Installers' challenge: attracting young talent

Cersaie in Bologna represents an extraordinary opportunity to bring young people closer to the ceramic tile-laying trade and make attractive a profession penalised by prejudices, including cultural ones, both in schools and in families. This is due to a not always clear image of the supply chains that revolve around the building industry and a certain reluctance on the part of young people to dedicate themselves to activities perceived as manual, while it would be more correct to approach them to craftsmanship, hence to the idea of "beautiful and well-made". So says Luca Berardo, president of Assoposa (national association of ceramic tile layers and retailers).

A few months ago, Berardo was elected to the presidency of Euf, the body representing the national associations of ceramic tile layers and distributors in Europe. And in his inauguration speech, in front of 40 Euf delegates from 12 European countries, Berardo emphasised the great attention that will be paid, during his three-year term of office, to the new generations, through awareness-raising campaigns, training activities and national projects that will make the profession of tile layer increasingly attractive and qualified. A sector that employs around 10-12 thousand workers in Italy. At Cersaie, the world of laying will be housed in Hall 19, which has been entirely redeveloped and has 35% more exhibition space than the previous edition. The jewel in the crown of the pavilion is the Laying City, where the stand of Formedil, the body representing Italy's building schools and Assoposa's partner for training activities, will be present. Berardo explains: 'The construction sector is registering a decline in vocations, due to many reasons, but mainly to the image we have on the market: it is a sector perceived as unsafe, where a vast underground area remains. Therefore, we need an image repositioning of the entire sector and then an attractiveness to young talent. There is a need to continuously train those who are already in the profession and above all to have a clear training programme for those who want to enter. The role of schools will be important, but families also have a great responsibility: to open their eyes to young people'.

Berardo insists on one concept: ceramics is a semi-finished product; until a tile is physically laid, it does not become a finished product. Installation is often underestimated. Installation is the decisive element in completing a wall or façade. The challenge is to transfer this concept to new generations. And the know-how built up by Assoposa in Italy, especially in terms of certified training, becomes a model for building a European laying community.

In addition to the focus on young people, the Italian presidency of the Euf has further objectives. The first aims to expand the European collaboration network, involving not only the associations of installers, but also designers, manufacturers and distributors, for an increasingly interconnected supply chain. Berardo explains: "We want to broaden the association ecosystem, so that the laying sector becomes a system with the other realities of ceramics, because our activity cannot be separated from the product, distribution and design. The second concerns technological innovation, to monitor and promote the most advanced solutions in laying, rewarding the European companies that are revolutionising the sector. Berardo continues: "Euf will carry out the task of researching the companies and start-ups that are already working in Europe right now on how technology will rewrite the world of ceramics and its installation. Euf will bring these models to the attention of the national associations so that they can concretely apply these innovations'.

Berardo concludes with a reflection: 'We must restore dignity to those who work, those who build, those who believe in quality. And better communicate the value of our supply chains'.