Skilled Trades Network debut hailed a big success

The inaugural event took place this week at South Lanarkshire College in East Kilbride, with the aim of creating real change in the industry in the months ahead.

Tradespeople, local authorities, educators and industry experts were all in attendance as a host of topics were discussed including access to funding and the skills shortage threatening the sector.

The initiative was devised by Pamela Cunningham - a former Tier 1 procurement manager, who recently established the strategic construction consultancy Growth & Performance Solutions – along with her husband Ross, owner of ROSSCO Tiling Specialists.

“We would like to thank everyone who came along and especially South Lanarkshire College, who couldn’t do enough to make the event go as smoothly as possible,” she said.

“I want this to be about collaboration and not competition and it was refreshing to hear businesses openly discussing working together. Hopefully we can continue to foster these kind of connections.”

She added: “There is a huge focus on engaging with the young workforce but the big question is how do we do that as there are lots of barriers for employers to overcome. We touched on that as well and I’m optimistic we can be more effective on that front in time.”

Alan Tait from Tait HR was the keynote speaker at the launch night, with South Lanarkshire College hosting the monthly meetings until February as part of a pilot scheme.

“We’re excited about what this can lead to,” said Pamela. “There was great energy in the room and we want to build on this success as we go forward and help more tradespeople connect with each other.”

The next meeting of the Skilled Trades Network takes place at South Lanarkshire College on Tuesday, 28 October.