Mark Weaver, Project Director for Retrofit at Saint-Gobain in the UK describes how the retrofit industry can become competent experts…
It is widely recognised that developing a competent supply chain of designers, surveyors and installers is critical to the retrofit market, especially given the increasing focus on improving the existing building stock with technologies such as solid wall insulation, floor insulation and more efficient glazing. Saint-Gobain is at the forefront of providing routes to competence across different industry roles. Its continued commitment is demonstrated through its new partnership with CoRE, the Centre of Refurbishment Excellence — the leading network of retrofit experts.
For many years now, Saint-Gobain has been providing practical training courses through a nationwide network of Technical Academies. Mark Weaver, Project Director for Retrofit for Saint-Gobain explains “having delivered over 70,000 hours of training since 2011 at our Technical Academies, Saint-
Gobain plays a leading role in providing skills and training to the construction industry, something that is hugely important in supporting growth and ensuring that we are able to construct and retrofit better performing buildings.”
The most popular of these courses are the drylining, plastering and internal wall insulation courses provided by British Gypsum, external wall insulation, rendering and floor screeding by Weber and technical insulation by Isover. In retrofit, these lead to trained installers who can be further assessed on site to gain a personalised card (recognising their competence) from the system designer. Weber alone has issued over 1000 cards as key components to the PAS2030 accreditation of installers. Saint- Gobain companies were deeply involved in the development of the SWIGA Quality Framework for the solid wall insulation 25 year guarantee scheme.
Saint-Gobain has teamed up with CoRE to become a Founder Sponsor of the CoRE Fellowship, which draws together leading retrofit practitioners from construction, design and academia. Saint-Gobain’s support will enable CoRE to extend its activities, especially the delivery of its award winning Retrofit Coordinator Diploma programme. This Diploma includes modules which focus on best practice principles that are at the heart of Saint-Gobain’s retrofit strategy of fabric-first, whole-house retrofit, technical expertise, innovation and training for competent design and installation. The nationally accredited CoRE Diploma provides knowledge and skills essential to the construction professional undertaking the refurbishment and improvement of existing housing stock. Modules include the assessing of buildings to determine the appropriate interventions, understanding of fabric insulation, building services and ventilation, the fundamentals of solid wall insulation and retrofitting traditional buildings (a full list of modules is in the box opposite, below, etc)
The CoRE training centre, in Stoke-on-Trent, complements Saint-Gobain’s nationwide network of Technical Academies, its Innovation Centre in London and the Greenworks Training Academy in Birmingham. CoRE retrofit courses will now be held at these locations, enabling attendees to learn more about additional training available from Saint-Gobain, including practical installation training in retrofit technologies such as Internal and
External Wall Insulation systems. Mark Weaver explains more;
“CoRE’s focus on developing the industry’s practical experience is what Saint-Gobain values and supports in order to grow the retrofit sector for a more sustainable future. We are proud to become the lead supporter of this programme and we look forward to a long partnership. The quality of the CoRE Diploma is already highly regarded by virtue of the experts providing the course material and Diploma training. What better environment to receive this training than at a Saint-Gobain Technical Academy where products are on display in our well-equipped showrooms and the dedicated practical training facilities are on site? Candidates can understand how these fabric technologies perform and learn about the practical training available to those installing Saint-Gobain’s retrofit systems. We believe that Saint-Gobain is the only supplier able to fully deliver training at all stages of retrofit – to designers and specifiers, assessors and surveyors, installers and merchant staff – in the best facilities within the construction sector.”
Speaking on behalf of CoRE, CEO David Pierpoint said:
“Saint Gobain’s commitment to the retrofit industry has been evident for many years. It echoes our ethos and our commitment to sharing knowledge openly and widely. It is a partnership that is good news for professionals in the retrofit industry, bringing wider access to expertise and support available to them.”
Retrofit Coordinator Diploma courses are excellent value at £2,000 per ten module programme, and if booked through a Saint- Gobain referral, are subject to a 10% discount. Courses for the second half of 2015 are taking bookings now and can be booked through www.core-skills.com/training or by calling CoRE on 01782 792900.
More details on the training available from Saint-Gobain at the various Technical Academies can be found at: www.saint-gobain.co.uk/training
The Ten Modules of the CoRE Retrofit Diploma (one day per module):
- Introduction to Domestic Retrofit
- Assessing Dwellings for Retrofit
- Funding Domestic Retrofit
- Building Fabric Retrofit
- Building Services Retrofit
- Fundamentals of Solid Wall Insulation
- Retrofit Ventilation
- Retrofit Building Physics
- Responsible Retrofit of Traditional Buildings
- Coordination & Risk Management
Mark Weaver
Project Director for Retrofit
Saint-Gobain
