The Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA) has welcomed the Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) to its ranks.
Founded in 2017, FIESTA brings together the key trade associations and affiliates from across the furniture and interiors industry to work together to address education and training issues.
The BMA’s chief executive, Tom Reynolds, pictured, will join the FIESTA executive alongside representatives from several other key trade associations and charities.
Gary Baker, chairman of FIESTA, said: "FIESTA is about putting skills at the top of the agenda and helping the whole UK furniture and interiors industry recruit and retain the best talent on offer. We are therefore absolutely delighted to welcome into FIESTA the ‘voice of the bathroom industry’ in Tom Reynolds and his proactive team at the Bathroom Manufacturers Association."
The addition of the BMA coincides with the alliance’s announcement that businesses in the furnishing sector can access the benefits of the Government’s new Kickstart scheme with ease through its Skills Plus service. Skills Plus offers micro, SME and large employers within the furniture and interiors sector an affordable and simplified way to engage with apprenticeships, upskilling and retraining staff, and through its existing infrastructure can assist companies to employ young people through Kickstart.
Tom Reynolds, chief executive of the BMA, said: “People and skills are key to the long-term sustainability of the bathroom sector. Kickstart can help introduce a new generation to bathroom manufacturing roles and FIESTA’s Skills Plus service can help BMA members access that scheme. I’m looking forward to working with Gary and the team on the many other aspects of the skills agenda.”
