BESA to Address ‘Critical Shortage’ of Building Services Engineering Trainers

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14 February 2025

Engineers in the later stages of their careers are being encouraged to become qualified trainers and assessors. 

The “BESA Skills Legacy programme” is a nationwide scheme that provides a pathway for anyone with the right skills, experience and qualifications to become a qualified trainer or assessor. BESA has already initiated a national network of FE providers to deliver the training, assessor, and quality assurance (TAQA) Level 3 programme in every part of the UK. 

Training will be provided via a hybrid remote and in-person format. On completion, the candidate will be added to the BESA Assessor Register and waiting list for their geographical area. They will then be allocated to their nearest BESA partner training provider. 

BESA believes the “critically low” number of trainers and assessors is undermining the industry’s whole further education process and will leave the industry unable to plug skills gaps and meet demand for its services by the end of this decade. 

“Our workforce is ageing and is already under intense pressure. The average age across construction-related sectors is 53 so without a dramatic increase in numbers of young people coming in, a labour force crunch is looming." 

– Stuart Rattray

Head of Skills and Policy, BESA

“Our workforce is ageing and is already under intense pressure,” said BESA’s Head of Skills and Policy Stuart Rattray. “The average age across construction-related sectors is 53 so without a dramatic increase in numbers of young people coming in, a labour force crunch is looming. 

“However, simply improving recruitment will not address the fundamental problems we face. Unless we address the shortage of trainers and assessors who can deliver programmes, the industry will be unable to meet demand within a few short years.

“Without recruiting more trainers and assessors, we simply cannot address the skills shortages that building services employers say are the biggest threat to their businesses. This initiative is, therefore, urgently needed.  

“Engineers often undervalue their own knowledge and experience because it might come naturally to them, but by offering to share it with a whole new generation they will be making an enormous contribution to the advancement of our industry, a new cohort of apprentices, and to the future of our built environment.” 

Picture: a photograph of two people standing in front of a weir, looking at some technical drawings. Image Credit: Unsplash

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 14 February 2025

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