Door Industry Journal - Summer 2021

Also online at: www.dijonline.co.uk Classroom Training Resumes at DHF’s Academy in Tamworth Door & Hardware Federation (DHF) classroom training resumed from the end of April. The Tamworth-based trade association has, since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, been providing a mix of online training and examinations via its ‘Distance Learning Programme’ (DLP), with delegates able to continue to successfully meet their training obligations, albeit from the safety of their own locations. From the end of April, learners were once again able to return to DHF’s training academy, a self-contained building on its own premises, with just eight delegates permitted on each course and social distancing rules strictly adhered to. Ordinarily, the organisation’s spacious academy can accommodate up to 25 people per course, but as Head of Commercial Operations, Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens explains, safety remains a top priority for learners. “As our courses are fully accredited by Ofqual, we were given the ‘all clear’ for classroom training to resume from 8 March from the Department of Education (DfE). However, we took this additional time to ensure that a full risk assessment has been undertaken and a deep clean completed in preparation for opening day. When our classroom learning returned last June, we ensured delegates remained at a safe two-metre distance from one another, provided hand sanitiser, gloves, face coverings and disposable cups for all attendees, and learners were reassured by the spacious environment, both inside and out. We have once again implemented these initiatives. “DHF has worked assiduously to ensure that our members and those attending our training courses have received a continuous and highly effective training provision throughout the past year,” she continues. “Feedback on our online provision has been outstanding, but we do understand that, for some, there is no substitute for face-to-face engagement. We are therefore delighted to be able to resume ‘normal service’ shortly and have updated our training calendar accordingly. We look forward to welcoming people back to the academy in Tamworth.” Door & Hardware Federation | T: 01827 52337 | www.dhfonline.org.uk Industry News DHF’s training academy in Tamworth