August/September 2017 Chairman: Peter Treacy Secretary: John McKinney NFRC Scotland E-cosse Monthly Update PO Box 13816 Peebles, EH45 9WF Welcome to E-cosse, the NFRC Scotland Monthly update e-newsletter. Tel: 01721 729309 Email: [email protected] Chairman’s Note The deadline for entries for this year’s awards has passed and the region is Diary Dates preparing the judging of the awards. 10 NFRC Scottish Roofing November Contractor of the Year We have got an excellent team of judges with Allyn Pratt being the Head Judge 2017 Awards, The Grand Central and being helped by Fiona Sinclair of Fiona Sinclair Architect who is a Past Hotel, Glasgow President of the Glasgow Institute of Architects. They are joined by Ian McKee who is the Managing Director, GLM Chartered Building Surveyor and Past Chairman of Royal Incorporation of Chartered Surveyors, Scotland. Finalists will be announced in the near future and the awards will be presented by John Beattie on 10 November at The Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow. Membership levels in Scotland are at record levels and there is a high interest in Scotland from contractors wanting to join the NFRC. We had a Regional Committee meeting in September which received a presentation from Matthew Fry from Independent Roof Training. IRT is a member of the Roofing Industry Alliance and provides training specifically for the roofing industry. IRT has a number of training grants which NFRC members can benefit from to offset the cost of training. Anyone interested should contact Matthew at: [email protected] Doors Open Day 2017 NFRC Scotland teamed up with Historic Environment Scotland, Architecture & Design Scot- land, Glasgow City Heritage Trust, Glasgow School of Art and others to deliver a traditional building skills demonstration at The Lighthouse, Glasgow, as part of Doors Open Day in Glasgow. NFRC was supported by Archd McCorquodale & Son Ltd and Southwest Roofing Services which delivered roof slating and roof leadwork demonstrations respectively. This was the third such event at The Light- house and it built on the success of the previous events. The event was well attended and received very posi- tive feedback from all those who at- tended. The event was aimed to help home- owners on how to repair and maintain their homes before winter starts. It also allowed us to promote the roof- ing industry as a career to the children who attended with their family. Traditional Building Skills Demonstrations NFRC Scotland continues to work with key stakeholders in promoting the construction industry as a career of choice to school children. In September we visited both Paisley and returned to Perth. The events were well received by the school children, and teachers, who attended as well as some MSPs who came along to have a go. Maurice Golden MSP attended the event in Paisley and very kindly submitted a parliamentary motion recognising the efforts of the NFRC and other stakeholders involved in the event. “Motion S5M-07536: Maurice Golden, West Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, Date Lodged: 07/09/2017 Traditional Building Skills Workshop at Paisley Abbey That the Parliament recognises the important work by a collaboration of several organi- sations to promote the uptake of construction apprenticeships at the recent traditional building skills workshop held outside Paisley Abbey; understands that the organisations include the Construction Industry Training Board, Developing the Young Workforce West, Historic Environment Scotland, the National Federation of Roofing Con- tractors, Renfrewshire Council, the Scottish Contractors Group, the Stone Federation GB and West College Scotland; welcomes efforts to increase female participation and that these apprenticeships are open to both young and older students, and acknowledg- es the importance of maintaining these high-skilled jobs for the preservation of Scot- land’s most iconic buildings and cultural heritage. Supported by: Liz Smith, Peter Chapman, Maurice Corry, Maurice Golden MSP Liam Kerr, Miles Briggs, Alexander Stewart, Tom Mason, Margaret Mitchell, Graham Simpson, Jere- my Balfour, Alison Harris, Bill Kidd, Donald Camer- on, Gordon Lindhurst, Rachael Hamilton, Jamie Greene, Ross Greer, Murdo Fraser, Dean Lockhart, Kenneth Gibson, Colin Beattie, Jackie Baillie, Mon- ica Lennon, Tom Arthur, Finlay Carson, Jackson Carlaw, Annie Wells, Michelle Ballantyne, Alexander Burnett, Brian Whittle” This is seen as an essential part of the NFRC Scot- land role with several members highlighting the lack of candidates for apprentices, and concern regard- ing the quality of the applications they do receive. Roseanna Cunningham NFRC Scotland is working hard to raise the profile of MSP, Cabinet Secretary for roofing among school children and their career influ- Environment, Climate encers to ensure a high quality of candidates for the Change and Land Reform industry in the future. Thanks go to Archd McCorquodale & Son, D M Roofing & Roughcasting and Braisby Roofing for working with West Scotland College and Dundee & Angus College in providing the tradesperson to deliver these skills demonstrations on behalf of the NFRC. NFRC Scotland is working with Skills Development Scot- land, Historic Environment Scotland and Developing the Young Workforce to develop a course to be delivered in schools called “Roofing in the Classroom”. A pilot will be delivered through Autumn and Winter 2017 with a view to roll it out across Scotland in the next academic year. Murdo Fraser MSP These events have also been hugely successful in raising Ken MacIntosh MSP, the profile of the NFRC to key stakeholders across Scotland. Presiding Officer Several local authorities have found out more about the NFRC since engaging with simi- lar events and are now specifying NFRC members only in their procurement process for roofing activities. .