Building Our Skills has been appointed as a specialist fenestration training provider as part of the Green Homes Grant scheme. The offer of fully funded training for the fenestration industry is a part of the initiative devised by BEIS and the Midlands Energy Hub to help train tradespeople to deliver home improvement measures through the Green Homes voucher scheme in England.
John Ogilvie, director of Building Our Skills, is calling on fenestration industry employers to make the most of the time-limited, fully funded practical training that Building Our Skills can offer under the scheme.
“We are delighted to have been appointed to be a part of this project,” he said. “Like all the industry we would of course prefer that, in the fullness of time, fenestration becomes a primary measure on these kinds of schemes, designed to update and upgrade the thermal properties of older buildings, but for Building Our Skills to be appointed by BEIS as a specialist training provider is recognition even now that our industry has a significant role to play.
“The training scheme officially launched on the 4 January and we have 100% fully funded practical training courses available to the industry until the end of May.
“If I were an employer in the industry that has been appointed as a part of the delivery of the voucher scheme, I’d certainly be very keen to make the most of the opportunity the scheme is providing,” he continued.
“The fact that our practical training courses are formally accredited by the fenestration industry’s leading awarding body, GQA Qualifications, not only contributed to our winning a place on this training framework but gives learners something tangible to take away from their training. It is a further endorsement of the importance of setting a standard for training that learners can aspire to and take pride in their achievement. It is also a great confidence boost for them, their employers and the people in whose homes they will be working in.
“Attendees to the training programme at our academy building in Sheffield will undergo three days of training, at the end of which they will have the knowledge and skills to be able to fit windows and doors, glaze and re-glaze existing windows and doors, and have a full understanding of the site requirements and building regulations that impact the trade,” said John. “On successful completion of the training and on achieving a set standard they will be formally accredited and receive a skills card containing their achievements.
“The 100% funded course is available for employees of any industry company who is a part of the delivery programme for the Green Homes voucher scheme, or for anyone they may wish to employ as newcomers to the industry who will then be involved in the delivery programme,” he concluded.
For those wanting to access the fully funded training programme, contact Building Our Skills: sayhello@buildingourskills.co.uk
