October 2018

Interview
Above main pic: Kieran Forster talks the judges Gary Walpole, Mark Tornton and Matt Downs through the defects on the flat roofing rigs at this year’s BMI Aprentice of the Year Awards; Top right: The
apprentices enjoyed a number of presentations geared towards boosting confidence and improving the way they present themselves; Kieran has taken these skills into his career with Hodgson Sayers.
and just last week it was confirmed that he had
qualified for the national SkillBuild final at the
National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, later this
year.
Confidence, quality and professionalism
Kieran and David’s success has certainly rubbed
off on the rest of the company’s apprentices with
all of them saying that they will be entering every
competition they can going forward.
“You can see the other apprentices wondering
‘why him and not me?; mix this with other
benefits such as boosting morale and them
feeling that they are a valued member of the team
and the positives are quite measurable,”
explained Glyn. “So we support them in every way
that we can, incentivising them when they win
because we’re trying to encourage confidence,
quality and professionalism.”
The aims of the BMI-backed competition and the
vision for the apprentice programme at Hodgson
Sayers are very similar. Glyn sees his role as
developing tradesmen rather than just roofers, a
process that starts by producing apprentices of
the highest possible quality. When they attend
Newcastle College, even small details are
important, such as insisting that all apprentices,
wear company-issue workwear and that it’s kept
“Glyn wants to see the
apprentices able to
impress end-users and
clients with their skills,
attitude, on-site
performance and
quality”
clean and smart. They are also encouraged to see
themselves as a team and to act professionally at
all times.
Impressing end users and clients
Just as the competitions look for aptitude in
business planning and presentation rather than
simply technical skills, Glyn wants to see the
apprentices able to impress end-users and
clients with their skills, attitude, on-site
performance and quality; a good stable,
professional, controlled approach is key to
achieving this.
Kieran himself has taken more than simply the
£1,000 prize money from the competition, though
he intends to spend that on a top-end heat gun.
“I need the heat gun because of the recent
Safe2Torch guidance which prohibits the use of
open flames within 900mm of an upstand, and
the better-quality heat guns are expensive, but it
shows that I’m serious about my profession and I
want the responsibility to do bigger, more
prestigious jobs,” he explained.
He has also helped form a WhatsApp group with
his fellow Apprentice of the Year competitors to
keep in touch as they progress through their
training with their respective employers. “The
group helps to keep me up-to-date with the
different systems the other guys are working with,
so it’s useful,” he added.
Keen to add to his skills base, Kieran has also
recently attended a training course in single ply
sheeting, run by Newcastle College, which has
developed several added value courses in
partnership with Hodgson Sayers. It is clear that
his winning the BMI Icopal Apprentice of the Year
competition, together with the enhanced working
and training environment he is involved in, is
paying big dividends and helping secure a bright
future.
Contact BMI Icopal
0161 865 4444
www.icopal.co.uk
@Icopal_UK
50 TC OCTOBER 2018