11 minute read
BiKBBI Conference
IMPRESSIVE LINE UP OF KEYNOTE SPEAKERS DELIVER POWERFUL MESSAGES AT BiKBBI CONFERENCE
BiKBBI is leading the way to transform the industry Speaker Biographies
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Stephen Metcalfe MP
Raising educational standards in his constituency is a priority for Stephen. As MP for South Basildon & East Thurrock, Stephen is a keen supporter of apprenticeships and has been appointed Apprenticeship Ambassador by The Minister for Apprenticeships and Skills Anne Milton to help promote them across the country. Stephen has been an Honorary Patron for The British Institute of KBB Installation since October 2013.
Paul Scully MP
Paul Scully was appointed Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy on 13 February 2020. He is responsible for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets and Minister for London. Paul is a British politician serving as the Member of Parliament for Sutton and Cheam since 2015. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as its vice chairman for the London region from 2017 to 2019. Paul was born in Rugby, Warwickshire. He moved to London after graduating and ran a number of small businesses.
Seema Malhotra MP
Seema Malhotra is the Labour and Cooperative Member of Parliament for Feltham and Heston and Shadow Minister for Business and Consumers. Seema is a Commissioner on the Financial Inclusion Commission. She chairs the APPG on Entrepreneurship and co-chairs the APPG on Mortgage Prisoners. Seema is also a vice chair of the APPG on the Future of Aviation and All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Assistive Technology. She is an Executive Member, British Group of the Inter Parliamentary Union. Her primary policy interests are in the economy, business, and equalities. She was a member of the influential House of Commons Select Committee on Exiting the European Union and its successor from 2016-2020.
Stuart Lawrence
Stuart is an accomplished author, motivational speaker and youth worker. Brother to Stephen Lawrence, murdered in South London in 1993, Stuart has dedicated his life to working with young people providing insight around the consequences of their actions against others and the importance of inclusion through preaching tolerance and celebrating difference. Damian Walters, BiKBBI CEO
Damian has an unrivalled perspective of the international kbb installation industry, with the last 16 years as CEO at The British Institute of KBB Installation (BiKBBI). An accomplished leader within the sector, Damian has worked across the globe as a consultant, with recent work including a collaboration with the US on how to address the international skills shortage.
Abdul Tantouch, Research Manager, AMA Research
Abdul Tantouch is a research professional with more than 9 years’ experience in research analysis. He has particular experience in both financial data analysis and investigative research and works in AMA Research with a focus on Plumbing, Heating and Electrical reports and services within the business.
Stephen Johnson, Managing Director, Quooker UK
Managing Director, Stephen Johnson, set up Quooker UK over 15 years ago. His dedication, motivation and desire to deliver a world class product combined with an unwavering ambition to exceed customers’ expectations, have been the foundations that have driven unparalleled growth and business success. Before joining Quooker, Stephen worked for the family business, now known as the Neville Johnson Group, for over 30 years. Having grown up in the KBB industry, Stephen is a passionate advocate for support, change, sustainability and equality within the sector.
The Furniture Makers’ Company is the charity of the British furnishing industry, and a City of London livery company. The charity was set up over 100 years ago to help people from the furnishing industry at times of difficulty or hardship. Jonny is the clerk to the company and will join us to discuss the great work of the charity.
The 2022 BiKBBI conference was the biggest and boldest yet, as CEO Damian Walters outlined his vision to raise the profile of the installation industry and attract much-needed new talent.
Addressing an audience of industry professionals, Members of Parliament and the trade press at the QEII Centre in the heart of Westminster, Damian discussed the importance of international links and collaboration, apprenticeships and promoting diversity within the installation industry for a sustainable future.
BiKKBI’s honorary patron, Stephen Metcalfe MP, the Government’s Apprenticeship Ambassador said, “I fully support the institute in driving up standards and really making a difference. Renewed appreciation of the home with an estimated £70bn spent on home improvements in 2020-1 demonstrates the huge opportunities for this sector. Our collective mission is to ensure the talent pipeline remains full and diverse so that we can offer rewarding and well-paid, successful careers. Apprenticeships are good for the individual and good for businesses, attracting and retaining talent in the sector.”
The first phase of this year’s BiKBBI outreach programme begins this spring with a focus on supporting the North of England, via engaging with schools and colleges in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. “One of the biggest focuses for 2022-3 and beyond is around engaging with people on the frontline,” said Damian. “So instead of having an official presence at the KBB show this year, we be going out into the community, talking to kids about our industry and the opportunities for them in it. If you don’t catch them young they won’t know about who we are and what we do, or the opportunities available to everybody through school and college. Our new KBB Fitted Interiors Apprenticeship qualification level 2 is the equivalent of a mid-level GCSE and we will continue to develop level 3 and 4 qualifications so that we can demonstrate the breadth of careers available – including being an installation director for a leading brand or running a highly profitable small business and managing a team.”
