Hearn Roofing - August 09
Hearn Roofing, part of the Hearn Group of companies,
is one of the south west’s leading roofing contractors.
It handles single property contracts up to the largest of commercial
developments such as re-roofing much of Magna Housing Association’s
6,000-strong housing stock.
Since making the Skills Pledge in November 2008,
Hearn Roofing has put training centre stage for its apprentices,
experienced roofers, supervisors, contract managers and senior
business managers.
Everyone in the company underwent a training needs
analysis and now has individual training plans with regular appraisals.
Seven apprentices are doing NVQ Level 2s in Roofing with their
balance of skills factored into risk assessments and method statements
for each work project.
It is a rigorous programme that ensures all aspects
of a job are tied down. These include process and project management,
safe use of equipment and relevant expertise with tiling, slating,
cement work or whatever the individual order demands.
The company’s investment in training involves
regular team meetings, called ‘toolbox talks’, where
all views are taken into account on work issues.
Apprentice Kane Wakefield, 19, left school with
no qualifications and joined the company as a labourer. Recognised
as one of the industry’s top trainees, he is currently a
finalist in the national SkillBuild competition which tests the
skills of young construction workers.
Now completing his NVQ course, Kane says: “With
training we’re all more positive in our work and we know
the end product is really good. There are a lot of old boys out
there with old skills but these days you need to prove you can
do it by having the piece of paper.”
Colleague Harry Potter, 20, says: “We’ve
all been put through the training and as a result we’ve
got a settled team, better morale and everyone gets on with each
other. With qualifications we know we’ve got a much better
chance of winning work and going on any site with confidence and
just getting on with it.”
Making the Skills Pledge reflects the same approach
to training that brought Investors in People accreditation in
June 2009. It has also prompted what Business Development Manager
Malcolm Pitcher calls a “change in culture”.
He explains: “The Skills Pledge is important
because it is a real commitment made by a senior director within
the business. The commitment certificate shows everyone that you
are serious about what you intend to do. We can see the benefits
to us as a company. We are much more focused on planning for the
medium and long term and our staff have structured career paths
and skills they didn’t have before. In return they are given
more responsibility. As well as the training plans, we have brought
in better work scheduling, a better system for providing customer
quotes and a clearer commercial model for managing payroll costs,
margins and overheads.
“Part of our change in culture means we respect
and support each other and in turn that helps with customer care.
Training is there for the benefit of everyone – health and
safety and skills development for us, and quality service for
our customers.
“We will continue to train. We believe that
as a result of what we have done in the downturn we will be better
placed to grow in the recovery. We are winning contracts with
people we wouldn’t have been able to reach before. Training
helps you work smarter and be more professional.”
