We need to fix our own skills shortage and raise competency levels

As HS2 prepares for its biggest earthworks year to date and the house building boom continues at a pace, the one challenge above all others that faces the plant sector and particularly those that provide operated plant, like Flannery Plant Hire, is tackling the skills shortage.

It's a challenge that's going to need huge investment in facilities, plant and people if we are going to move forward. And it's only going to be delivered if industry leaders like Patrick Flannery, the MD of Flannery Plant Hire 'Take the Bull by the Horns', and change the way the industry works.

This was the topic of conversation when I spoke to Patrick at the start of 2022 after a visit to an HS2 project site near Banbury. At that visit, I met with and interviewed apprentices and qualified operators from all walks of life on a continual career pathway with the business.

Having grown up in the industry, Patrick has witnessed firsthand just how it's changed and evolved and why this has led to the skills shortage and competency challenges we see today. He explained why this had led the business to spend millions on developing its own training facilities and programmes. The new Operator Skills Hub is a great example of this investment. It's a joint venture with Tier 1 contractor Balfour Beatty that has created a state-of-the-art training facility with a dedicated dig area.  

Patrick: "There is no doubt we have a problem in the sector right now, and you can trace its origins back through the major changes that have happened in the industry over the last few decades. Before the focus on subcontracted earthworks which has driven the exponential growth in plant hire and our business, you had construction companies owning and managing a fleet of operated equipment. Large scale training programmes and apprenticeships supported this, but as soon as these companies came out of owning plant, these schemes abruptly stopped and were not replaced.

"This led to an influx of overseas operators, particularly in the South East and London. Fast forward to today and with the CITB trying to sell its Bircham Newton flagship training facility that we have supported for many years. Our team has recognised that you have to be much more self-sufficient when it comes to bringing more operators into the industry.

"It's also why in 2016, I volunteered to chair the employer-led Trailblazer working group, supported by the Construction Plant Hire Association. I am certainly proud of this group, which includes clients like HS2 and National Highways, has achieved. We have all worked tirelessly together to get approval from the Institute for Apprenticeships for the new Construction Plant Operator Apprenticeship scheme.

And it was certainly very rewarding to see the launch of the Construction "Plant Operative Level 2 Apprenticeship in May 2020. Since then, this programme has become the centrepiece of our approach to training our growing cohort of apprentices. In 2021 we were able to take on our first training group at the new Operator Skills Hub. These individuals are already making a big impact on site as they combine practical and on the job training.

"This approach to training operators on the equipment they will be operating is crucial to us moving forward, as both the individual operator, our team, and our customers have full confidence in the whole process.

"Our Operator Skills Hub also allows us to do much more with our existing and new operator community supporting greater levels of competency and those who have invested in themselves to join our industry.

"For example, every newly qualified operator that hasn't been trained by one of our team and wants to join our business is assessed on the machines we want them to operate. If they pass our Flannery 'site ready' assessment, we will put them to work on one of our projects.

"We have created our own free competency-led training programme for those that don't pass. This involves our trainers giving each individual extra training and dig or drive time to increase both confidence and competency levels. The time required by each operator will be different, so we don't place any limits on getting people ready This is really important as last year we employed over 150 new red card operators. Only 12% of those were Flannery 'site ready'.

"Another good example is how we train operators on new plant and technologies. This is very important as to maintain our young equipment fleet we spend hundreds of millions of pounds each year on the latest equipment and technologies. This equipment enables us to deliver the high productivity and efficiency levels our clients need.

"To ensure we can take advantage of features that help reduce fuel burn and carbon emissions, we need our operators to understand the features on each machine and how to use technologies like 3D machine control and active safety systems.

"This is where our Operator Skills Hub simulator training and site visit awareness training combines to support our operators and clients alike. The investment in our team and skills development is really paying off for us, so much so that we are already looking to expand this model.

Making this a key part of the future for Flannery also links into our investment strategy and the continued adoption of new technologies and solutions. Like operators, these solutions are also tested to be Flannery 'site ready' for our customers.

With this combination and record-breaking investment plans for 2022 it's certainly going to be an interesting year. And I can already see a future where semi-autonomous and remote-controlled machines will join our fleet, will every possibility of fully autonomous equipment for project specific tasks further down the line.