The fenestration industry should leverage its environmental credentials to attract new entrants, according to Building Our Skills and one of its national partners, CNC Recycling.

The ‘Making Fenestration, Glass and Glazing a Career of Choice’ campaign and the nationwide PVC-U window recycling specialist company, say that they have already begun to make inroads into this area.

Ian Ward, CNC Recycling’s sales & purchasing director, commented: “There are many potential new employees for the fenestration industry who want to do something positive for the environment through their career choice.

“In particular, this applies to the younger generation. We took an active role in the Building Our Skills’ industry-bespoke careers festivals earlier in the year, and were blown away by the level of interest we received from youngsters telling us exactly this.

“They simply didn’t know that landfill has been replaced by recycling, and that the main players in the PVC-U window industry take minimising its environmental impact so seriously.

“With PVC-U windows accounting for approximately 84% of all new windows fitted in the UK, they could see that this is very important,” continued Ian. “By the end of their visits, youngsters and teachers alike had gained a clearer insight into this aspect of the industry, and went away with a far more positive view of it from an environmental perspective.

“I’m not saying that new recruits would necessarily want to work in the recycling sector, simply that they are far more likely to pick the fenestration industry for employment if they do not have negative or incorrect preconceptions about its environmental credentials.

“We’ll be continuing this work at next year’s BOS careers festivals too and I hope that industry employers get on board with promoting fenestration as a good move for anyone wanting a career in an industry doing its best for the environment.”

Mark Handley, partnerships manager of Building Our Skills, said: “When youngsters are asked to list the issue that they are most motivated by, they usually talk about the environment.

“For example, the schools’ initiative called the Pupils’ Parliament, bears this out. So, we are completely in agreement with CNC Recycling when it comes to making this topic a tool for attracting newcomers into the fenestration industry. Let’s really make some noise about this aspect of it. The work that CNC Recycling and others do provides a very helpful backdrop to this whole topic.”

CNC Recycling is a Middlesborough-based organisation, although it operates on a nationwide basis. The company collects thousands of tonnes of old PVC-U windows and doors across the UK every year from installers and fabricators, which are recycled back into the supply chain.

The company reportedly collects over 1 million windows per year, and over the last 18 months has collected from 1,289 window companies nationally.

Over the past 12 months CNC Recycling has also invested approximately £2 million in equipment in order to further improve the process efficiency of its ‘closed loop’ system, the no-wastage aspect of the process, which enables all parts of old PVC-U windows and doors, including metal and rubber parts, to be re-used.

Business owners who wish to learn more about how to use environmental messaging in their initiatives to attract new employees are welcome to contact either CNC Recycling or Mark Handley at Building Our Skills.