering. Apprentices are also developing careers across areas including Admin, Finance and Data, helping us invest in the next generation of talent across the wider business.
“Throughout my career in Heating and Ventilation, Education and Training, I’ve rarely come across a company that invests in apprentices at the level CMS does. There’s a genuine focus on developing the next generation, backed by dedicated support to help our apprentices achieve their career goals.”
— Geoff Barrass , Apprenticeship Manager, CMS
Jobs and Skills Are Moving Up the Agenda
According to the BBC report, Andy Burnham 's plans would change how companies bidding for government contracts are assessed, with greater emphasis placed on the wider benefits they provide to local communities.
For contracts worth £5 million or more, the weighting given to these benefits would double from 10% to 20%.
The BBC reports that the new measure would focus on job creation, including additional recognition for businesses creating local jobs, addressing skills shortages through training and providing 45-day work experience placements for young people.
The report also states that around £90 billion is spent each year through government contracts.
Whatever the eventual impact of these proposals, the wider conversation is significant. Businesses aren't only being asked what they can deliver. Increasingly, attention is being given to the opportunities they create and the skills they help develop.
Source: BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgdmv7elg
More Than One Million Young People Are Currently NEET
Behind this conversation is a much wider challenge surrounding youth employment.
The BBC article highlights Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures showing that more than one million people aged 16 to 24 are currently not in education, employment or training (NEET).
That represents a significant number of young people potentially missing opportunities to gain experience, develop valuable skills and begin long-term careers.
The underlying figures are published by the Office for National Statistics, which regularly reports on young people who are not in education, employment or training across the UK.
Source: Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/bulletins/youngpeoplenotineducationemploymentortrainingneet/latest
At the same time, industries across the UK need people with the skills required to support their future growth.
Apprenticeships provide an opportunity to connect the two.
Engineering Skills Aren't Developed Overnight
Within facilities management and building services, the need to develop technical talent is particularly important.
The buildings we use every day rely on skilled engineers working across disciplines such as HVAC, electrical, gas, building controls and wider mechanical and electrical services.
Developing those skills takes time.
Becoming an engineer isn't simply about completing a qualification. It requires technical learning, practical training, exposure to real working environments and the opportunity to learn alongside experienced professionals.
“One of the most rewarding parts of my role is seeing young people come into the business with little or no industry experience and develop into competent engineers and valued members of the CMS team. We’ve seen apprentices progress into team leader and management positions, while others have been recognised by their training providers with Apprentice of the Year awards. Seeing that progression first-hand is incredibly rewarding.”
— Geoff Barrass , Apprenticeship Manager, CMS
That's why engineering apprenticeships remain such an important part of our strategy at CMS.
Instead of waiting for experienced engineers to become available within an already competitive employment market, we believe businesses have an important role to play in developing that expertise themselves.
Why CMS Created the CMS Academy
Developing the next generation requires more than simply recruiting apprentices.
It requires genuine investment.
CMS invested £2 million into our purpose-built 20,000 sq. ft. CMS Academy, creating a dedicated environment where apprentices and experienced engineers can develop their knowledge through both classroom learning and practical training.
"The CMS Academy will be instrumental in developing the next generation of skilled engineers enabling us to maintain the exceptional service our customers expect while directly addressing the industry’s skills shortage. It’s a forward-thinking approach that will carry CMS confidently into the next 25 years."
— Nic Smith , CEO & Founder, CMS
The facility gives our apprentices the opportunity to work with equipment and develop practical skills before applying that knowledge within real customer environments.
Today, we have more than 70 apprentices developing within CMS, and our ambition is to continue growing that number.
The Academy also supports the development of our wider engineering workforce, helping our people continue learning as technologies, equipment and industry requirements evolve.
Find out more about the CMS Academy: https://www.cmsltd.co.uk/cms-academy
Apprenticeships Across CMS
While engineering is at the heart of the CMS Academy and remains a key area for future growth, apprenticeships at CMS extend beyond technical engineering roles.
A successful facilities management business relies on a wide range of people and skills behind the scenes.
That's why we're also creating apprenticeship opportunities within areas such as Admin, Finance,Data, Quantity Surveying & AI.
These roles might look very different from an engineering apprenticeship, but they're an important part of the same objective: giving people an opportunity to learn, gain recognised qualifications and build a long-term career.
From engineers maintaining critical building systems to the teams supporting customers, analysing information, managing finances and helping the wider business operate effectively, developing talent across CMS strengthens the organisation as a whole.
However, with engineering skills remaining so important to the future of facilities management, continuing to expand our engineering apprenticeship programme remains a major priority.
“My apprenticeship has given me the opportunity to develop new skills while gaining real experience within the business. Winning the Professional Service Apprentice Award was a really proud moment and showed me how far I’ve progressed. I’m looking forward to continuing to develop my career and seeing where it takes me next.”
