| By :
Martin Hofschroer
An increasing number of people will have to train to become tradesmen if Britain is to escape a skills shortage. Diane Johnson, president of the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA), has warned that the United Kingdom is facing a serious shortfall of qualified tradesmen if more people do not take plumbing courses and electrical courses. Ms Johnson said that more needs to be done to encourage people to take plumbing courses and electrical courses as it may not be long before homeowners and businesses can no longer rely on the services of tradesmen. She said: "We are sitting on a ticking time bomb. If we don't act now, we will not have the home-grown talent needed to fulfill this country's potential. The consequences of that will be more far reaching than most people realise." Ms Johnson went onto say that she thought there was too much emphasis on a university education in comparison to vocational courses because the valuable role of tradesmen has been ignored. Many current university graduates would have benefited from taking plumbing courses and electrical courses instead as their degrees have not helped them secure employment during the current economic climate, according to Ms Johnson. She added: "This is particularly alarming as the cost of a degree is causing more and more graduates to leave with quite a scary level of debt, before they've even entered the 'real' world, and with limited prospects." Ms Johnson said that the British economy will benefit if more people take plumbing courses and electrical courses as qualified tradesmen often go on to set up their own businesses and become employers themselves. Foreign companies undertaking contracts in the UK will be forced to bring in their own employees in the future if people do not take plumbing courses and electrical courses because Britain will not have the necessary number of skilled tradesmen. Diane Johnson warned that Britain was falling behind rival European economies such as Germany because they are not training enough apprentices. Government spending cuts should not affect those people looking to train to become tradesmen as this will damage the future of the economy, claims Diane Johnson. She said: "Our industry is still climbing out of a very tough recession and we recognize the Government has to take tough measures to help aid the nation's recovery. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that we still need to train people to carry out these essential skills in years to come." City & Guilds have launched a 'Stars behind the Stars' campaign to celebrate practical courses ahead of Vocational Qualifications Day on June 23rd.
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