42
FEBRUARY 2016 PRO INSTALLER
PRO SKILLS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Don’t let winter
weather affect
your bottom line
For many installers, the onset of winter
means an increase in callouts as a result
of failing hardware. Zinc-based hardware
will start to fail sooner or later because
the damp weather we experience in
winter speeds up the corrosion process.
But rather than accepting
corrosion as a fact of life,
the Trojan Group developed
a solution: stainless steel
hardware. The range has
taken the market by storm
and sales have risen by
over 300% in the past two
years.
CITB CALLS FOR
APPRENTICES AS IT
FORECASTS GROWTH
The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB)
is calling for more apprentices as it releases figures
which forecast annual average growth of 2.5% for the
next five years – and 232,000 jobs to be created.
CITB’s Construction Skills
Network (CSN) report
predicts sustained growth
from 2016-2020, driven by
infrastructure and private
housing.
Steve Radley, Policy Director
at the CITB, said: “All types of
training, and especially apprenticeships, will be vital to delivering this pipeline of work. This
positive forecast should inspire
more people to start apprenticeships, and more firms to take
them on.”
New nuclear power stations
at Hinkley Point, Somerset, and
Wylfa, Anglesey, alongside rail
projects such as Crossrail and
HS2, will drive year-on-year infrastructure growth of 6.1%.
The commercial construction
sector will experience growth of
3.4% per annum, while private
house building will also experience sustained growth across the
forecast period. Output in the
house building is expected return
to pre-recession levels by the end
of the forecast period, reaching
£26bn by 2020.
UK construction growth is set to
be fourth in Europe up to 2017,
with British builders outstripping
those in Germany, France and
Spain.
Annual growth is predicted in
all the UK’s regions and nations
up to 2020, with Wales faring
best with year-on-year growth of
7.1%, followed by the south west
(4.4%), London (3.5%), and the
north west (2.6%).
In response to the ongoing
skills challenge, the CITB is in
2016 launching a series of new
partnerships with local and regional training providers to make
sure the right training takes place
where it is needed most.
It is also continuing to work
closely with the construction
industry to further develop Go
Construct, an industry-led web
portal, to showcase the opportunities in the industry and encourage more people to join the
sector. This should help construction firms recruit the talent they
need to grow, and help workers
learn about all of the great career
opportunities available.
Steve Radley, Director of Policy
at the Construction Industry
Training Board, said:
“We can’t build the Britain we
want without growing apprenticeships – and the careers they lead
onto.
“We also want to attract workers who have left the industry to
return, and upskill those currently
in the sector, so we can deliver
major projects and new housing
faster and better.”
Source: www.citb.co.uk
Tony Chadwick, Trojan’s Group
Managing Director, said: “Failing
hardwa re as a result of corrosion was becoming an increasing
problem in the industry. Returning
to replace hardware has a direct
effect on an installer’s bottom line,
so needs to be avoided wherever
possible. Stainless steel hardware
solves the problem because of its
corrosion-resistant properties. We
are so confident in the fit and forget qualities of our stainless steel
door hardware range that all products come with a 25-year anti-corrosion guarantee as standard.”
Trojan’s stainless steel range
includes hinges, door handles
and letterplates. Each of these is
available at three price points so
there is a stainless steel product for every project budget. It
also includes door knockers,
door numbers and numerals, an
‘there is a stainless
steel product for
every project budget’
escutcheon, a T-bar pull handle
and a central door knob. All
products are available in polished
gold (PVD), brushed gold (PVD),
polished stainless, brushed stainless and white or black powder
coated over stainless.
www.trojangroup.com