More than 100 members and non-members attended the Thermal Insulation Contractors Association’s (TICA) Open Doors event designed to showcase its facilities, highlight membership benefits and debate issues currently impacting the industry.
Held at TICA’s national training centre in Darlington, the day included product demonstrations, an apprentice skills competition, manufacturer led CPD presentations, together with talks on skills, training, and recruitment and technical sessions covering external cladding, sub-zero applications and heat networks.
There was also an industry roundtable discussion focusing on the contentious issue of competence for installers working with pre-fabrication and modular off-site facilities following the implementation of the Building Safety Act. It culminated in an offsite evening reception that provided a platform for networking, learning, and collaboration within the sector.
Marion Marsland, CEO at TICA, said: “We were delighted to throw open our doors to members and non-members alike to showcase our extensive facilities and to highlight what TICA membership can deliver for the wider industry as well as for individual contracting organisations.
“The day was a huge success, and it was great to see so many people attending from across the country, renewing old friendships and making new connections. With the focus on innovation and excellence, we also demonstrated TICA’s commitment to not only supporting our members but advancing the thermal insulation sector through training, collaboration, and advocacy.”
Earlier this month, the trade body completed a £250,000 investment in its training centre which created an additional 434 sm. mezzanine floor dedicated to hosting end point assessments and industry accreditations – freeing up valuable space within the ground floor training area. It enables TICA, which welcomes between 120 and 150 apprentices per year, to accommodate greater numbers.
Gavin Blain, operations director of Burton-upon-Trent based Driscoll Insulation Services said: “It’s really important to be part of this organisation because we want our guys trained and TICA empowers them to be the best insulators they can.”
Gavin Brown, owner of Slough-based Odyssey Insulation Systems, said: “As a non-member I wanted to see for myself TICA’s facilities, which were very impressive, as was the knowledge and maturity of the apprentices that I met.”