With National Careers Week on the immediate horizon (March 7th – 12th), Nick Tagliarini, Marketing Director at Pexhurst, thought it would be the opportune moment to look back over the past 20 years working at Pexhurst and within the construction sector. He discusses the role marketing can play in promoting the industry to a new audience.
“As a chartered marketeer, a customer is still a customer, irrespective of the sector you may work in, so when I made the move from the automotive industry to construction in 2001 it was because I thought that the industry could offer me more: no two days would ever be the same! And luckily, I was correct. I joined Pexhurst as a Marketing Manager where my role was to implement a strategic marketing plan that would help grow the business. Back then we were a small contractor employing about 10 people, today we are a Small Medium Enterprise (SME) with more than 50 employees! This evolutionary journey with Pexhurst has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding.
I am now a director at Pexhurst, overseeing a dedicated marketing team; I believe this is a result of Pexhurst investing in me and allowing me to study for my MSc in Strategic Marketing whilst working. I can put the theory into practice as I continue to drive business development at Pexhurst. Another area that I am involved in, and one that I am hugely proud of, is the Pexhurst Apprenticeship programme. Working closely with our MD by offering apprenticeships, I know we can attract talent into the sector and increase our chances of retaining those trained and skilled employees in the future too. I believe this work lays the firm foundations for the Pexhurst team of tomorrow. We are giving them the guidance and skills to eventually replace us one day and more importantly, keep the Pexhurst story going.
As a marketing specialist, I recognise the huge role marketing can play in the positive promotion of the construction industry. We also need to be a strong, united voice to ensure that we are heard by influential bodies like the RICS and CIOB. Marketing can also be used to sell construction as an exciting and positive career option to a younger generation who may not understand how diverse the sector truly is. We need to change its image as a ‘manual’ one to one that showcases the reality today – a sector that offers a range of specialist roles and career paths to everyone.
We need to start that conversation in our schools so that construction becomes part of the careers path conversation early on. There are 182 different jobs in this sector so there is plenty of choice and it is our role to educate and market that information to a wider and younger audience. Career apps could be a useful tool that we could use to target and engage with youngsters more easily.
At Pexhurst we operate a bespoke training plan for every one of our staff because we recognise that one size doesn’t fit all. Everyone has their own journey to take and their own timescales to follow. As a result of the emphasis we place on training and development, we enjoy high staff retention levels. We invest and believe in our people which allows staff to perform their jobs both efficiently and effectively. Training builds self-esteem and demonstrates to our clients that we believe in building long-term relationships not only with our staff, but with them too.”
Follow us on LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/company/pexhurst-services-limited/
