Richard Catt reflects on training, skills shortages and why valuing trades is vital to the flooring industry’s future
OVER the years, I have spoken to many contract flooring business owners and floor layers. Early in my career I worked on lots of commercial flooring projects as a technical representative for a manufacturer. More recently I have been speaking to a range of people about the challenges of bringing new people into our industry, an issue the CFA have been working on for many years.
For me, that work has included being part of the management team running FITA for almost 20 years. I’ve helped design and develop apprenticeship schemes and commercial floorlaying courses. In 2021, we realised a long-term ambition for FITA to deliver apprenticeships, and we now have sixty apprentices on our books.
In 2022 I was part of the team that launched our ‘Future Fitter’ campaign to offer some structured guidance about the key components to grow the workforce in the flooring sector. Very recently we published our guidance to members on what competency looks like in the flooring sector.
I am a STEM ambassador and have visited numerous schools talking to children and young adults about a career in flooring. So, I have learnt quite a lot over almost 40 years about training, the skills and labour issue and what makes the flooring industry tick, first through manufacturing and then leading the CFA. Even then, I’ve always found it quite difficult to succinctly explain why, in the 21st century, we have a shortage of floorlayers.
Our Future Fitter Guide does a good job, but the quick answer is lack of investment. However, the issue has many dimensions, and the following is an imagined conversation with a floorlayer (representing all the floorlayers I have met over my career) picking out the salient points of their wisdom with a little sprinkle of my own anecdotes from school’s visits.
‘My name’s Dave. I’m 58, a commercial floorlayer, and I’ve been at it since I left school.
Forty years I’ve spent prepping subfloors, fitting vinyl in hospitals, laying safety flooring in busy corridors, making sure every surface was sound, safe, level, serviceable and looks good too. I take real pride in that last bit, although pressures onsite don’t always make it easy. And you know what, not once has anyone asked me where I went to university. Mostly, they just want to know if I can get their classroom or ward finished before Monday.’
Last March, I was invited to my niece Penny’s school for their career’s day. You know the type of thing; doctors, solicitors, an IT chap talking about ‘digital transformation’, I was the only one there with a high vis jacket, knee pads and a hard hat sticking out my bag.
When it was my turn, I said to the kids, ‘I’ve never been to a lecture, and I don’t have a degree.
‘But I’ve laid floors in airports, schools, police stations and a few kitchens for friends. And when we had the pandemic in 2020, I was the one working through the night, so we had extra capacity for all the people who needed hospitalisation.’
The kids suddenly perked up. They had proper questions. ‘Do you have to work fast, do you earn decent money, are there any jobs and have you ever glued your hands together?’ – Yes, yes, lots of opportunity and no I’ve never glued my hands together, (adhesive is mostly water based and I try to look after my hands).
Here’s what no one told me when I was 16 or younger. The country doesn’t function without tradespeople. We can have all the architects and engineers in the world, but if no one preps the subfloor, spreads the adhesive and fits the floorcovering, those plans might as well stay in the drawer. We’ve spent years acting like trades are what you do if you ‘can’t’ go to university, instead of a choice you make because you like working with your hands, solving problems, grafting, contributing to society and seeing the results of your work under people’s feet for decades.
Four years after school, some young people walk away with a degree. Others walk away with no debt, a qualification, and a trade they can use anywhere… from Aberdeen to Australia. And when the flooring in a hospital corridor fails, it’s not the degree certificate that comes running.
That’s the bit people forget for some kids, just knowing their path is respected changes everything. It’s not about ‘just’ fitting floors. It’s about pride. Purpose. The sort that stays with you long after the job’s finished. So next time you talk to a teenager, don’t simply ask, ‘Which university are you applying to?’ Try, ‘What’s your plan?’ And if they say, ‘I’m doing an apprenticeship,’ or ‘I’m learning a trade,’ give them a big smile and say, ‘Brilliant, AI won’t be replacing you anytime soon. We’ll be needing you more than ever.’
Because we will, so tell any young person you meet about the opportunities in commercial flooring and as a floor layer. We have a wonderful industry that can offer a good income, a lifelong career with many different opportunities. Plus, there is a huge amount of support on offer through the CFA including our annual Training Guide that summarises all you need to know as either an employer or candidate.
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