Bridging the Gap conference educates industry on Apprenticeship Levy

Around 60 delegates from across the furnishing industry attended a one-day conference about the Apprenticeship Levy, organised by The Furniture Makers’ Company, the furnishing industry’s charity, earlier this month.

Chaired by Gary Baker, managing director of CDUK, the distributor of Corian® in the UK and Ireland, the Bridging the Gap conference took place on Thursday 18 May at Furniture Makers’ Hall, London.

The morning session included presentations about the levy and how companies can utilise it from Cathy Hough, associate at Occupational Awards; Chris Hyde, director of curriculum design at City of Oxford College; Julie Dix, training & development manager at Silentnight Brands; Craig Matson, chairman of the Kitchen Education Trust; and Johnny Grey, founder of Johnny Grey Studios.

The morning session ended with a presentation from Martin James, commercial director at Didac, who discussed the advantages of setting up an Apprenticeship Training Agency, an organisation that would recruit, employ and arrange training for apprentices on behalf of employers in the furnishing industry.

The afternoon session included presentations from Lisa Williamson, operations & quality senior manager at Occupational Awards; Dr Lynn Jones, specialist furniture head-hunter and furniture careers adviser; and Jade Ilke, founder of Designing Futures.

Charles Vernon, education & training chairman at The Furniture Makers’ Company, and Gary Baker closed the day by calling for the launch of a dedicated industry forum to identify and discuss education and training needs.

Gary Baker, managing director of CDUK, the distributor of Corian® in the UK and Ireland, said: “The Bridging the Gap conference was a complete success with representatives from across the furniture, furnishings, beds & bedding, kitchen and education sectors uniting together to network and learn about the Apprenticeship Levy from our expert speakers.”

The Bridging the Gap conference followed the 2015 Mind the Gap report and event, organised by the Company and the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA), which identified that a skills shortage is developing within the furnishing industry.

Gary added: “A lot of vital work has been performed by The Furniture Makers’ Company since the Mind the Gap report identified the concerning issue of a widening skills gap in our industry. The Company’s training and education initiatives today range from awarding Key Stage 4 students, through our School Design Prize, all the way to funding Masters’ students and developing young industry professionals. However, skills and training are an on-going and unresolved issue. The launch of a dedicated forum, focused solely on education, is needed more than ever to preserve the UK furnishing industry.”