36 • A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE IAI CHAIR...
Unlocking the
next generation
of access control
Since Jo Milne-Rowe was appointed as
the new national chair of the Institute of
Architectural Ironmongers (IAI) and in
conjunction with her current role as BDM
at Codelocks, she has helped to take the
institute from strength to strength. After a
year in the role and encouraging the next
generation to seek a career in ironmongery,
Jo shares what has happened over the
last 12-months and what she believes
the future of access control looks like.
WHAT HAS GIVEN YOU MOST
SATISFACTION DURING THE
LAST 12 MONTHS IN THE ROLE?
Being involved in changing the
direction of the IAI and helping
to ensure that the ironmongery
sector remains relevant through
the One Future Vision project,
has been an exciting challenge.
I’ve really enjoyed attending
the branch meetings and sharing
experiences with other people
in the industry on a much bigger
scale. It’s been great meeting
more IAI members who I didn’t
have contact with before and
this has allowed me to build
my network of ironmongers
and manufacturers, which
has benefitted my business
development role at Codelocks
too.
‘We wanted people
to walk away
feeling that they
benefitted from the
AGM by learning
something new’
WHEN YOU WERE APPOINTED
YOU WERE EXCITED ABOUT
THE OPPORTUNITY THE ROLE
GAVE YOU TO ENCOURAGE
THE NEXT GENERATION OF
TALENT TO SEEK A CAREER
IN THE SECTOR. WHAT HAS
BEEN ACHIEVED SO FAR TO
ENGAGE NEW TALENT?
This year, we decided to change
the Annual General Meeting
(AGM) into more of a learning
experience. To help encourage
both new members and previous
students, we held six CPD training
workshops each presented by
different industry experts. We
wanted people to walk away
feeling that they benefitted from
the AGM by learning something
new and not simply deem the
event an opportunity to network.
We also focussed on making the
AGM more available to everyone,
as we experienced low attendance
from younger audiences due
to the financial commitment.
It is important that the AGM
is recognised as a learning
experience so that employers
realise the value and fund their
employees’ attendance.
‘It’s been
great
meeting
more IAI
members
who I
didn’t
have
contact
with
before’
LOCKSMITHJOURNAL.CO.UK | MAY/JUN 2019
Sponsored by Mul-T-Lock
Knowledge gathered has helped
to enhance the Codelocks free
training programme for locksmiths
and installers too.
WHAT MEASURES HAVE BEEN
IMPLEMENTED TO ENSURE
THAT PROFESSIONALS
ARE ENCOURAGED AND
SUPPORTED TO STAY IN
THE SECTOR AND DEVELOP
THEIR CAREERS?
To help align and make
membership renewables more
affordable and achievable, we
have also changed the renewal
of the membership date. There is
now a twelve-month calendar to
collect and submit points for RegAI
accreditation.
We have changed some of the
rules around the presentations
at the AGM. After listening to the
members, it became clear that
they were quite happy to hear
about products and actually hear
from the manufacturers. We focus
more meetings around products
so members can see a range of
new products in one evening, and
this gives them more exposure to
the industry.