October 2018

NFRC Technical Talk
“THIS IS A STARTING POINT FOR
PROFESSIONALISING THE INDUSTRY”
As a sector dogged by stories of cowboys, suffering from outdated stereotypes and poor
perception from those outside of the industry, RoofCERT could be the change that the
roofing sector really needs. But what does it mean for you, the contractor, and how will such
a wide-ranging and far-reaching accreditation scheme be implemented? We caught up with
Mike Wharton, Head of Business Development at the NFRC, to discuss this and so much
more about RoofCERT…
Total Contractor: How is the RoofCERT
accreditation progressing and what stage
are you at?
Mike Wharton: This is a highly collaborative
programme, so the focus so far has been on
getting the broadest range of stakeholders
involved. We’ve now got a Leadership Committee
made up of representatives from across the
industry, including roofing contractors,
suppliers, merchants, main
contractors, our partners the
CITB, the LABC and other
agencies. This committee
oversees the work being
carried out by the three Activity
Groups which include experts that
we’ve similarly recruited from both
inside and outside of the roofing industry.
The Supply Chain Collaboration Group is ensuring
that there is a pipeline of appropriate training
available and assessing the best way to deliver it,
either through assessment centres or on the
ground. The Attraction Group is exploring suitable
career paths for roofing and looking at ways to
make RoofCERT attractive to industry, households
and buyers of roofing services.
The Accreditation and Standards Activity Group is
essentially creating the accreditation itself and
has made some great strides in setting out what
it will look like. The group is focusing on a pointsbased
system that captures an operative’s
existing qualifications,
acknowledges experience gained
on site and includes a
mandatory ‘basket’ of short
duration courses, which
everyone will need complete. The
group is currently deciding how much
weight each of these three elements carries
towards accreditation.
TC: The NFRC has launched
the scheme alongside the
CITB, do I have to be a
member of the NFRC to
become accredited?
MW: No. It’s open to anyone in
industry and the aim is to have
5,000 roofers accredited by 2021.
TC: What is actually involved in becoming
accredited?
MW: The starting point will be a ‘gated’
knowledge test specific to each discipline, which
everyone will take at the 100-plus secure test
centres dotted around the UK. Passing this test
will allow them to enter the system and provide
evidence (or undertake as appropriate) the short
duration courses on first aid, manual handling,
working at height, fire safety and asbestos
awareness, abrasive wheels and possibly another
course on communication. We are also about to
scope the registration and booking system.
Left: Mike Wharton, Head of Business
Development at the NFRC.
TC: What, if any costs are
involved?
MW: For the first 5,000 contractors
there is no cost at all. After that there
will be a cost, which is to be decided.
TC: Is the accreditation relevant to both
new entrants and established roofers?
MW: Only those that have been working in roofing
for a minimum of three years will be eligible for
RoofCERT. So, if you’re an apprentice, you will
need to have reached the three-year point and
achieved NVQ Level 2 before registering.
TC: How do you feel being an accredited
roofer will benefit a contractor’s
business?
MW: There has never been an accreditation
scheme for roofing and so this is a starting point
for professionalising the industry. We know that in
general accreditation is important to consumers
as a mark of trust, so if they insist on RoofCERT
accreditation, then it’s clearly a benefit to those
operatives and their firms. Similarly, in the
commercial market, a roofing-specific
accreditation we see as being insisted upon by
main contractors, councils and other
stakeholders, particularly in light of the tragic
event of the Grenfell fire.
16 TC OCTOBER 2018