Building Awareness

BMCareers – Attracting new and diverse talent into the building materials sector

BMCareers is a long-term programme designed to raise the public's knowledge and understanding of the building materials sector, positioning it as a vital, varied, vibrant sector with a wide range of career opportunities for school and college leavers as well as for those looking to change career or to transfer their skills into a new area.

With the strapline “Materially Different” and messaging encouraging people to join the sector to help “Make a Material Difference”, the campaign is designed to appeal to a diverse audience and will highlight why a career in building materials is different from a role in other industries, and the huge variety of careers it offers.

For the first time the programme defines the Building Materials sector, as one that involves the manufacture, import, distribution and sale of building materials and products, through merchants for construction, infrastructure, house building, property and RMI markets.

Explore BMCareers Watch our video

Strengthening the appeal of building materials as an attractive career choice

Research conducted by the BMF in August 2024 with a YouGov national omnibus survey to over 2000 UK adults 18 years + shows 'Building Materials' is not recognised in its own right as an employer sector brand and often gets overlooked as a career, or job choice.

People 'fall into the industry' rather than actively choosing to build their future within it. The results show that almost 9 out of 10 people do not understand what types of businesses make up the building materials sector and over 2 out of 3 (67%) would not consider a career in building materials.

This is a problem for employers trying to address the growing skills shortage, especially those looking to attract new and diverse talent into the workplace. BMCareers has been designed to help members compete harder for talent by improving their HR and talent programmes and providing a clear pathway into the sector, through bmcareers.com.

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Exclusive member benefits

BMCareers is relevant for all BMF members, no matter what type of business, region, or size. Members can access the programme via the members area in the footer of bmcareers.com, or via the BMF’s marketing department.

Members are encouraged to add their profile to the employer register so they can be found by website users who are actively seeking employment in the sector https://bmcareers.com/employer-map-search/

Members are also encouraged to add the BMCareers 'Proud Supporter' logo to their websites, to showcase how we have come together as an industry to highlight the diverse career paths within our sector.

Members guidance Contact BMF's marketing team to sign up

We recognise the challenge of attracting people into the Building Materials industry, and with it, the responsibility to build the skills needed for future careers. At Bradfords, we know that a skilled and engaged workforce is what we need to deliver an excellent service to our customers and is also what we need to attract new business and retain talent.

The BMCareers initiative gave us an opportunity to take a fresh look at how we recruit, develop and retain our people. As a result, we are updating our recruitment & selection processes and reshaping our approach to induction and training.

Lynda Moore
Head of Talent and Development
Bradfords

Our Work

Building your voice

Influencing parliaments and governments to explain the value and importance of the sector and the role of our members.

Building efficiency

Improving the reliable flow of product data through the supply chain by setting standards with an industry wide data template.

Building health and safety

Providing education and advice to help members remain compliant and keep their people safe and well.

Building inclusivity

Providing clear guiding principles to help members to address equity, diversity and inclusion in their organisations through our partnership with the Construction Inclusion Coalition.