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BMI crowns Apprentices of the Year
Two apprentices from the north
of England Jay Webster and
Kieran Forster have been
crowned Redland and Icopal
Apprentices of the Year 2018
respectively after the BMIbacked
competition culminated
in two days of intense scrutiny
from a panel of judges.
At a special gala dinner, the
victors received a £1,000 cash
prize for each of them to invest
in their future, a trophy, plus a
goody bag of roofi ng tools and
materials. They are also entitled
to support from the two brands
at BMI’s National Training Centre.
Speaking after the prize-giving
on June 27, Redland Apprentice
of the Year winner Jay Webster
(pictured below with Andy
Dennis, managing director UK
and Ireland at BMI Group), who
attends Leeds College of Building
and works for Yorkshire
Heritage Roofi ng, said: “Words
can’t really describe how I feel,
and I still can’t believe it.”
The Icopal Apprentice of
the Year winner Kieran Forster
(pictured top, right with
Andy Dennis), an attendee
at Newcastle College and
employed by Stanley-based
Hodgson Sayers, admitted
it all came as a bit of a
surprise. He said: “I was in total
shock when I heard my name
being announced, and I’m still in
shock. I can’t believe it’s actually
happened.”
So tightly fought were the two
competitions that the judges felt
that each category deserved a
highly commended award.
On the Redland side,
ex-soldier, Tom Thompson, who
works for AL King Roofi ng, and
studies at South West Training
Group, received the accolade,
while for Icopal, it was Joe
Burgess, a former waiter, who
came out with a memorable
phrase during his presentation
– “I gave up a job to go into a
career”
– when talking about his
move into roofi ng. Joe works for
Waveney District Council and is
enrolled at Eastern Region Roof
Training Group.
The fi nalists competed over
two days, which comprised
a series of presentations and
assignments. These examined
every facet of running their own
roofi ng business – including
business planning, presentation
skills, and technical skills.
Perhaps the most daunting of
the exercises was the individual
presentations made to the judges
at the end of the competition,
describing their motivation and
future objectives in roofi ng.
Mat Woodyatt, BMI technical
training manager, said: “This has
been a fantastic event, the fi rst
time we have held a competition
to fi nd the best in both roofi ng
disciplines: pitched and fl at.
"All 18 contestants deserve
huge credit for their hard work
and achievements over the
course of the competition. Well
done all!”
Choose an a liated
roofer, warns NFRC
The National Federation of
Roofi ng Contractors (NFRC) has
urged homeowners to employ
a liated roofers after research
found the sector was plagued by
fear of rogue traders.
This warning comes after a
Which? survey of householders
found that half thought roofers
were untrustworthy.
Poor workmanship and “being
taken for a ride” were labelled as
top concerns, with 46% worried
they would get “ripped o ”.
Plumbers, carpenters and
electricians were considered the
most trustworthy, with builders
joining roofers at the bottom.
James Talman, chief excutive
o cer of the NFRC, said:
"Roofers without the correct
qualifi cations, profi ciencies and
dedication to quality and care
do a disservice to the many true
professionals within our industry.
“Finding roofers who have the
necessary skills and expertise
to carry out work safely, and
according to best practice,
has long been an issue in our
industry, and one we have been
working hard to resolve.”
In November, the NFRC
launched an industry-wide
accreditation to protect and
support the growth of the sector
now and in the future.
This accreditation is the result
of collaboration between the
federation and the Construction
Industry Training Board, and
aims to improve e ciency,
upskill the workforce and
encourage the use of technology.
The NFRC also runs the
Competent Roofer scheme,
a government-authorised
scheme which allows roofers to
self-certify roof refurbishment
work as compliant with Building
Regulations in England and
Wales.
James said: “Our advice to
anyone searching for a roofer
would be to avoid relying on
review sites, and don’t get
sucked into saving the pennies
with an una liated individual.
Instead, search for roofers linked
to trade federations like ours.
"Our members are subject
to rigorous checks of their
work, technical competency,
skills and training. Through
this membership requirement,
they can clearly demonstrate
their experience and technical
knowledge to carry out the work,
and they come with a seal of
approval, which is greater than
an anonymous review online."
PEOPLE
SPRA COUNCIL
WELCOMES
TRIO
The Single
Ply Roofi ng
Association (SPRA)
holds elections for its
governing Council every two years, and
is pleased to welcome Steve Downey,
commercial director of DANOSA, Ian
Muddiman (pictured, right), head
of applications roofi ng at SIKA, and
Brendan McNulty, operations director
at Delomac, as the latest members to
join its leadership team.
This is a fi rst for DANOSA and Steve
is looking forward to contributing his
knowledge and experience of 17 years
within the fl at roofi ng industry.
Brendan has 42 years’ experience in
the roofi ng sector and is no stranger to
SPRA, having served from 2006 to 2014.
Ian has already enjoyed attending
SPRA Council as a Sika representative
on a number of occasions. He said: “I
am very pleased to represent SPRA on a
formal level and I believe my experience
and knowledge within the industry,
especially regarding training, installation
and site inspections, will add a valuable
balanced input to the Council."
www.spra.co.uk
AJW DISTRIBUTION'S TEAM
CONTINUES TO GROW
AJW Distribution has expanded its team
with a number of appointments.
Bill Crozier has joined the company
as business development manager;
Luke Jones, as area sales manager
for Lincolnshire,
Peterborough,
Huntingdon,
Northampton and
Norfolk; and Neil
Thompson as branch
manager of AJW's new
Bury St Edmunds depot.
Bill (pictured,
top) comes to AJW
with over 20 years’
experience in the
construction industry.
His most recent role
at Jewson provided
him with extensive
knowledge of the
roofi ng market.
Luke (centre) has
over seven years’
experience in roofi ng,
having previously worked for Jewson,
while Neil (bottom) has extensive
experience in material sales and merchant
operations.
www.ajwdistribution.com
06 www.rcimag.co.uk July 2018
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