Institute of Roofing Awards Student of the Year

THE INSTITUTE OF ROOFING (IOR) has named Garath Buckingham as its Student of the Year.

Garath, who is site services manager at HD Sharman, received the award following completion of the IOR’s Associate Course. Janice Bailey, sales assistant at HD Sharman, was also praised for her efforts with a Special Recognition award for her application and the originality of her final presentation.

Career in Roofing

The Institute of Roofing Associate Course is designed for anyone considering a professional career in roofing. It’s particularly suitable for those seeking to move into a supervisory or management role. The recently updated training is now on offer on a dedicated online learning platform. This offers professionals the opportunity to learn effectively with minimum disruption to working patterns.

Garath completed his training prior to the national Covid-19 lockdown. Speaking about his accolade, he said: “It feels great to be recognised for the extra hours and hard work I put into the course, which resulted in an overall distinction.

“I couldn’t have done it without the support of my colleagues. We did the course over 5-7 weeks and it was easily manageable in multiple modules. The online platform allowed us to keep track of what we needed to do before our next classroom session while allowing us to upload our completed worksheets for marking.

Roof Training

“The training covers a great mix of roof types and build-ups that we perhaps wouldn’t normally come across everyday as a company, along with relevant legislation and the tender and procurement process. All of this has provided our teams with more knowledge and a better understanding of the roofing industry as a whole.”

Janice added: “It was a lovely surprise to win this award. I gave 100 per cent to the course and it has really paid off. The training has taught me lots of things that I wouldn’t have known about in my job role, so my skills and understanding have significantly increased.”

Institute of Roofing Associate Course

CEO of the Institute of Roofing, Stuart Hicks, said: “All of the students who have recently completed the new and updated course have worked incredibly hard. We are particularly proud of Garath and Janice for their efforts as reflected by these well-deserved awards.

“We’ve received a lot of positive feedback on the revised course and hope that other professionals can see the real benefits of learning the essential skills and knowledge to help them progress in the roofing industry.”