LOCAL COMPANY EMBRACES LOW CARBON REVOLUTION
Friday, 22 October 2010
Islington's SMEs must back "Cut the Carbon" campaign to prepare for industry-wide changes
“Small and medium sized construction businesses in Islington must act now to up-skill if they want to take advantage of the growing demand for low carbon construction.”
This was the challenge outlined by Mark Farrar, Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for construction, as he launched the new ‘
Cut the Carbon’ campaign today in Westminster. A partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, the National Specialist Contractors’ Council (NSCC) and the Federation of Master Builders (FMB), the campaign will directly support SMEs – helping them understand what the new carbon legislation will mean for them and equipping them with a tangible mix of knowledge and skills to respond to increased client demand.
James Wates Chairman of CITB-Construction Skills, Kevin McLoughlin, Jean Duprez K&M
K&M McLoughlin Decorating Ltd, based in Leroy House on Essex Road, attended the Parliamentary launch of the Cut the Carbon Campaign and have already taken a number of measures to reduce the environmental impact of the way they work.
Kevin McLoughlin, Director, says:
“Waste management is one of our biggest challenges and we have taken many measures to reduce the amount of waste from our business - not only to comply with legislation, but also to implement the best sustainable practices to keep our business at the forefront of change. Campaigns like ‘Cut the Carbon’ serve as a dutiful reminder about the responsibilities that we have as a business to provide more sustainable solutions in line with the government’s targets and legislation and will no doubt encourage both us and other businesses to continue to look for even more ways to achieve this.
The recent survey commissioned by the Cut the Carbon Partnership has revealed that low carbon skills are having a real influence on clients’ procurement requirements. The findings not only suggested that there are significant business opportunities for carbon-conscious SME contractors, but also that businesses which are slow to acquire low carbon knowledge and skills, may find it much harder to win work in the coming years.
Daily Mirror Runs Story - Brush with success
Thursday, 14 October 2010
FLYING START FOR STUDENT PAINTERS AND DECORATORS
Leaving school at 15 with no qualifications, Kevin McLoughlin had no idea what he wanted to do.
But a painting and decorating apprenticeship launched him on a long and successful career - and now he is determined to give today's youngsters the same flying start.
Kevin's firm K&M McLoughlin Decorating has been running an apprentice scheme since 1995 and in that time has trained more than 60 young people.
"We launched the scheme because I found the average age of my workers was 27 and there were no young kids coming through," says Kevin, 53, who is based in Islington in London. "I wanted to give local youngsters a chance to learn skills that would last a lifetime.
"I keep up with many of our apprentices and lots have gone on to success.
"Among our very first batch from 15 years ago, one is now a commercial manager in Sydney, Australia, and another teaches at college.
"More than a quarter of my workforce of 160 began as apprentices, and many are now my most experienced supervisors and foremen. It proves that if you want to avoid a skills gap in this industry, you need to train your workers."
In fact, Kevin is so committed to apprenticeships, his four sons all went through the training and now work for the company.
PINCH
This year, when firms are feeling the pinch and cutting down on new entrants, Kevin is bucking the trend by taking on 15 young people, who will join the firm's decorating school.
"The problem for apprentices is that they come out of school, do their day at college and go straight on to the job, so they never get the chance to mess up," he says.
"It is by making mistakes you learn your craft, so we have built a flat which will be painted over and over again and papered and re-papered as they mess it up then learn to put it right."
As a youngster Kevin worked in several dead-end jobs before landing an apprenticeship with the local council in Islington.
He set up his own business in 1988 and since then his company has worked on some of London's most famous old buildings, including St Pancras Station, the House of Lords and the Savoy Hotel, which has reopened after three years' refurbishment.
Kevin isn't just working on old buildings. He is also involved in projects including the Olympic Park in London's East End.
"We have been working on the car park for the media centre and are now in the final shortlist for other areas," he says.
Today Kevin's company has grown to become one of the biggest independent decorating companies in the South East.
"I know my business inside out," he says. "Working on old buildings, I realised the traditional craft hasn't changed at all. People have been using brushes and liquids to decorate their walls since medieval times."
Find out about Kevin's work at
www.kmdecorating.co.uk.
TIPS FOR APPRENTICES
Are you considering an apprenticeship in painting and decorating? Here are Kevin's top tips: Enrol on a college course before approaching employers - they will be more likely to think you are serious and consider taking you on.
Be persistent when you are looking for an employer and target the ones you really want to work for.
Get some hands-on experience first. Painting and decorating isn't for everyone and it is better to find out before starting training whether you are going to enjoy it and stick at it.
For more information go to
www.cskills.org and
www.bconstructive.co.uk, where you can also apply for opportunities online.
