September 2019

The Next Step
FORD PLANS TO GET MOTORING –
BUT WHICH ROUTE WILL HE TAKE?
At 26, Matthew Ford has won one of the industry’s top awards, the BMI Apprentice of the
Year 2019 in pitched roofing. So what now for this young roofer?
Afew months on from winning the pitched
roofing title at the BMI Apprentice of the
Year competition, Matthew Ford is still
keeping his head down, weighing up his next
move and doing his best with his job, while
attending Leeds College of Building.
He works for Incommunities, the Bradford-based
social housing provider, as one of eight roofers
working in teams of two. His main work is
carrying out repairs and approving the work of
roofing contractors, which he says can be quite
challenging.
“I can’t pass a roof that isn’t as good as I would
put on,” he said, taking pains to point out that the
roof on which he has been photographed is not
Below: Matthew Ford works for Incommunities and won the
pitched roofing award at this year’s BMI Apprentice of the
Year competition.
“I can’t pass a roof that
isn’t as good as I would
put on”
his handiwork, but one that he has yet to inspect
and approve.
Standards mean a lot to Matthew and one thing
that he knows for certain is that he wants to help
improve the image of roofing as a trade and to
raise professional standards. He is, for instance,
taking part in a trial for RoofCERT, the
accreditation scheme devised by the NFRC and
CITB, as a result of his award and a conversation
with Simon Dixon, Training Manager at the NFRC.
“The idea is it’ll be like Gas Safe and let people
know who they can trust, and it’ll eradicate the
cowboys who just rock up and offer to do the
roof,” he explained.
“RoofCERT will shape the way that roofers extend
their skills in a scheme that continuously checks
that they’re still complying to the relevant
standards and regulations.”
Confidence boost
Matthew recognises that he would never have
thought of becoming involved with projects such
as this before he took part in the competition.
“It boosted my confidence no end. The
competition went into areas that just aren’t
covered in college and it was never just about
simply putting on a roof. We learnt other skills
about presentation, relating to the clients and
looking at business plans.
“These are things that I use every day. I have to
meet eight to ten people every day, tell them what
repairs are necessary and why and then, if further
work is needed, produce a report for my manager
to explain why,” he explained.
‘The Fossil’ plans for the future
At 26, Matthew realised that he was quite a bit
older than the other apprentices entering the
Apprentice of the Year competition. In fact, the
other students make sure he never forgets by
nicknaming him ‘The Fossil’. But Chris
“The competition went
into areas that just
aren’t covered in
college and it was
never just about simply
putting on a roof”
28 TC SEPTEMBER 2019