Helping people see their future in roofing

By Emma Peterson.

Ruth Scarrott shares how supportive workplaces and clear career pathways can help the roofing industry attract, develop and retain the next generation.

Whether you call it a skill shortage, a labour gap or something else, the truth is the same – the roofing trade needs more workers. Our leaders and experts are reaching retirement age and there are simply not enough young professionals coming into the field for all the work there is to do. To learn a bit about how we can help encourage the next generation to join the roofing industry, Megan Ellsworth hosted Ruth Scarrott, the head of careers at National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC), for an episode of Roofing Road Trips®.

This is a topic that Ruth has been working on a lot lately, as NFRC recently released a new campaign centred on career development, called "Climbing the Ladder." In this campaign, Ruth and NFRC’s team highlight some of the ways that contractors can take to encourage people to enter the roofing trade.

The first step contractors can take is making sure their operations are set up to properly support new talent. That doesn’t mean you let people walk over you or don’t challenge them, it means that you meet them where they are and help them grow. As Ruth put it, “Everyone in their career at some point has had that supportive manager or colleague that's really helped them grow and develop their own skill set. Having a culture that fosters that support helps people feel a lot more positive about where they’re at.” And that feeling of belonging early on in an apprenticeship or job can be the game changer when it comes to whether someone starts a career in roofing.

And it’s important to make sure you extend this supportive culture and mindset to all your employees, not just the newest hires. Ruth explained:

We’ve heard from a lot of members that there’s a friction point when apprenticeships end. And the reason is that, while in apprenticeship, people have a very clear structured training pathway that they're completing and working really hard to do so with your support. Once that comes to an end, the structure of that apprenticeship goes, but their aspiration to develop and progress does not change.

And if that aspiration doesn’t have a direction, it often leads to burnout and people leaving the field. What contractors can do to avoid that and retain their employees is make sure that they aren't just supporting the new hires learning the ropes but also supporting their experienced team in continuing to learn and develop their skills.

By doing this, you are not only keeping your employees engaged and passionate about their work, but you are also helping them build a clear future for themselves. And by helping people see their future in roofing, contractors can help the industry overcome its labour challenges.

Read more about the Climbing the Ladder program on NFRC’s website, Listen to the whole podcast or Watch the recording for more insights into overcoming the skilled labour shortage.