Mastercraft Roofing Skills are Top of the Schedule

As part of a BBC Two’s primetime Mastercrafts series (Friday nights – 9.00pm), a Suffolk-based roofer has helped propel the art of thatching to new heights, by competing for and winning the accolade of ‘best apprentice’ in his specialist field.

Colin Wombwell, a roofing expert with more than 10 years’ experience in the trade, decided to take the plunge and learn a new specialism. As part of the show he undertook an intensive six-week apprenticeship in thatching, learning many of the skills needed to start a career in a trade that has unfortunately been diminishing over the decades.

Under the guidance of Matt Williams and David Bragg of Rumplestiltskin Thatching Company, Oxfordshire, Colin and his fellow competitors, arts therapist Kate Edwards from Norfolk and painter and decorator Sam Hare from London, worked under intense scrutiny, getting to grips with the theory, practical and physically very demanding challenges of thatching.

Colin says: “The first tasks we undertook were making the straw into yelms, courses of straw to be laid onto the roof, as well as bending hazel spars, used as fixings. We then went on to learn how to lay the yelms onto the roof - this is easier said than done – as it requires a deep understanding of a number of processes: laying, turning, thickness of the coat, cutting eaves, cutting barges with a barge knife. All of this has to be done to a very high standard and is not easy to do when your hands are bleeding from all the spars you are bending for fixings!”

Colin heard about this BBC opportunity from Clive Coote of the East Region Roofing Training Group (ERRTG), who works closely with ConstructionSkills’ National Specialist Team, to provide cost effective training for all roofing companies within the East of England.

Clive says: “Colin originally came to us as his employer wanted him to achieve his NVQ in Roofing. We then trained him to become an NVQ assessor, helping other learners achieve their qualifications – one thing lead to another and Colin is soon to complete his 1st year training to be a teacher.

“Highlighting thatching as a career is crucial, as it’s a trade where we have a shortage of skilled labour. Roofing as a whole sometimes gets bad press so it’s nice to publicise some of the things we do well and Colin has been a great ambassador for our trade.”

At present, there are only around 1,000 thatchers in the country and it is becoming increasingly important to attract and retain talent within the sector, as well as ensure the high standards, passed down by generations, are maintained.

The BBC2 programme’s presenter and vocal advocate and ambassador of master craftsmanship, Monty Don, comments: “In order to preserve our skills and crafts it is vital that every generation has the opportunity to learn from those currently practising and the best way to ensure this is via the apprentice system. Above all this invests in the long-term acquirement of skill which in turn has lasting benefits to the entire community. Real mastery of any craft takes time and trouble – but it is always worth it.”

ConstructionSkills, the Sector Skills Council for the construction industry and the National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) advised the series’ producers on some of the key issues facing the heritage sector and in developing the Mastercrafts programme. This includes the importance of attracting new talent into this specialist segment of the construction industry and up-skilling the current workforce through the Heritage Skills NVQ Level 3 and displaying competency and safety compliance by obtaining the CSCS Heritage Skills card. 

Mike Moody, Chairman of the NHTG comments: “It’s wonderful that Colin has helped to highlight the skill and dedication required to succeed in this important built heritage sector by winning not only the competition, but also the imagination of the public. He has helped demonstrate that such opportunities followed by dedicated training are a key means of entering the industry and that they should continue to be supported – I wish him all the best for the future”. 

Sir Michael Latham, Chairman of ConstructionSkills concludes: “Reaching mastercrafts status is the pinnacle for dedicated craftsmen and women. The journey must start by honing their skills and gaining the requisite experience by working alongside more experienced practitioners to add to their underpinning knowledge from proper training, and we support people like Colin to try to achieve this”.

The Mastercrafts series is currently being shown on Friday nights at 9.00pm on BBC Two and previous programmes, including the Thatching programme and Blacksmithing are currently available on BBC iPlayer.

-ENDS-

Contact

Jessica Hope – Press Officer at ConstructionSkills - jessica.hope@cskills.org / 0300 456 5407

Photo – courtesy of BBC – Colin Wombwell

About ConstructionSkills

ConstructionSkills is the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the construction industry. It is a partnership between CITB-ConstructionSkills, CIC and CITB Northern Ireland. It is UK-wide and represents the whole industry from professional consultancies to major contractors and SMEs.

Established as an SSC in 2003, ConstructionSkills is working to deliver a safe, professional and fully qualified construction workforce. All three partners are committed to working together to deliver industry-led skills and training solutions through the Sector Skills Agreement for construction. We work to negotiate the best partnership and funding deals for the construction industry to help raise standards, increase diversity and develop the skills products and services employers need.

The construction sector is central to the UK economy, generating over 8% of UK GDP and with a turnover of more than £210bn a year.

About NHTG

The National Heritage Training Group (NHTG) is an independent specialist sector skills development group with a UK-wide remit to provide assistance with all aspects of recruiting, training, and qualifying the built heritage sector workforce of the construction industry. This is achieved by working in partnership with clients, heritage bodies, contractors, Trade Federations, Trades Unions and FE and private training providers to develop flexible training and skills development to ensure we have sufficiently skilled craftspeople to work on our UK historic building stock.

Its challenge is to meet the skills and training needs of the next five years and beyond.

For more information visit www.nhtg.org.uk

About ERRTG

The Eastern Region Roof Training Group was originally formed to assist with the provision of local cost effective training for all roofing companies, within the Group's boundaries of Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire.

The Group was founded by four roofing companies in 2001 and currently has 59 full members and 78 affiliate members, throughout East Anglia. Member companies specialise in roof slating and tiling, built-up felt roofing, single ply, liquid waterproofing, industrial roof sheeting and cladding, metals and mastic asphalt.

The Group is an established Accredited Centre offering National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). We are able to access European Funding, which is passed down to members, resulting in reduced training and NVQ costs.

Partnerships are also established with local Colleges, ConstructionSkills, Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and the East of England Development Agency (EEDA).