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 | | ON COURSE FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY | | | Monier Limited | | 08/07/2008 | | | Mike Hall of Burton Roofing Merchants in Hull is seen left in the attached photo ref 110.JPG tackling dry-fix mechanical ridge fixing techniques on a course at the Redland Training & Resource Centre, where the team now led by Terry Fearfield (right in photo) celebrates its 25th anniversary at the roofing manufacturer’s plant in South Cerney, Gloucestershire.
While manufacturer Redland brings more new products in natural clay and concrete to market this year, Terry’s training team has expanded its programme with new courses that now cover solar roofing installations to help the industry meet its growing sustainability needs.
This year, Redland also launches a new solar water heating system that integrates as directly with traditional pitched roofing as its pioneering photovoltaic range.
The solar roofing course follows the recent introduction of a new estimating course, which covers the topic in more depth than courses available elsewhere and is now officially classed as ‘approved prior learning’ towards an NVQ.
Commenting on delegates exceeding 30,000 this year since the centre first opened in 1983, manager Terry said: “We’ve helped a lot of people beginning their careers as merchants and contractors, alongside the many established architects and specifiers who use courses to improve their appreciation of how materials are actually used on site.”
One of the 30,000 delegates over the years included the late TV presenter and steeplejack Fred Dibnah MBE, who wanted to compare modern working techniques with the old-fashioned ways.
Redland training courses combine hands-on experience with theory lessons. Delegates gain practical experience of building a life-size roof, but under cover and in the warm, rather than having to go out into the wet and cold.
Burton sales assistant Mike Hall (30) said: “The installation exercises were the most useful to me, because at the counter I am often asked the open-ended question of where some accessories actually should be installed within the roof. Now I can answer exactly where with full confidence to keep our customers happy.”
While some companies enrol their roofing champion on the basic courses, others send staff as part of their general training.
“Most are more than happy with the level of knowledge they achieve on the basic course, but others want to take further training to a higher level,” said Terry Fearfield. “The basic and product courses are free of charge, but there is a course fee for other training.” | |
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