13 hours Ago By Will Gore
Not so very long ago it was bricklayers we needed. With Labour planning to build 1.5 million new homes before the next election, it turned out we didn’t have enough brickies to meet today’s needs, let alone tomorrow’s.
A few months on, after Trumpian “diplomacy” has turned the established world order on its head, it now seems to be welders who are at the front of the recruitment queue. It is they we need to put the UK on a war footing, building the tanks and planes required to provide reassurance in the face of Russian aggression and American capriciousness.The shift from bricks and mortar to bombs and mortars may have been sudden, but Britain’s domestic and international needs have both exposed our shortcomings when it comes to essential trades.
The country that powered the Industrial Revolution no longer has the skills to house or defend itself properly.if(window.adverts) { window.
adverts.addToArray({"pos": "inread-hb-ros-inews"}); }According to a new report, there are already 10,000 vacancies in the defence manufacturing industries. Submarine welders are in such short supply that they can apparently command wages of up to £80 per hour in some instances.
Many of those currently in the welding workforce have come here from Poland and Bulgaria.The truth is, the UK has for a long time failed to narrow its skills gap. The policy decision to expand the higher education sector in the 90s and Noughties is partly to blame, as vocational courses lost out.
An increased focus on apprenticeships in recent years has offered alternatives ways for school leavers to enter industry – but not always into jobs that are lasting or a priority for the economy.The present Government has promised to improve matters by launching Skills England, a body which will identify key skills shortages and incentivise improved training opportunities in those areas. The jury remains out on what it might achieve.
In the meantime, however, I offer up a partial solution: my children.if(window.adverts) { window.
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adverts.addToArray({"pos": "mpu_tablet_l1"}); }At 15, my eldest isn’t far away from making key decisions about her future. As it stands, a degree in English or psychology is in her sights.
She’s an academic child and would no doubt excel. And why shouldn’t she have three lovely years doing the kind of interesting but practically useless kind of studying that I did?Well, there are about 30,000 reasons why not. And each one of them will be paid back with interest.
Seeing 21-year-olds saddled with hefty student debt is utterly depressing. And that’s not even to think of the hit my wallet will take for the time she’s actually at uni.#color-context-related-article-3565585 {--inews-color-primary: #3759B7;--inews-color-secondary: #EFF2FA;--inews-color-tertiary: #3759B7;} Read Next square WILL GORE I refereed my son's football match - now it's my fault he lost 7-0Read MoreMuch better, surely, to move into the world of work, learn a trade and be set for life – and if she has to stay at home for a few years, we’ll set her rent at a reasonable level.
She’s a dab hand at knitting, so I reckon she’s got the innate dexterity for some welding.I suspect it won’t happen though – she’s already set on dreaming spires, whatever the cost. My son, however, might be up for it.
Over the last year, he has finally recognised that his goal of becoming a pro footballer will not be realised, and I’ve explained repeatedly that his alternative career choice – YouTuber – isn’t a sure bet.But unlike his sister, he is – in theory at least – motivated by the idea of earning money. Needless to say, he refuses to accept my offer of a quid to wash the car, but that’s because he has his sights set higher.
And while he hasn’t quite understood that Jeff Bezos-style earnings are hard to come by, the prospect of £80 an hour as a welder could well attract him.I don’t know if there are any pre-entry courses for nine-year-olds who want to get into a trade, but with a birthday coming up, I may investigate a brick-laying party for him. Let’s not worry that he can’t yet tie his own shoelaces – practice makes perfect when it comes to being nimble-fingered.
In a decade or so, he’ll be flying, sticking together Typhoon fighters as if they were Airfix models, or throwing up apartment blocks in the flash of an eye.Come on son: Your Country Needs You. And your mum and dad wouldn’t mind a new conservatory.
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