Working In The Industry

Employer Skills Needed

Operative / Entry level Staff

The Building Products and Refractories sector creates products that perform vital functions throughout our society. However, business survival and growth in this sector is still affected by skills shortages. With computer usage expanding, together with the use of modern technology, businesses in this sector are becoming more automated. This in turn is leading to changes in business plans that create new challenges and provide new career development opportunities. (E.g. global warming, land use, laws on waste disposal and health and safety at work)

Within this multi-million pound industry there are a wide range of career development opportunities. Examples of these include:

  • land management
  • engineering and maintenance
  • product design and manufacture
  • production managers
  • production supervisors
  • process operatives
  • extraction logistics
  • sales and marketing

For many of these jobs there are Apprenticeships and National / Scottish Vocational Qualifications (NVQs/SVQs) on offer, which can lead to further education or managerial career development.

Although some of this expertise can only be developed through spending time on the job, this industry needs young, enthusiastic people who can learn from experienced employees and develop the skills to become tomorrow's team leaders / managers. As well as enthusiasm, strong foundation skills, such as English, Maths and ICT are also required. All these skills help internal and external communications and reduce costly mistakes. Many of the jobs in this sector rely heavily on accuracy. As an example, if you were using Maths skills to measure the strength of precast concrete that was being used to produce bridge turrets for a motorway, people’s lives are in your hands.

The type of qualifications valued by this sectors' employers range from Standard Grades (A*- C) and Higher Grades in: Geography, English, Maths, Science, ICT, Design Technology, Business Studies and Art to qualifications such as the Honours Degrees studied in colleges and universities. These qualifications are known as "Academic" qualifications, as they are mainly studied in the classroom. There are also "work related qualifications" such as AVCEs, S/NVQs, Apprenticeships, ONCs, City and Guilds, BTEC HNCs/HNDs and Foundation Degrees. These types of qualification involve study and work based training and some can be completed part time, whilst employed. This means learners "earn" while they "learn" and can develop experience at the same time as they complete their qualifications.

Qualifications KEY

AVCE
(Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education)
Apprenticeships
(include S/NVQs and Technical Certificates such as modules on "Clay Building Products")
S/NVQs
(Scottish / National Vocational Qualifications)
Foundation Degrees
These are currently being developed with support from employers
ONC / OND
(Ordinary National - (Certificate p/t) or (Diploma f/t))

Some of these qualifications are aimed at learners who are over 16 years of age but the new Diplomas and Student Apprenticeships are be started at the age of 14.

Management

Managers need to be able to communicate effectively; ensuring business goals are always understood by all employees. They work to make sure budgets, set by senior management, are always followed and production targets are constantly met. Managers also have to create reports for other managers, often with spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations, and they may have to present their reports at important business meetings. This type of job is not usually accessible until you have gained some sector experience; as an excellent understanding of all the daily processes a business is involved in is needed to become an effective manager. Management jobs often request qualifications at Level 3, which indicate management potential. However at interview you must also show you have the right attitude to succeed. A number of other "tell-tale" signs that allow the best candidate to stand out from the crowd are looked for during interviews. These can include: PLTS (Personal Learning and Thinking Skills).

Personal Learning and Thinking Skills (PLTS)

Research with business leaders has indicated that the six skills shown below in bold (PLTS) are an important part of skills development. The employers who were questioned believe the development of these PLTS will help learners become successful employees.

Employees who can (1) Self Manage their own skills development are highly valued by businesses. To achieve this you need to be enthusiastic about your work. Enthusiasm helps you become (2) An Effective Participant who gets the job done and (3) A Team Worker who is happy to support other staff. However businesses also need their employees to be (4) Independent Enquirers, as this helps you find solutions to problems and act on those findings. Within this it is important to become a (5) Reflective Learner as this helps you understand what you have learned and develop the ability to explain any benefit to other staff clearly, so the greatest benefit to the business can be gained. It is also important in today's challenging business market to be (6) A Creative Thinker. Creativity is a very valuable business tool. Businesses that are market leaders in their industry look for this skill at interview. Staff who are creative can provide a business with new ideas and these ideas can lead to reduced costs and/or increased profits. In today's challenging business market creativity can be the difference between a business' success and its failure.