Ici Paints, which makes products such as Dulux, has a guide to starting out at
www.icipaints.co.uk/decorators/index.jsp.
Of course this isn't the only area where apprenticeships are available. In all, there are 190 types, including fields such as travel and tourism, training and education, arts and media as well as agriculture and animal care.
All apprentices can earn while they learn. Under a new Minimum Wage scheme introduced this month, every apprentice will be paid at least £2.50 an hour.
For more information, visit
www.apprenticeships.org.uk.
By Sheila Prophet 14/10/2010
Islington Gazette runs story - Star apprentice starts his own training centre
ISLINGTON’S answer to Alan Sugar left school at 15 with no qualifications – but now heads up a multi-million pound business.
Kevin McLoughlin owes his success to the four-year apprenticeship he did as a teenager – and is calling on the Government to make it compulsory for all construction firms to take on apprentices.
His own business, K&M McLoughlin – now one of the largest painting and decorating companies in London – has trained more than 60 apprentices over the past 12 years.
And it has just has opened a decorating school for budding workmen at its premises in Essex Road, Islington.
Father-of-five Mr McLoughlin, 53, said: “The Government has recognised that all these kids are unemployed now because there are no jobs. But they are not encouraging businesses to train more people.
“The colleges are full of kids who are doing their training but who are not going to get a job. The Government needs to make it mandatory for every building company to take on trainees.”
Mr McLoughlin was born and brought up in Collier Street, King’s Cross, as part of a household where neither parent worked.
He attended Winton Primary School in Killick Street and the former Saint William of York Secondary School in Gifford Street, but left with no O-levels.
Yet he completed a four-year painting and decorating apprenticeship – and by his 20s, was ready to strike out on his own, founding K&M McLoughlin in 1987.
The firm now has an annual turnover of around £6million with clients such The Savoy Hotel, the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel (formerly the Midland Grand), and the aquatics centre at the Olympic Park in Stratford.
And of its 120-odd employees, around 25 per cent have come through its apprenticeship scheme.
This week, K&M McLoughlin launched its decorating school – a two-bedroom flat where the company’s apprentices will be able to practise every type of decorating.
Mr McLoughlin said: “Everyone’s perception is that children are no good. But that’s how you learn – on the job.
“Painting and decorating is a craft. You need to learn to work clean, fast and efficiently.
“Would you go to a hospital where none of the people were trained? Would you employ an architect who wasn’t trained?
“You can learn painting and decorating by trial and error, but if I took on people like that, I would go out of business.”
By MEYREM HUSSEIN Wednesday, 13 October, 2010
Boris backs opening of K&M Decorating School for Apprentices
On the 13th October 2010 apprenticeships in London received a major boost with the opening of a unique training facility in Islington – The K&M Decorating School.
In a year when a third of all construction companies have slashed their apprenticeship schemes¹, his company is bucking the trend. This October, 15 youngsters from local colleges and schools will be beginning a three-year apprenticeship with his firm and become the first students at the School – much to the delight of The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson:
“It's great that this forward-thinking London company sees the immense value of apprenticeships. As well as the benefits in helping young people develop key skills, the rewards can be incalculable to any business, as apprentices help build a talented and loyal workforce. In London we are working flat out to meet our target of creating 3,000 apprenticeships within the GLA group by 2012. We are also engaging hard with employers across London to create thousands more opportunities during the difficult times ahead."
In schools and colleges where space is at a premium, hands-on experience in painting and decorating can be limited. The K&M Decorating School is different. It comprises a fully fitted ‘dummy’ two bedroom flat with all the different decorating skills associated with such a project, linked to a IT training room where the apprentices can be helped to enhance their key skills.
This has been sponsored by The Workspace Group and ICI Paints AkzoNobel, owners of Dulux Paints, and the only manufacturer to be involved in the project.
“The K&M centre will provide an extremely valuable training resource for those starting out in the industry. As well as investing in the future of the paint industry, the centre will help young people to develop long-term careers and we are therefore extremely pleased to be able to support K&M in this initiative,” says Martha James, Senior Marketing Manager at Dulux Trade.
“In the 22 years since I started the business, I have never forgotten the importance of fighting the ‘skills gap’ by providing local youngsters with the opportunity to learn a trade,” says MD, Kevin McLoughlin.
“In the last 12 years alone, we have trained more than 60 apprentices and now over a quarter of my workforce have been brought in via this programme. Many are now my most experienced Supervisors and Foremen which prove if you want to prevent a ‘skills gap’ in the industry, you must train internally. I am really delighted and excited that our new School will help even more youngsters get their feet on the employment ladder and teach them skills that will last them a lifetime.”
