30 MMA Yearbook 2007 the campaign comprised a National Curriculum-linked teacher’s book and an informative poster, part of an inventive attempt to get the study of brickwork into the classroom. A dedicated website at www.brickpath.info informs visitors about routes to becoming a bricklayer, follows career biographies and has a direct link to local CITB-ConstructionSkills curriculum centres. Youth policy Building on the success of ‘Get A Life With Brick’, the BBA has just produced a DVD that will be sent to career heads at nearly 5,000 schools across the UK. ‘Imagine a Career as a Bricklayer’ is a 16-minute film that explains the qualities needed to be a bricklayer, highlights the rewards and features interviews with apprentices, tutors and bricklayers. By the end of the film, the student will have gained a good understanding not only of what bricklaying is about, but also a potted history of bricklaying since the Great Fire of London. In conjunction with the Worshipful Company of Tylers and Bricklayers (WCTB), the BBA organises the Best Practice Awards. Designed to promote best practice in bricklaying within UK colleges, the competition requires students of exceptional ability to construct a challenging WCTB-set bricklaying piece in a given time period. Both WCTB and a local brickwork contractor mark the result and also examine the student’s portfolio. The WCTB is also promoting an idea for the training and acknowledgement of Master Craftsmen Bricklayers. This involves experienced tradesmen working with a craftsman supervisor, after which a portfolio is presented for examination. The scheme is being developed with the backing of the National Heritage Training Group, an organisation set up by CITBConstructionSkills and English Heritage. Specialist contractors But the brick industry does not only concentrate on recruitment and training. In 2001, the Association of Bricklaying Contractors (ABC) was formed under the aegis of the BDA. Comprising 23 of the largest specialist brickwork contractors in the UK, the ABC is tasked with promoting the role of the bricklayer and brickwork contractor. It aims to raise standards by focusing on improving work quality, employment, health and safety, as well as education and training. The ABC’s recently launched Apprentice Exchange Scheme is a web-based solution that is unique to construction industry trade associations and developed in collaboration with CITB-ConstructionSkills. The idea is that apprentices seeking particular training needs can discover where the training is offered simply by logging onto www.brickworkcontractors.info. When the work is completed, the trainees return to their original employers. The website also allows ABC members to fill their apprenticeship places quickly and conveniently. ABC members have also made a commitment to take on a minimum number of apprentices each year – a target of 100 was exceeded by 33% in 2004 and by 25% in 2005. Furthermore, an agreement within the ABC will see members ‘sharing’ the apprentices according to the geographic spread of work, meaning that trainees will have continual on-site training without having to relocate from home and college. This kind of practical commitment and problem solving of the barriers faced by bricklayers is rare. The brick industry’s involvement with the rapidly growing SkillBuild competitions ensures that those already in college will be encouraged to develop their craft by entering a series of regional, national and international competitions. Members of the BDA sponsor each heat and provide prizes for the winners. So numerous initiatives are in place to maintain a thriving bricklaying sector, but what of the future? Today, UK bricklayers have the mobility and the work opportunities to ensure good remuneration and working conditions. But how long will this last given EU enlargement and the influx of labour from central and Eastern Europe? It is now the task of the industry and all its constituent parts to ensure that such obstacles are met head on and in good time to allow the bricklayer to look forward to a rosy future. And by then, talk of bricklayer shortages will be well and truly buried. .

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