Category Archives: News

The Heritage SAP candidates are now on the Christmas break.  During the past couple of weeks they have had a field trip to the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum at Singleton in West Sussex.  They were able to see many varieties of roof covering in situ, and make comments and have discussions with reference to what they had learned, so far, at the training centre.

They also had the opportunity for some hands-on practical work on a ‘live’ project – a ‘new’ building is being erected by the Weald and Downland Museum, which was ready for some roofing works.  Their work on this project will be used as an opportunity for some of the assessments that are required to go towards completing the course.

Heritage SAP candidate laying clay peg tiles on a roof at the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum

Back at the Training Centre in Littlehampton, the candidates continued working with random slates, creating a decorative panel, and learning some lime torching techniques.

Decorative diamond pattern set into a random slate roof

The next Heritage Skills NVQ Level 3 Diploma Specialist Apprenticeship Programme (SAP) will start on Thursday 14^th March 2013, click here for more information.

The CSkills Apprenticeship candidates are now on their 4-week break, enjoying the Christmas holiday, and also working for their employers.  One of the elements that they covered in this 4-week block using interlocking tiles was ridges and valleys and on their return they will be working on hips, also using interlocking tiles.

Examples of ridge work by candidates on the CSkills Apprenticeship programme

For further information on this Apprenticeship programme, click here.

The successful and well-attended Flat Roof courses using the CrysticROOF GRP system and the Sealoflex system  also ran in the week before Christmas.  If you are interested in attending one of these courses and would like to find more information, click here.

The second 4-week block of the CSkills Apprenticeship Diploma will be completed this week.  The candidates have been using interlocking tiles, tiling to general areas, laying and cementing verges, cutting and laying valleys, and carrying out some ridge work.

Diploma candidate preparing to add ridge to roof rig, also shows work to verge and valley

The 5-week (15 days) Foundation Course will also be completed this week.  Having covered the basics of roofing, the candidate is now in a position where he could progress to the Diploma course.

The Heritage SAP Level 3 Diploma in Roofing is on-going.  The candidates have completed the tiling element and are now concentrating on random-sized slating; sorting slates, learning the ‘art’ of the measuring stick, recording a roof and laying a swept valley.

Heritage SAP candidate working on a random-sized slate swept valley

Heritage SAP candidate preparing a measuring stick for random-sized slating

The NFRC are offering further FREE solar courses – for both pitched and flat roofs – to their members.  The next available dates at South Coast Roof Training are:

• Monday 7th January 2013 for Pitched Roof solar, and
• Tuesday 8th January 2013 for Flat Roof solar.

If you (or your company) are a member of the NFRC and would like to book a place on either of these courses please email:

scrtltd@yahoo.co.uk

Closing date for applications is Wednesday 19th December 2012.

The courses are limited to a maximum of 8 people – book early to ensure a place!

Assembling solar panels to flat-roof frame

Checking the current of the solar panels

The next Heritage Skills NVQ Diploma Level 3 (SAP) in Roofing will commence on Thursday 14th March 2013 at South Coast Roof Training Ltd.

Example of decorative slating on a previous Heritage SAP course

Random-sized stone slating

For more details on the course click here.  

The CSkills Specialist Apprenticeship Programme is endorsed by English Heritage.

Heritage SAP Trainee wins award from London & Southern Roof Training Group

John Jackman, an operative at Fildes Roofing Ltd, was awarded the Most Outstanding Trainee in Heritage Roofing for ‘his attendance and attitude in both the practical and theoretical aspects’ on the 2011 Heritage Skills NVQ Level 3 Diploma (SAP) course, by the London & Southern Roof Training Group, at their awards presentation on 25^th October 2012.

John was presented with a set of tools, a glass plaque and a certificate.

John Jackman receiving his 2012 Award from the London & Southern Roof Training group 

Current Heritage SAP candidates on field trip to Keymer Tiles Ltd

Keymer Tiles Ltd kindly hosted a very interesting and informative visit to their factory, including a full guided tour and a discussion session, for the candidates on the current Heritage SAP course.

The visit coincided with the plain tiling element of the course that is being covered at present.  The candidates were shown how the tiles are manufactured, and even had the opportunity to try and make their own!

Heritage SAP candidate making a ‘Country’ tile at Keymer Tiles Ltd

The next Heritage Skills NVQ Level 3 Diploma Specialist Apprenticeship Programme (SAP) is now under way at South Coast Roof Training Ltd.  Currently the candidates are covering the plain tile element of the course.  This will include a field trip to Keymer Tiles Ltd in Burgess Hill and also a field trip to a ‘live project’ at the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum in West Sussex.

Plain tiling to a curved roof area

The CSkills Apprenticeship programme is now running.  The candidates have been learning the basics, felting, battening and laying interlocking tiles on to roofing rigs.

Candidates on the Foundation course felting and battening on roof rigs

There will be two NFRC funded, (FREE to NFRC members) solar courses running – at the end of October for Flat roofs and in mid-November for Pitched roofs, which are now fully booked.  There are further NFRC funded courses planned for early in 2013, dates to be announced soon, keep checking our website for updates.  If you are interested in attending either of these courses please contact us to register.

Attaching solar panels to the rails

SOLAR COURSES

We have recently held a series of pitched roof and flat roof solar courses that were subsidised by the NFRC and therefore FREE to any members of the NFRC.  There is now funding available to continue this programme, so, if your company is a member of the NFRC, take the opportunity to upskill your workforce for FREE.

