Proctor Group is collaborating with one of North East England’s leading independent training providers to help in sharing knowledge about up-to-date roofing products and practices.
Optimum Skills Ltd, based in Gateshead, operates three construction academies training young people in slating, tiling and flat roofing, as well as bricklaying, joinery and groundworks. They work with all major roofing contractors in the North East, helping apprentices through pre-apprenticeship and apprenticeship programmes.
Collaboration with construction product manufacturers is a unique aspect of their approach. Proctor Group is working with Optimum Skills on an ongoing basis, donating rolls of its BBA-certified air permeable underlay, Proctor Air®, and delivering a mix of theory and practical sessions to the apprentice intake.
Rachel Armstrong, partnerships manager at Optimum Skills, said: “As an independent training provider, we have the flexibility to offer something different. The number of apprentices in pitched roofing is so high, and we really appreciate the willingness of companies like Proctor Group to support and celebrate what we’re doing.”
Giving apprentice roofers the chance to get hands on with the latest products is essential to developing their knowledge, and giving them the chance to share what they learn with their colleagues on site.
James Brown, roofing tutor at Optimum Skills, is developing the course and commented: “I’m very against ‘death by PowerPoint’! We’re tradespeople, we want to be hands on. When Proctor Group demonstrate the bubbler that shows how air passes through the Proctor Air underlay, you see faces light up.”
Keira Proctor, managing director at Proctor Group, said: “We’re delighted to support Optimum Skills in their mission and looking forward to delivering more sessions about physics in roofs. As a fourth-generation family business, nobody understands better than Proctor Group the importance of passing on knowledge and skills to the construction professionals of the future.”
