
THE PARLIAMENTARY REVIEW
Highlighting best practice
20 | CLEARWAY DOORS & WINDOWS LTD
that demand is continuously growing.
Testament to this is the fact that, in
2013, domestic sales accounted for
less than five per cent of Clearway’s
turnover; five years later this has
increased to over 40 per cent. We aim
to reach 50 per cent while expanding
both markets.
Investing in staff
Manufacturing and installing
aluminium products is still a skilled
practice and any company can
only be as good as the staff that it
employs. To this end Clearway has
embraced continuous staff training
and development. Using a combination
of in-house teaching and local training
providers has proved vital in improving
abilities and developing the younger
workforce.
Our factory environment has proved to
be the ideal springboard for staff who
want to develop extra skills and in the
past few years we have seen three staff
move from the shop floor to take up
key roles elsewhere in the company.
Of course, that means that we have
constantly to nurture and train new
employees to fill the gap left behind.
Again we have had considerable
success in this area.
The skills shortage within the
construction industry as a whole is still
a very real problem faced by almost
every sector and is a concern going
forward. However, by adapting your
strategy you can build for the future.
Experienced labour “on tap” can no
longer be relied upon for recruitment,
as career window and door fabricators
and installers reach retirement. As
they disappear from the labour market
they leave a void created by neglect of
apprenticeships and a perceived lack of
glamour within the building industry.
We have to get creative if we are to
keep up the high skill levels of the
previous decades. As employers we
have to build an appealing work place
and offer career prospects. We need to
put as much effort into setting out our
stall for new employees as we do for
new customers.
Customer service
You have to make your company
stand out from the crowd especially
in an industry as competitive as ours.
At Clearway we have concentrated
on the basics of quality and service.
The company has grown considerably
over the past five years from a staff
of 19 to over 30. This growth has
Clearway manufacturing
staff
Inside the showroom
building in Cheltenham
The skills
shortage within
the construction
industry as a
whole is still a
very real
problem faced
by almost every
sector and is a
concern going
forward.
However, by
adapting your
strategy you can
build for the
future
“
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