— Joe Hudson, Commercial Data Technician, CMS
Creating Careers, Not Simply Filling Vacancies
For CMS, apprenticeships aren't about filling an immediate vacancy.
We want them to create careers.
An apprentice joining the business should be able to see where their development could take them.
For our engineering apprentices, that means combining formal qualifications with practical experience and learning directly from experienced engineers.
Over time, apprentices can develop their technical knowledge, confidence and understanding of real commercial environments while gaining exposure to the standards expected within the facilities management industry.
The same principle applies across our wider apprenticeship programme.
Whether someone begins their CMS career in Engineering, Admin, Finance, Data or another area of the business, the objective is to give them the skills and experience they need to progress.
Tackling the Engineering Skills Challenge from Within
Recruitment alone can't solve a long-term skills shortage.
If every facilities management and engineering business competes for the same existing pool of experienced engineers without creating new talent, the underlying challenge remains.
Apprenticeships provide another route.
They allow us to introduce people to engineering at the beginning of their careers and provide the training, mentoring and experience needed to develop into skilled professionals.
For CMS, there is another benefit.
Developing engineers internally means apprentices learn not only their trade but also the standards, culture and expectations of our business.
They understand the importance of safety, compliance, technical quality and customer service from the earliest stages of their careers.
As they progress, that knowledge stays within the business and ultimately benefits our customers.
“Being able to complete jobs on my own feels great because you realise you can do the job yourself. My apprenticeship has been different, fun, empowering and, most importantly, rewarding.”
— Toni Bowe, Apprentice Gas Engineer, CMS
Creating Opportunities Within Our Communities
Another important element of the proposals reported by the BBC is the emphasis placed on creating local employment and training opportunities.
For a business operating across the UK, that idea resonates strongly.
Facilities management touches almost every part of everyday life. Our industry supports workplaces, healthcare environments, educational facilities, hospitality venues, retail sites and many other buildings that communities depend upon.
Giving more people an opportunity to enter the industry therefore has benefits that reach beyond an individual organisation.
Someone beginning an engineering apprenticeship today could become the engineer, supervisor, technical specialist or manager responsible for keeping those environments operational in the future.
And someone starting an apprenticeship within Finance, Admin or Data could go on to play an equally important role in supporting the businesses behind those services.
Social Value Needs to Deliver Something Real
The BBC article also reports concerns that placing greater emphasis on employment shouldn't mean environmental priorities become less important.
It's an important point.
Creating employment, developing skills and improving environmental performance shouldn't necessarily be competing objectives.
For businesses, the important thing is demonstrating genuine outcomes.
An apprenticeship should create real skills.
Training should lead to meaningful development.
Work experience should introduce people to genuine career possibilities.
And investment in young people should create opportunities that continue beyond a single contract or initiative.
That's what we want our apprenticeship programme and the CMS Academy to represent.
The Workforce of Tomorrow Starts with Investment Today
Developing skilled people takes time.
That's particularly true within engineering, where technical knowledge needs to be combined with practical experience gained throughout an individual's career.
The decisions businesses make today therefore have a direct impact on the skills available to their industries tomorrow.
Government policy can encourage investment, but employers ultimately have to create the opportunities.
At CMS, we're proud to have more than 70 apprentices currently developing across our business, with engineering remaining at the heart of our apprenticeship strategy alongside opportunities within Admin, Finance, Data and other areas.
And we plan to grow further.
As CMS expands, we want our apprenticeship programme to expand with it, creating more opportunities for people to gain qualifications, develop valuable skills and establish long-term careers.
Building the Next Generation at CMS
The latest national conversation around jobs and skills reinforces something we've believed for a long time: businesses have an important role to play in developing people.
For engineering in particular, we can't simply wait until skills shortages become critical and then start looking for experienced engineers.
We have to help create them.
That's one of the reasons we've invested so heavily in the CMS Academy and why engineering apprenticeships will continue to be a major focus for us.
At the same time, we're proud that apprenticeship opportunities at CMS extend beyond engineering, giving people the chance to develop careers across different areas of our growing business.
With more than 70 apprentices already part of CMS, we've made significant progress.
But we're not finished.
As the business continues to grow, so will our investment in the next generation.
Find out more about the CMS Academy and our commitment to developing future talent: https://www.cmsltd.co.uk/cms-academy
References
BBC News – Public procurement, employment and skills article https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckgdmv7elg8o
Office for National Statistics – Young people not in education, employment or training (NEET), UK https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/bulletins/youngpeoplenotineducationemploymentortrainingneet/latest
CMS Academy https://www.cmsltd.co.uk/cms-academy