THE FIRST formal meeting of Raise the Roof took place yesterday (6th December 2023) at Walsall Football Club.

The meeting attracted a diverse range of professionals from the roofing industry working in roles from marketing to specification, architecture to training.

Spearheaded by Kate Whateley FIoR, Commercial Manager of SPV Special Projects and Denise Cherry, Chairperson of the National Roof Training Group, Raise the Roof formed as a group earlier this year to promote equality, diversity and inclusivity (EDI) in roofing with the objective of educating, supporting and inspiring each other, and reaching out to all in the industry who support these goals.

First Formal Meeting

Kate opened the 25-strong meeting by inviting ideas for talks, activities and events to ensure Raise the Roof will be relevant to its members and be open to all across the UK.

Kate was followed by a talk from Mark Hands, MD of Construction Shield Assured about how roofing companies can best secure insurance for both projects and individual professionals.

Clare Fenton, Chairperson of the Metal Cladding and Roofing Manufacturers Association (MCRMA) who has been involved in the development of the Joint Competency Initiative (JCI) spoke to the group about the Building Safety Act’s requirements and the duties it imposes on professionals constructing all types of projects. Clare also talked the group through the Skills, Knowledge, Experience and Behaviours (SKEB) model underlying competency. Drawing on 20 years’ experience leading a specialist drawing office for the roofing and cladding sector, Clare ended by talking through a not untypical specification for rainscreen cladding, showing some common errors.

This was followed by an address from Ruth Scarrott, Head of Careers at the National Federation of Roofing Contractors (NFRC). Her personal development session on Empowering Women in Roofing invited participants to set both professional and personal goals, and seek feedback from others before plotting a roadmap to achieving ambitions. Ruth shared how her own early career experience of this process had challenged her to develop insights about her well-spoken and educated background.

Closing the meeting, Denise Cherry led an interactive update and planning session, considering progress, social media and marketing, mentoring schemes, future events and strategy. Ideas were contributed about developing a FAQs website page, podcast series, Golf Day, promotional merchandise and fundraising activities such as a Spring Ball. A Whatsapp Group was opened and plans to refine the group’s goals and strategies were discussed.

Denise Cherry said: “It’s been a real joy to meet people from all across the country. From Scotland to Wales, we’ve had representatives show up from every part of the UK. It’s been great to see everybody really enthused at coming together to do something useful.”

Denise ended with a call to action, encouraging those interested in Raise the Roof to message the group so that they can be informed about upcoming events.

>> Read more about Raise the Roof in the news

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