The Coatings Ambassadors Programme, now counting 50 members, will introduce students to the coatings industry and highlight the diverse job opportunities within the sector.
Since 2019, the British Coatings Federation has been working with the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) and the Oil & Colour Chemists' Association (OCCA) to form a network of coatings industry ambassadors who engage with schools and universities across the UK - now numbering over 50 ambassadors.
The Coatings Ambassadors Programme will play a significant role in the BCF's new careers strategy, using teams of industry representatives to attend careers events across the UK. In fact, Coatings Ambassadors from a variety of companies have been trained and provided with materials to deliver career guidance sessions in schools and universities. In addition, when delivering course material, the ambassadors will introduce the coatings industry and share their career paths and the various job opportunities available within the industry.
The June workshop, run by Cogent Skills, hosted a group of participants from organisations such as BASF, Sherwin-Williams, and AkzoNobel. This year's event follows the success of previous events over the past five years, with students describing the day as informative and fun. The workshop also provided guidance on how to reach the younger generation, using activities, presentations and creative projects.
“On behalf of OCCA, RSC and BCF, we would like to thank the companies and individuals who took part. Our network of Coatings Ambassadors is hugely important to educate the next generation on our industry, something which is a priority at BCF, and we are continuing to be more proactive in this area moving forward. We wish them every success in helping to develop the future workforce for the coatings sector,” has commented Tom Bowtell, CEO of the BCF.