The Bathroom Manufacturers Association (BMA) has joined the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA), allowing its members to make use of the organisation’s Skills Plus Approved Training Agency (ATA).
The partnership body’s ATA was created to assist with the management of apprenticeships, as well as support companies to take advantage of the Government’s Kickstart Scheme, which has been introduced to provide funding for employers to create six-month job placements for 16 to 24-year-olds.
FIESTA was established to form a cohesive voice for the UK furniture and interiors industry with the aim of boosting training and skills development in the sector. The UK’s furniture and interiors industry counts more than 8,000 businesses employing in excess of 250,000 staff, and generates £11bn to the UK’s GDP.
“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,” said FIESTA chair Gary Baker.
BMA CEO Tom Reynolds, who has joined the FIESTA executive board, added: “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.”
