Tradies are planning to attend one of the first ever music festivals to honour their industry, amid harrowing statistics that two workers take their own lives every day.
Fix Radio, a UK radio station aimed at those working in the trade and building industry workers, has launched FixFest, a music festival for builders – thought to be the first of its kind.
The all-day event will be held at the South of England Showground in Ardingly, West Sussex, on August 30 and will have several bars, a VIP area and live music.
The line up includes Scouting for Girls, Toploader, the Cuban Brothers, trained plasterer Dizzie Rascal and NOASIS. Plumbers, electricians, carpenters, construction workers and other tradespeople will be able to enjoy a builder’s tea, along with fry-ups and bacon butties at the festival.
The event, which starts at 11am and finishes at 11pm, is aimed at helping young people to consider a career in the industry to help tackle the UK’s growing trade skills gap.
There will also be a section called The Power House, which will bring together at least ten counsellors, peer supporters and charity experts to discuss mental health and provide practical wellbeing tips, after it was revealed that two tradies tragically take their lives every working day.
In 2022, Lighthouse, a construction charity, highlighted ONS figures that two construction workers kill themselves every working day. It was also found that these workers are also nearly four times more likely to take their own lives than in other sectors.
Team GB boxer Lewis Williams said he will be attending FixFest as he spoke to the Daily Mail about how ‘lonely’ the industry can be.
Fix Radio was launched in 2017 by University of Leeds graduate Louis Timpany, 32, who got the idea while working as a labourer on a building site
Louis Timpany, founder of Fix Radio, which has 700,000 listeners, said we need ‘more tradespeople – fast’
He said: ‘I know plenty of people in the building trade and it can be a lonely place. Often working on their own, tradespeople spend a lot of their day not able to have a lot of social engagement because they are working on the tools on all sorts of stuff.
‘This is just like boxing where I train alone, spend time away from family and friends and that can be a lonely place at times.
‘Not many folk to talk to, dealing with your own emotions or thoughts can be a tough place to be. We all need a good team around us to open up when we want to.
‘What I do know is that by coming together at events like Fixfest, the trade can come together and enjoy much needed downtime.
‘We all need to down tools from time to time, that’s why I’ll be leaving my gloves at home to come and hang out at Fixfest, meet some lovely people and enjoy myself. I’ll be after plenty of tips to sort out my plumbing too.’
Tickets for FixFest (sponsored by Wickes), cost £55 per adult, with £110 for VIP entry and children under 14 go free.
Fix Radio was launched in 2017 by University of Leeds graduate Louis Timpany, 32, who got the idea while working as a labourer on a building site.
The station has grown in popularity and now one in four trade workers listens to the station, which is more than 700,000 listeners a week.
Team GB boxer Lewis Williams said he will be attending FixFest as spoke he to the Daily Mail about how ‘lonely’ the industry can be
There will also be a section called The Power House, which will bring together at least ten counsellors, peer supporters and charity experts to discuss mental health and provide practical wellbeing tips. Pictured: A graphic of what they think the stall will look like
Timpany, the CEO of the national station, said: ‘I was working on a site and two lads were literally fighting about what station to listen to on the radio.
‘I told them if I launched a radio station for tradespeople would they listen to it? They said yes and that was the origin of Fix Radio.’
Fix Radio hopes to lay the foundations by making FixFest an annual fixture for trade workers.
It is thought that 100 builders from different industries will build the festival site in just one week, with Timpany adding: ‘It is going to be a celebration of the very best of British trades, a day where it truly means something to be part of the trade community.
‘It is an amazing career. You can earn great money and be in huge demand. AI can’t build houses yet, remember.
‘We need more tradespeople – fast. The average age of a builder is now 55, so it’s vital we get more young people looking at the trades as a proper career.
‘It is going to be a brilliant day where we all come together and celebrate being grafters, doers, and the backbone of Britain.’
Timpany said that he wanted to take a ‘leap of faith’ after listeners of the radio station kept asking when they were going to launch their own festival.
Tickets for FixFest (sponsored by Wickes), cost £55 per adult, with £110 for VIP entry and children under 14 go free. Pictured: A graphic of what they anticipate the festival to look like
‘We’ve had a hugely positive response so far. People from across the country have booked up,’ he said.
‘We have a big perception problem with the trades in the UK. It’s almost as if you have gone into the building trade, you are sort of seen as a failure as schools are so academically driven. But that is just not the case.
‘In Europe, people in the trades are held in high regard because of their skills, that should be the case here in the UK, it should be seen as an aspirational career path. You can’t build a future without builders.’
For help or support, visit samaritans.org or call Samaritans for free on 116 123