Targeting the armed forces for future managers
THE quarrying industry has united in its search for the quarry managers of the future by attending a unique careers event in Perth organized by the MoD’s Careers Transition Partnership (CTP). The employment fair was attended by nearly 500 forces personnel, all researching career opportunities as they approach the end of their active service. On hand to promote careers within the quarrying industry were Tarmac, Aggregate Industries and Ennstone Thistle, with support from the Quarry Products Association, British Aggregates Association and Proskills.
The QPA and BAA, together with Proskills, have been developing a relationship with the CTP following the identification of skills similarities between departing forces personnel and the extractives industry. With the majority of the MoD’s delegates at the exhibition having developed excellent man-management skills, technical know-how and responsible attitudes, the quarry operators at the event were able to take home an abundance of impressive CVs.
Other quarry operators are now being encouraged to attend forthcoming MoD careers fairs, such was the positive experience in Perth. With the industry struggling to find the right calibre of candidate in some parts of the country, it is hoped that future attendance at such events could go some way to addressing the shortfall.
The QPA’s John Sheridan said: ‘This event has been a real eye-opener for the quarrying industry and we’ve been nothing but impressed by what service leavers can offer our sector. Our three major operators here today have gone home laden with high-quality CVs from motivated, technically skilled and highly responsible individuals, and that’s a clear message for other quarrying companies to get involved with forthcoming careers fairs.’
Richard Bird of the BAA added: ‘By working with the CTP, the quarrying industry can now tap into an excellent source of potential managers for the future. Many of the interested candidates that we spoke with came with excellent transferable skills including man management, technical know-how and practical health and safety experience. Until the employment fair in Perth, most of them had never even considered quarrying as a possible career move because they were not aware of what we had to offer. Hopefully we can now build on what turned out to be a most successful event.’
Romana Grant, the employment and training manager for CTP in Scotland, said the event was clearly a win-win situation, as service leavers found that their skills matched many of the requirements of the quarrying industry, while the industry in turn seemed highly impressed by what the service leavers had to offer.
Proskills has been working closely with the CTP and other forces personnel over the last six months to develop an information pack that was specifically tailored to meet the needs of and attract servicemen and women from all branches of the armed forces. The pack allowed service personnel to clearly understand the different roles and opportunities that exist within the extractive and mineral-processing sector, and the qualifications and experiences required for these roles were related back to service experience and job titles where appropriate. A copy of the pack is available as a PDF download by clicking on the Proskills web link below.
Operators interested in finding out more about the schedule of careers fairs for 2007 should visit the service leavers’ website by clicking on the CTP web link below. Employers with vacancies to fill can register with the website’s Employers Section and gain access to the on-line vacancy service, Rightjob, which allows employers to advertise vacancies free of charge and service leavers interested in vacancies to apply direct to the employers.
