CPA Bulletin

12 CPA Bulletin > August 2018 www.cpa.uk.net STARS OF THE FUTURE: 1 2018 STARS OF THE FUTURE The CPA pulled off a masterstroke in June by staging the first Schools Experience Day alongside this year’s Stars of the Future awards ceremony. Nick Johnson reports. RewardingDay One of the big challenges facing our industry is attracting the right calibre of youngsters to make their careers in construction plant hire. At present too many children get very excited at a young age by the diggers and cranes in Bob the Builder on television but, as they grow older, their interest wanes. So it is very good that the CPA is busy addressing the situation by organising new initiatives like the recent Schools Experience Day. It was a shrewd move to stage the first CPA Schools Experience Day alongside this year’s Stars of the Future awards ceremony at the Heart of England Conference and Events Centre in Fillongley near Coventry. This combined event allowed the school pupils to meet with some of the country’s most able young plant mechanics who could share their experiences. The CPA Schools Experience Day was created to give secondary school pupils an insight into the construction plant sector and the career opportunities available. Cleverly titled ‘Can U Dig It? Yes U Can’, the event was attended by over 100 students, teachers and careers advisors. Aged 11 to 14, the Key Stage 3 pupils came from Birmingham, Coventry, Warwick and surrounding areas. Their educational establishments included Alderbrook Sixth Form, Cockshut Hill School, Rugby Free Secondary School, Oakwood Secondary School and the West Coventry Academy. As they disembarked from their coaches, the pupils were immediately greeted by the sight of any interesting array of the latest construction machinery. And, once inside the adjacent building, they were able to try out virtual reality simulators and talk to some of the leading players in the plant hire industry. The kit outside included 60 tonne capacity Liebherr LTM1060-3 all-terrain crane provided by Berry Cranes, a 2.5 tonne JCB 8025ZTS mini excavator from A-Plant, an AK46-6000 truck crane on an MAN TGM 18.290 chassis supplied by Böcker UK, a JCB 3CX Compact backhoe loader provided by Clee Hill Plant together with a Jaso tower crane cab simulator and Fassi F95 loader equipped Mercedes 1223 Atego 4x2 truck from Falcon Tower Crane Services. Much to their obvious pleasure, the students were able to sit in machine cabs and operators were on hand to talk about their equipment.