Roofing and building maintenance
company expands to meet
growing demand for training
Roofing & Ceilings
A construction training and
development centre set up by a West
Yorkshire roofing and building maintenance
firm has proved so successful that it’s
having to expand to meet national
demand.
Ploughcroft opened the centre in
Brighouse in 2005, primarily to train its
own staff in the latest building methods
and health and safety requirements.
But within a year the forward-thinking
Denise Cherry training centre manager and
Ploughcroft managing director Chris Hopkins Denise Cherry training centre manager with trainees
company began to invite other local
construction and facilities management “Companies are now queuing up to Ploughcroft originally invested £80,000
companies through its doors, offering benefit from our expertise and our in the training centre, matched by 25 per
them training packages on their doorstep facilities, which include a roofing training cent funding from the Calderdale business
in a bid to improve industry standards workshop, plastering bays, scaffold tower grant, which is funded and supported by
generally. and solar installation rigs. regional development agency Yorkshire
Its reputation for excellence grew and “Two years ago a lot of people said I Forward and Calderdale Council.
soon the centre was being asked to take was daft to open the facility to other With financial backing from the Learning
on training for companies as far afield as roofing and buildings firms who were and Skills Council (LSC), it offers NVQ
Belfast, Manchester, London, Exeter and essentially my competition, but I’m levels 2 and 3 in roofing, slating and tiling,
Edinburgh. passionate about training and health and as well as scaffold tower courses and
Now, after coaching hundreds of safety and so was determined to focus on training in manual handling, working at
trainees, including 500 from Yorkshire the bigger picture of improving industry heights, trade skills, supervisory skills and
alone, Ploughcroft is looking for seven standards. general health and safety.
more training staff to help it expand its “The success of the centre has paid The company is also currently delivering
delivery of courses at the centre and dividends in terms of raising the profile of solar panel installation training throughout
throughout the UK, potentially training up Ploughcroft Building Services as a the UK in association with the National
to 1,000 trainees in 2008. company of excellence. Indeed, in Federation of Roofing Contractors and is
Ploughcroft managing director Chris November 2007 we were winners of the preparing to introduce waste management
Hopkins said: “The centre has proved to National Home Improvement Council’s training ahead of the new site Waste
be massively successful under the Training Achievement award in Management regulations that come into
management of Denise Cherry. Construction Skills.” force in April 2008.
Aluminium welding
enables creative roof for
Scottish visitor centre
An imaginative new visitor centre in linear metres of roofing
Scotland has recently received expertise joints.
from M.R. Site Services in the welding of The new building has a
its highly creative aluminium roof. very complex roof as
Located at Arbroath Harbour, the new Ritchie Walker, contracts
multi-purpose visitor centre owned by manager for Glenrothes
Angus Council sits on the footprint of an and Glasgow based
old boatyard next to the lifeboat station. roofing contractors
The architect for the scheme has Procladd (Scotland) Ltd explains, “The working relationship with M.R. Site
created a maritime ambience with the versatile KeyBEMO standing seam roof Services who are very competent and very
building by introducing sharp angles in the material was a very good choice for this helpful and almost all our site work is now
roofline reflecting the sails of the old multi-pitched roof, the pitches we were done by them.”
herring fishing boats. working with here were on 35¯ and 45¯ Further information on the aluminium
The roof of the visitor centre is clad roof slopes. With the roof working at all welding skills offered by M.R. Site
with 16 sections of KeyBEMO aluminium sorts of different angles, M.R. Site Services is available on 01905 755055,
roofing profile and M.R. Site Services’ Services provided its normal high standard email: welding@mrsiteservices.co.uk or by
Scotland division was brought in to of workmanship with excellent detailing.” visiting the company’s website at
aluminium site weld no less than 650 He continued, “We enjoy a very close www.mrsiteservices.co.uk
18 feature :: roofing & ceilings Building & Facilities Management – April 2008
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