South Devon College Roofing Students Trip to Spanish Quarry

CUPA PIZARRAS last week took a lucky group of UK roofing students and lecturers to visit one of the largest natural slate quarries in the Ourense region of northern Spain in its first trip from the UK since the coronavirus restrictions lifted.

Renewed Enthusiasm

The student apprentices, Joseph O’Brien-Orgee, Lewis Round and Bailey Stevens, from South Devon College’s burgeoning roofing department have completed their first year of roofing and slating training to the level 2 Roofing Standard.

Roofing Lecturer, Steve Dowell said, “Thanks to CUPA PIZARRAS, these students have experienced first-hand what it’s like to be part of the wider roofing industry. They have had a brilliant trip and come back with not only a greater understanding of the production of natural slate, but also full of renewed enthusiasm for their roofing careers.”

Roofing Students

The young roofers were joined on the June 2022 trip by South Devon College’s staff member, Jack Carlisle and Programme Co-ordinator, James King. This trip enabled them both to gain a further insight into the support CUPA PIZARRAS offers in terms of donating high quality natural slate for roofing students to train with through the year, as well as by providing wider, extra-curricular opportunities, such as the trip to Spain.

CUPA’s UK Marketing Manager, Hannah Wall (picture left below) accompanied the group in what was also her first trip to the CUPA PIZARRAS quarries and production facilities with the college sponsorship programme.

Almost 80% of the natural slate sold worldwide comes from the northern Spanish region and one in every two slates installed globally come from CUPA PIZARRAS’ quarries. The company acquired an additional quarry in Ourense last year, giving a total of 20 quarries and 24 production plants owned by the business with a workforce of 1,500 people.

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