Ian Studd, Director General of the BAR (British Association of Removers), took the opportunity at The Movers and Storers Show to present the new removals apprenticeship scheme in some detail.
He said that the moving industry had been in a continuous cycle of recruitment as people take a job as a porter, for example, for a few years before moving on. He said that this continual search for new people affected service, performance and margins. The problem had increased owing to Brexit, that has taken away a source of labour, and COVID that has encouraged many experienced people to retire early. The purpose of the apprenticeship is to professionalise the industry, to provide careers in removals, not just jobs, by helping companies focus on the staff they already have. It includes two new standards: one for removals and one for a traffic operator.
The course was designed by an industry group that included representatives from BAR and Non-BAR companies working with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IFATE). It was approved in May 2024. It is based upon three key areas: knowledge, skills and behaviour, and delivered by TRS Training. The skills element will draw on the training already developed by BAR. BAR will have a responsibility for quality control and promotion within the industry. Students can join at any stage, for example, for a driver to upskill to the transport office.
Ian explained that the course had been approved on the basis of ‘use it, or lose it’. If there is insufficient take-up from the industry long term, it will be withdrawn by IFATE.
Acceptance onto the apprenticeship requires no previous experience and has no upper age limit. Students aged between 16 and 18 years are subject to safeguarding rules relating to working hours, rest breaks and nights out, etc.
The apprenticeship takes 13 months, 20% of which must be ‘on the job’ training. Ian said that this is easy to achieve in the moving industry because it includes the time the apprentice is being mentored while out with a packing crew ...
Photo: Ian Studd.
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