Zinc as a roofing, cladding and rainwater goods material is enjoying rapid growth in the UK due to its excellent green credentials and long lifespan. Although a buoyant market is good news for the industry, it has also served to highlight concerns that meeting a growing demand for zinc will expose potential skills shortages in traditional metal roofing.

Leading manufacturers of zinc products support the FTMRC in pooling their knowledge and resources, particularly for the development of organised UK based training programmes for zinc installers. In particular, VM Zinc, who already operate training courses from their Head Office Training Centre in Belgium, have already offered to provide material and expert personnel as trainers for the FTMRC’s UK facility, to not only extend personal skills and knowledge but also develop a more uniform guide to the installation of traditional roofing metals.

Although the training courses that are available on the European Mainland continue to be in great demand, a UK based facility will be of great benefit to the industry by enabling training to be provided on a far more convenient and cost effective basis for the both the trainee and their employer.

It is intended to progress from basic general introduction courses onto more specific training modules to further develop the skills of the more competent zinc installer. With the co-ordinated help and support of our manufacturing associates we hope to help the FTMRC contractor to develop a properly trained UK workforce that will get the maximum performance from zinc roofing and cladding installations.