The Glass and Glazing Federation’s brand new online training platform plays a central part in helping both organisations as a whole, and individuals within those organisations, demonstrate and prove competencies across a range of skills and knowledge. Developed to encourage deeper learning and greater engagement, the platform forms part of a dynamic LMS – Learning Management System – that will facilitate an ongoing log of training credentials, industry specific competencies and individual achievements.
Since the launch of the Building Safety Act in 2022, and Building Regulations 2023 amendment which highlighted the requirement to prove competency, there has been a degree of confusion as to where and how these competencies can be demonstrated. The GGF has worked closely with Nucleus Learning, one of the UK’s leading training software platforms, to develop the delivery of the courses alongside GRACE – an acronym to cover Glazing Resources and Career Education. GRACE is also an avatar that will appear throughout each of the courses to increase engagement and deepen learning.
“Our end goal is not just to help organisations build safely, but ultimately to leave a safe building,” commented GGF technical officer and training manager John Mannell. “There is such a complexity of different bodies working within industry accreditations and certifications that it can sometimes be difficult to align expectations. We have taken out the guesswork and created a system that is not just failsafe but empowers individuals and teams to progress proactively through their own learnings.”
“There is such a complexity of different bodies working within industry accreditations and certifications that it can sometimes be difficult to align expectations”
The platform will house an ever-evolving range of both industry-specific courses and modules that cover a range of softer skills. The GGF is also collaborating with members in the production of the courses, to increase the relatability and relevance of each course to other members. For example, content for the ‘Cutting thin glass by hand’ course was filmed at the premises of Evander.
“Content will be as much member-driven as it is regulation-driven,” added John. “Every aspect of our members’ operations can be formalised to prove, and improve, competencies across the industry, and capturing this in an engaging and informative format will help to drive up standards for all.”
This storytelling approach has been demonstrated to enrich the learning experience, turning what are often dry and uninteresting topics into entertaining scenarios which resonate more closely. The GGF has done away with the walls of text, to produce a user journey with a slower, more thoughtful pace to improve the absorption of the content, and consequently the overall standard of learning. Throughout the modules, GRACE will make her presence felt, cementing those learnings, answering questions, and helping maintain a consistency of progress.
Available both on desktop and as an App, GGF Training offers a modern, user-friendly interface that makes learning easier. It will launch with ten courses which include industry specific modules such as Regulation 14 for Safety Glass, Fire Resistant Glazing, and Cut Thin Glass By Hand. There are more general courses in development around customer services (for example, how to deal with an angry customer), mental health in the workplace, and a wide variety of health and safety topics.
The GGF will continue to add modules to the platform to support all routes to competence over the long term. Many courses will be low cost and free, enabling GGF members to reallocate and optimise training budgets.
“The GGF has long been ideally placed to bring together the knowledge and skills required to operate safely and competently within the industry,” continued John. “We will continue to work with our preferred training partner Total Support Training in the highly successful Skilled Pathways scheme – an area which we are committed to growing and developing as we make inroads into further education establishments and apprenticeship schemes. Meanwhile, this new platform will enable our members to clear obstacles of cost, time and geography to ensure additional and essential courses can be completed by all who need it.”
