The continuing professional development (CPD) programme comprises a variety of sessions throughout the year for people in a range of different roles within the business, ensuring they keep up-to-date with latest industry developments.
Project director Richard Sumner has maintained the programme despite the recent disruptions, hosting talks via Microsoft Teams on the last Friday of the month.
He said: “Pre-Lockdown we got everyone together in a room at head office, but obviously that’s not possible any longer. With many of the team working from home and across scores of different sites, we have embraced video conferencing for both meetings and training sessions.
“This method has actually been really beneficial as people can log on from wherever they are and don’t have to travel to and from one location, so when we’re finished they can get straight back to work. We miss out on the camaraderie a little, but from an efficiency perspective it has been excellent and the technology has worked seamlessly.”
CPD subjects involve industry updates on a range of subjects, for both junior and senior staff. Recent topics have included detailed instruction on issues such as piling solutions and innovations, fire alarm systems, and waterproofing, with a range of product and system manufacturers and suppliers providing information about the latest innovations in their field.
The latest session was delivered by Keim Mineral Paints, which supplied its specialist products for a recent Russell WBHO project in central Manchester, detailing the specific uses and differences between paint types, right down to their molecular structure.
“It is vital that we keep up-to-date with current product knowledge and technological advancements, and often that information comes direct from the manufacturers themselves. Aside from the obvious sales pitch, there is actually a lot of useful technical learning which we can then apply to our projects.
“We do a lot of sensitive heritage restoration schemes, for example, where highly specialist or very niche products are often beneficial. And the greater our knowledge, the more we are able to advise clients of alternative, perhaps more cost-effective, ways to achieve their ambitions,” he added.
