By Gareth Jones, managing director, Solar Fabrications

Like me, there will be plenty of managing directors and business owners out there, wondering what more can be thrown at them at this time. 

What else is going to land that will keep them awake at night? We are all striving to do the right thing, whether that is ensuring that our production lines are sustainable, that our components adhere to a circular economy, our supply chain is robust, and our customer service is second to none. In all of this, we must strike the appropriate balance between the issues facing business now, and those that will safeguard the business for the longer-term.

The products we manufacture across the Solar Fabrications group of companies, including Solar Calibre, are sustainable, as are the majority of our competitors’. Our product range is high quality and energy efficient. We have developed and evolved our processes and worked with our suppliers to guarantee – as much as anything in life can be guaranteed – that our customers receive their orders on time, on budget.

We are very proud of that. What I’m not going to do is jump on the sustainability bandwagon. Much of it should go without saying but, right now, it may have to take a back seat because I’m interested in another kind of sustainability. This focuses on skills, recruitment and encouraging a new generation of young people to join our industry. If we don’t get a sustainable skills pipeline right, all the green levies and net zero platitudes will be worth very little, as we won’t have the teams in place to deliver our increasingly sustainable products.

It’s akin to the callout to replace gas boilers with ground source heat pumps and solar panels but with no effective apprenticeship scheme in place to install them. And, for the fenestration industry, we already have super energy efficient windows and doors and yet the majority of homes in this country don’t have effective insulation. It is estimated that 24 million UK homes must be retrofitted by 2050 if we are going to meet our emissions targets. We just don’t have enough people out there to do the job.

During recession the tendency has been to put a stop to training and recruitment. Existing teams bear the brunt and the skills pipeline grinds to a halt, the business taking a long time to emerge from intensive care when the economy starts to recover.

At the time of writing, we’re not yet in recession but all the signs are that we’re heading there by the year end. What the industry must not do is make the mistake of previous recessions.

For me this is about holding our nerve. Yes, the industry will contract, as consumers take a major hit on their disposable income, but we must maintain our margins, communicate with our customers, and keep resolutely to those delivery lead times. There is a tendency to slash margins and race to the bottom which is a mistake many have made in the past, to their cost.

We must make sure that the teams who have been working with us and showing such commitment in recent years, get the training and development they need. It will be a win-win, for them and for the business. Strengthen your team now and your business will be in a better position when things settle down.

And we must look to recruit, bringing in our own apprentices so they can learn the trade. Across the Solar Fabrications group of companies, we have been fortunate to find some committed younger employees who are willing to learn, mostly in production but most recently within the finance team. It is widely acknowledged that, at first glance, our industry isn’t attractive to young people. So, let’s talk to them about the breadth of opportunities – it could be the product engineering, the sales, the technology, the installation know-how. Let’s tell them about the energy efficiency, that our industry is a critical part of a sustainable future. Let’s get into schools, invite them to our workplace, involve our teams, particularly the younger ones who will be more relatable.

This is not unrealistic. Perhaps now is the moment to collaborate with our fellow manufacturers to encourage this vital investment in the future of the industry. There’s strength in numbers.