NFRC Scotland Marks 10 Years of Promoting Traditional Skills and Roofing Careers

NFRC SCOTLAND is marking 10 years of an extensive programme of construction skills events, showing off traditional roofing skills and careers. Their most recent participation was at the Edinburgh Traditional Building Festival providing traditional skills demonstrations.

Back in 2012, NFRC took part in the first construction skills demonstration event at Edinburgh Castle, as part of Scottish Apprenticeship Week, to showcase the work of apprentices and promote the diversity of roles within construction.

Over the past ten years, the aim has been to build a sustainable model for introducing young people to traditional roofing skills, working with stakeholders throughout the supply chain, to ensure the impact seen in 2012 would be continued.

Traditional Skills

Scotland has a wealth of traditional buildings—all of which will require a level of maintenance at some point in time. These skills demonstration events help to highlight the opportunities in construction, including roofing, to young people, so that they can make an informed choice on their careers and help ensure the future of Scotland’s valuable heritage.

In 2022 so far, the geographical reach of the programme has been amazing, with traditional skills events taking place from Lochgilphead to Jedburgh. Working with Build Your Future and Developing the Young Workforce, a programme is now being delivered in schools to highlight construction opportunities, including roofing. Pupils can understand career prospects through online content and attend the hands-on skills events.

Roofing Careers

One great success story came from working with the City of Edinburgh Council supporting the delivery of pilot programme, through Build Your Future’s Repurposing Challenge and sharing the online content in three schools. The content was so well received that the City of Edinburgh Council is now rolling out the programme across schools in Edinburgh next year.

Now, the aim is to use work with public bodies to create the capacity to help deliver this across every high school in Scotland. It would be a huge achievement to further develop this pathway into the industry for those youngsters showing an aptitude or interest rather than just a one-off opportunity.

Working towards developing the next generation of skilled construction and roofing workers is key to ensure Scotland’s construction can have a skilled workforce across the supply chain. It goes without saying that the success of the programme to date would not have been possible without the huge support of industry stakeholders.

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