To celebrate the 15th annual National Apprenticeship Week, Mat Woodyatt, Technical Training Manager at roofing manufacturer BMI, spent the week touring UK colleges and training providers to support apprentices and their mentors across the roofing industry.
National Apprenticeship Week highlights the positive contributions of apprenticeships to the economy and wider society. Reflecting on the skills and knowledge apprentices acquire during their apprenticeships, this year’s theme “Build the Future”, champions the positive impact of apprenticeships to help apprentices develop fulfilling careers and enable businesses to grow a talented workforce for the future.
The BMI Academy Tour took Mat across the UK, visiting colleges from Devon to Leeds and Scotland, as well as to education provider Juniper Training, to offer hands-on tailored support, advice, and product presentations to both roofing apprentices and college tutors. During his sessions, Mat covered a variety of CPD topics, from the British Standards for Roofing to single lap tile insulation as well as the ins and outs of the whole BMI pitched and flat roofing range.
Recognising the vital importance of supporting and nurturing the skills of future leaders of the industry, Mat’s college tour is only a small part of the wider training and support offered by BMI, known for its leading flat roofing brand BMI Icopal and, in pitched roofing, the iconic BMI Redland name.
The college tour during National Apprenticeship Week is an important part of BMI’s personal approach to connecting with roofing apprentices and their mentors directly and developing talent from the ground up. Integral to BMI’s overall mission to provide world-class training opportunities to promote and enhance skills across the roofing industry, Mat delivered training sessions tailored to each individual college, many of which have produced more than one finalist in BMI’s annual Apprentice of the Year competition.
Mat Woodyatt explains: “Working closely with colleges who deliver apprenticeship training is important in the current climate, where skills shortages are at the forefront of challenges the industry is facing. BMI places huge value on empowering apprentices with the knowledge, support, and training opportunities needed to develop the skills to become motivated and career driven roofers.”
“As the future of the industry relies heavily on developing these skills, as well as the role of mentorships, this college tour is a great way for apprentices and college tutors to learn first-hand what support is available to them throughout a career in roofing, and how BMI actively engages with the industry to help support the future of roofing.”
Apart from offering continuous training to their own technical teams, BMI is actively supporting the industry further by providing hands-on training at its in-house facility, BMI Academy, which offers training to roofers at all stages of their career, as well as to specifiers, main contractors, developers and merchants. BMI also holds the annual Apprentice of the Year competition, which prompts apprentices to solve roofing and business management challenges to showcase their leadership qualities.
For more information see BMI UK & Ireland’s support for roofing apprentices.