For more information on these courses contact Tanya Coutts on:

020 7448 3196 or e-mail: tanyacoutts@nfrc.co.uk

HERITAGE UPSKILLING COURSE

A specialist two-day Heritage upskilling course was recently held concentrating on laced and swept valleys, using peg tiles.  Tiles were cut by hand, and lime mortar was also used.   The candidate was very impressed with the facilities available at South Coast Roof Training and praised the expert skills of his tutor.

FLAT ROOFING COURSES

We are continuing to host the CrysticROOF and Sealoflex flat roof courses.  The courses are suitable to roofers who are new to the products, or those wishing to refresh their skills, to enable them to offer guarantees on the product that they use.

LEAD COURSES

There is on-going interest in our 3-day and 5-day lead courses.  There will soon be funding from CSkills to, once again, offer a subsidy on these courses to members of the South Central Roof Training Group and the London and Southern Roof Training Group who are registered with CSkills.  Details will be available soon.  Contact Training Officer Brian Middlemiss on 07791 377559 or Mike Fildes on 0845 678 0065 and/or check on the South Coast Roof Training website for updates.

Two of the candidates recently successfully completed the 15-day Foundation Course and achieved the Working at Heights Health & Safety Test.  They will now have an opportunity to progress on to the Construction Diploma course with the aim of gaining an NVQ Diploma Level 2 in Roof Slating & Tiling.  The current Foundation course started on 16th April 2012.

The 3-day Lead Bossing or Lead Welding and 5-day Lead Bossing and Welding Combined courses have been popular.  All the participants comment that the courses are very useful and well taught by our tutors.

Paul Spence, who recently attended a 5-day combined course commented:
“The course was organised, set up and presented very well! The facilities are excellent.  My tutor was Pete, very patient and full of expert knowledge.  I had never attempted lead welding before but Pete demonstrated and explained everything step-by-step, and within two days I could weld!  I would recommend this training centre highly.  I would like to thank both Pete and Yusof for making this course fun to do, but also full of great information and advice!”

The pitched roof Solar courses are well attended.  Although the course on 22nd May 2012 is fully subscribed, there are a few spaces available on the course being held on 6th June 2012.  We have a new pitched roof solar rig which enables the participants to work off scaffolding.
Contact us on 0845 678 0065 to book on the pitched roof Solar course.

There will be a Flat Roof Solar course on 11th June 2012 organised by the NFRC.
To book on this course contact Tanya Coutts on:

020 7448 3196 or e-mail: tanyacoutts@nfrc.co.uk

The Flat-roofing courses are also proving popular.   There have been courses for both the  Crystic and  Sealoflex systems in April and more planned in May.
To find out more information about dates and to book on one of these courses contact Stuart Davis on:

07721015421 or e-mail: StuartDavis@sigroofing.co.uk

The Weald & Downland tiling course held at South Coast Roof Training Ltd on 6th April proved to be very useful and instructive.  The course is designed to give a brief over-view of the knowledge, skills and experience required to undertake craft roofing.
The day started with a short presentation covering the various stages of preparing a roof for tiling, a brief description of the many different types of tiles available for the job, and a short summary of estimating quantities.
After a short break, it was down to the workshop to have a quick run-through of some of the aspects of setting out a roof for tiling, and then the opportunity for the hands-on element of the course.  This involved laying and cutting tiles,  a verge, a valley, head-bedding and torching using lime mortar.  They also managed to fit in a quick lunch break!
The candidates had not realised that craft roofing was so involved or required such skills.

There will be a Weald & Downland Natural Slating course on Thursday 26th April – for more information and to book on the course contact the Weald & Downland on 01243 811931.

Recently another CrysticROOF system Flat Roofing course was held with participants from across the south of England. Currently South Coast Roof Training Ltd is the only training centre for the CrysticROOF system in the south. For further information on this course, click here.

A 5-day Lead course was also held recently, and Jamie Taylor, the candidate said:

 “I found the course very good. The staff were exceptional and very helpful. I found the course to be very helpful in what I wanted to achieve. I would definitely recommend the course.”

For more information about Lead courses, click here.

Last week another successful Sealoflex Flat roofing course was held at the training centre. Participants came from Salisbury, Maidstone, Guildford and points in between. They found the course to be very useful and all enjoyed the lunch which is included in the cost. For further information on this course, click here.

SCRT Ltd is currently running a 15-day Foundation course in Roof Slating & Tiling with candidates from local Jobcentres that are wishing to re-train and learn new skills. If you are interested in finding out more about the Foundation course, click here.

We, at South Coast Roof Training Ltd, are pleased to announce that the Weald & Downland Open Air Museum are offering two roofing courses from their Historic Building Conservation 2012 programme, which will be run by South Coast Roof Training tutors at our facility in Littlehampton, West Sussex.

• Clay Plain Tiling will be held on Thursday 5th April 2012, from 09.00 – 16.00.

The course fee is £99.00 to include tuition, refreshments and a buffet lunch.

Click on the following link for further information, the course programme, and to book a place – numbers are restricted

http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Historic-Building-Conservation/Clay-plain-tiling-5-April-2012

• Natural Slating will be held on Thursday 26th April 2012, from 09.00 – 16.00.

The course fee is £99.00 to include tuition, refreshments and a buffet lunch.

Click on the following link for further information, the course programme, and to book a place – numbers are restricted

http://www.wealddown.co.uk/Historic-Building-Conservation/Natural-slating-26-April-2012

You can also contact the Weald & Downland Adult Learning Department on: 01243 811931