WHEN I took over as CEO of DHF at the beginning of July, I was excited as there was plenty to get my teeth into. What I perhaps hadn't anticipated was quite how quickly the first couple of months would fly by.
Anyone who knows me will know that I'm not particularly good at sitting still, and it seems DHF has followed suit because, in the space of just a few weeks, we've managed to get three significant projects over the line – all of which have been a long time in the making.
First came the long-awaited launch of our Building Hardware training programme.
I say "long-awaited" because this has been a considerable piece of work not just for DHF but also for our Building Hardware members who volunteered their time and who we can't thank enough. The ABBE Level 2 Certificate in Core Competencies: Understanding Building Hardware is the UK's first Ofqual-regulated qualification developed specifically for the building hardware sector and getting it from an idea on a piece of paper to a fully-fledged qualification has involved an enormous amount of work.
With six core units, 12 specialist product modules, 178 learning outcomes, 745 assessment criteria and somewhere in the region of 1,500 assessment questions, nobody could accuse us of doing things by halves!
More importantly, it gives people working within building hardware a structured and recognised way of developing and demonstrating their product knowledge. With competence quite rightly remaining high on the industry's agenda, I believe programmes like this have an increasingly important role to play.
We barely had time to celebrate that launch before turning our attention to the next one... an apprenticeship scheme!
This is something I'm particularly excited about because one of the conversations I hear repeatedly across our membership is: where are the next generation of engineers going to come from?
On 1 September, in collaboration with Train'd Up, DHF officially launched a fantastic package for the Door Gate and Shutter sectors - The Level 2 Engineering Operative Apprenticeship combined with the recognised Level 2 NVQ Diploma in Specialist Installation Occupations – Door, Gate & Shutter Systems – Installation & Maintenance, and a relevant DHF safety training accredited course.
We have an ageing workforce, skills shortages and businesses that want to bring new people into the industry but haven't always had a clear pathway through which to do it.
The new apprenticeship starts to address that.
This unique package combines structured apprenticeship learning with the recognised Level 2 NVQ Diploma together with relevant DHF safety training. And, importantly for employers, apprenticeship funding means the cost can be fully funded for levy-paying employers, with up to 95% funding available for eligible non-levy payers. So, members are potentially getting the NVQ and DHF training for FREE – what's not to like!
So, hopefully, we are not simply talking about the skills shortage anymore – we're putting something practical in place to help tackle it.
As if two launches weren't enough, we've also seen another important development with the introduction of the CSCS Smartcard.
The move to digital smartcards means cards can now sit conveniently within the My CSCS app, giving individuals a straightforward way of demonstrating their qualifications and competence.
Individually, these are three very different projects. Collectively, though, I think they demonstrate where DHF is heading.
For me, our role as a federation isn't simply about responding to what is happening within our industries. We need to anticipate what our members are going to need next and, wherever possible, help create the solutions.
Training, qualifications, competence and developing the next generation of our workforce are going to remain hugely important – particularly as the expectations placed on manufacturers, installers, maintainers and others working with construction products continue to evolve.
There is still plenty on my CEO "to-do" list – and, annoyingly, it seems to get longer rather than shorter every time I tick something off!
But if my first couple of months are anything to go by, I don't think it's going to be dull.
And that's probably just as well as I don't really do dull.
Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens, dhf CEO