Stephen Johnson, Managing Director at Quooker, urged manufacturers and retailers to support the install sector. “It is essential that we bring more young people and diversity into our industry or we will fail. There is a skills gap which may take 10 years to cure, and it will be at least five years before we fix the systemic failure. Without installers, we have no industry. That is why as a business we invested £250,000 to address this problem and will continue to do so for at least the next three years to advance initiatives far earlier that would otherwise be possible. You can have the most amazing product but the installer leaves the lasting impression. We must compete with the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook to attract and retain the best new talent. We make people’s lives better through our design and creativity – it is essential that we unite and ensure that Damian and his amazing institute reverses the skills crisis and saves our industry in double-quick time.” "To feel that support given the challenges we’ve got ahead has been extremely positive. We have no doubts about the biggest challenge our industry is facing and know how, via a robust scheme of apprenticeships, we can build a talented workforce for the future of KBB.”
BiKBBI’s commitment to enhance the professionalism and reputation of the install industry involves facing very real challenges. “We are operating within a skills gap during a time of recovery and bounce-back. We must avoid the risk of reputational damage which affected the double-glazing industry and renewables market and take an honesty pill. Consumer spend will be diluted as people go back to work and go on holiday, so problems in the supply chain will feel better, but they won’t go away. In fact, Brexit and Covid have only ripped off the plaster of a festering wound due to years of underinvestment in vocational education,” said Damian.
With this in mind, speeding up and digitalising processes will be paramount to the professionalism of installers, so BiKBBI is developing a new app for alternative dispute resolution as well as focussing on international relationship building to pool resources and best practice.
“We’re already seeing some really good learning coming from our conversations with our sister organisations in North America. In fact, we face similar challenges on both sides of the pond and indeed ‘down under.’ We are a huge believer in collaboration and learning, we will be sharing best practise and solutions to common problems that we face. The world is a much smaller place now from a digital perspective so it makes sense for us to work together towards a common goal,” Damian explained.
Mandatory registration for home improvement operatives is another pillar of the BiKBBI strategy and boost consumer confidence. “Innovation is critical and so is compliance – the bolt-on needs to be the focus otherwise we run the risk of being an unregulated industry,” said Damian.
Diversification of the talent pool is essential to enhance succession planning in the install industry as the majority of players are 50-something white males. Key note speaker, Stuart Lawrence, author and youth worker said, “We need to be talking to our children as early as possible about their career paths and appreciate that they are influenced by their parents and teachers. We need to educate parents that there are some very worthwhile careers available without incurring student debt so that they can see that learning a trade will give their children freedom, longevity and self-sufficiency in the workforce.”
Opening up the industry to new entrants will require sensitivity with mentoring for both apprentices and managers to better support those from disadvantaged backgrounds, different cultures, former servicemen and women returning to civilian life or women, who have long been under-represented in the industry. “Much like football, installation has been seen as a white, male game,” said Damian. “We must stop being so blinkered. Diversification in the workforce is essential – not to fill quotas, but because it is the right thing to do! Vocational learning for women is stuck in the 1970s with beauty or hairdressing seen as the only option and we are lacking the different perspective that a female fitter can bring. We must be far more open than ever before.”
The potential of the install sector as part of the wider KBB industry remains critical to the UK recovery itself. Paul Scully MP, the Minister responsible for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets celebrated the ingenuity and flexibility of the sector. He said,“Small businesses power every recovery which is why initiatives like the Government's ‘Help to grow’ scheme is enhancing management training for today’s leaders. By digitalising processes, you can spend less time on admin and more time on core skills and the Government wants to help you navigate this by offering vouchers for software costs. We want to make the UK the best place to start and scale a business with the ability to network peer to peer and with mentoring from those a year or two down the line. We commend the hard work installers do across the nation.”
Shadow Minister for Business, Seema Malhotra MP said, “What your industry does every day is relevant to every single person in the country. People underestimate the skills, experience and passion craft the trades bring to the community. Your industry has a strong voice and presence in parliament. The Government must work with business to address rising costs, taxes and the cost-ofliving crisis as delayed spending is delaying home improvements. Skills development is absolutely essential for industry, not to survive but to thrive. Protecting the environment is very important and the KBB industry has a really important part to play as we move to a low carbon economy ensuring that people have greener homes helping families to choose the very best products for their kitchens, bedrooms and bathrooms.”
The entire conference was summarised by Michelle Daniels, Head of Marketing and Communications at the BiKBBI, who commented, “We’ve had a fantastic line up of speakers and participants for our conference and awards. We’re addressing not only the biggest topics and challenges facing not only the KBB sector but businesses and industries in the UK. We’ve been fortunate to host three Members of Parliament which is no mean feat. The fact that we have those MPs signifies and demonstrates the ready fact that the Government is placing our industry and out sector at the front of what they’re doing. To feel that support given the challenges we’ve got ahead has been extremely positive. We have no doubts about the biggest challenge our industry is facing and know how, via a robust scheme of apprenticeships, we can build a talented workforce for the future of KBB.”
