» THE 41ST GAI EDUCATION Awards on Thursday 3 March celebrated the outstanding educational achievements of students who passed the prestigious GAI Diploma in 2020 and 2021 , as well as those who had secured prizes as the top students worldwide .

Joining nearly 400 guests from across the architectural ironmongery industry was guest speaker Ollie Ollerton , an ex-Special Forces soldier turned television star and author . The event , hosted by GAI Chief Executive Simon Forrester , was sponsored by ASSA ABLOY , with the prestigious Pinnacle Awards for the top student in each year sponsored by CES ( 2020 ) and Norseal ( 2021 ).

This year ’ s event was a unique double celebration , the 2020 event having been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic . Welcoming guests , GAI President Mario Del- Signore said : “ Never before

have we needed to combine two awards ceremonies in one , but perhaps this has been the least of the challenges we have had to navigate in the last two years .

“ Education is a central pillar of the Guild , and it was crucial for us to ensure training and diploma courses continued to be available throughout the height of the pandemic – something which required new teaching formats and methods of support .

“ To have successfully gained a qualification during

the last two years is huge . I have the utmost respect for these students and the teams who delivered the training and supported them in their studies .

“ Today for me is a celebration not just for our students , but for the whole industry to give ourselves a pat on the back , because the fact we ’ re all still here shows great resilience and tenacity .”

Further emphasising the importance of the GAI education programme , Eryl Jones , Managing Director of