Mick Clayton CEO of GQA Qualifications
who managed the 2016 Master Fitter Challenge at the FIT Show tells us that it
was the toughest challenge yet but was entirely representative of current
industry product trends.
It is fair
to say that the 3rd Master Fitter Challenge was the toughest yet,
but in my view it was also the best yet.
The products which the six finalists had to install - a Truedor
Composite Door, a Liniar flush-sash window, and a Supalite tiled roof – are very
much modern products, entirely representative of current industry product
trends, and so it was great that they made up the ‘challenge’.
The Road to the final
To get to
the final the installers had had to get through two earlier stages, the first
stage was a telephone interview consisting of a number of technical questions, and
the individuals hitting the required pass mark of 75% went through to the next
stage.
This was a
site visit by one of the GQA assessment team to observe their fitting skills
and techniques which were recorded and photographed. The observation reports
were checked and, with all names and identifying Company logos removed, an
independent panel consisting of Chris Mayne (FENSA), John Ogilvie (Network
Veka) and Paul Garforth (Liniar Windows), under the watchful eye of Sean Hayes
and Mick Clayton from GQA, confirmed the six finalists who would compete live
at Telford.
These 6 were
Arron Clegg (Masterfitter Windows), Craig Hanson (Pennine Windows), Duane James
(Job Worth Doing), Terry Jones (The Window Company), David Keates (DK Windows)
and David Shaw (Shaw Home Improvements). The competition was coordinated by
Sean Hayes from GQA, the assessment team and process were managed by Andy
Carrington (GQA) and Dave Mechem (RISA), with Assessors, Gary Robertson (West
Suffolk College), Lee Harland (IPS International), Simon Smith (PM Training)
and Steve Hill (The Vocational College).
The final
This years’ competition was held in
the atrium meaning that all visitors to the FIT Show had the opportunity to
observe the challenge and see the finalists in action. For the finalists
themselves it represented not only a technical challenge, but a challenge too
to perform to their highest levels whilst being watched by crowds of industry
peers and of course the challenge assessors.
It was a
point not lost on MFC Assessment Team Manager Sean Hayes “I was very impressed
by the way the competitors conducted themselves; although all Installers are
watched by customers on a daily basis it must have been rather unusual to have
hundreds of spectators, including some who had entered the competition but not
made it to the final, watching their every move”.
On day one, David Shaw, Duane James
and Terry Jones completed their challenge, with Arron Clegg, Craig Hanson and
David Keates competing on day two. It is fair to say that all of the Installers
were out of their comfort zone with the roof challenge, but all showed good
skills and determination in installing an unfamiliar product in testing
circumstances.
All of the
Installers and their partners started with the roof, moving on to the window
and door later in the day, with the fault finding task completed as the last
part of the competition. The Assessors were working to a very detailed
assessment scoring process; they worked well as a team with all candidates
being observed by at least 2 different Assessors with Andy and Dave on hand to
answer any queries and ensure a consistent approach to assessment.
The
assessment records were scrutinised and verified with the eventual results kept
secret from all but those in a “need to know” position until Paul Godwin for
FIT Show, announced the outcome at the spectacular Gala Dinner on the evening
of day two.
So how were the winners decided?
Mick Clayton
takes up the story once again - This was definitely a tougher final than in
2013 and 2014, there was some real skill and determination displayed by all, it
didn’t matter what we threw at them they put everything into the task.
Selecting a
winner is always difficult in a competition such as this where everyone puts
that amount of effort in, that’s why we have an objective scoring system and a
range of assessors so that it is not down to opinion; everyone, from finalists
to assessors should be proud of themselves.
Who is the 2016 Master Fitter
Challenge Winner
The winners
were announced at the spectacular gala dinner on the evening of day two of the
FIT Show, 3rd was Dave Keates from DK Windows, 2nd Arron
Clegg from Master Fitter Windows, and the winner of the overall challenge was
Craig Hanson of Pennine Windows. Craig also picked up the three individual
sponsor’s awards by scoring highest in each of the individual installation
tasks.
The prize
money of £5,000, £3,000 and £2,000 for 1st 2nd and 3rd
was very well received and Craig was also presented with a very handsome (and
heavy!) Master Fitter Challenge winner trophy.
What the winner said
I cannot
thank the FIT Show and GQA enough for giving me the biggest moment of my
career. I could not have done it without the qualifications I have gained
over the past few years.
It’s been an
amazing year what with getting married, and then to compete in Telford and to
win all the awards is just amazing.
I thought
that the final this year was very competitive, we could really show our
skills; it was hard work, as always, up against the best in the industry
in front of all the people and the judges making it a day to remember.
It’s always
an honour to represent our industry and I can’t wait until next year to come
and compete again; I can’t wait to see what we will be doing then.
And so to 2017
This years’
competition will be fully reviewed taking in all the feedback received to
ensure that the event is improved upon again for 2017 and that the fitting
challenge represents the latest products in the industry once again.
Early
indications are that there is already a healthy interest from installers
wanting to take part and GQA is already taking expressions of interest.
What others involved said:
Dave Shaw of
Shaw Home Improvement, Day 1 finalist, said “I would just like to say thank you
to everyone involved in the Masterfitter challenge. It was a great experience
for me and Nathan. You guys from the GQA did a brilliant job and the advice and
guidance on the days leading up to and on the day of the competition”
2nd
placed Arron Clegg, of Master Fitter Windows said I was humbled to have made
the final 6 this year, and even more so to finish in the top three. This was my
3rd MFC and I’ve managed to bag each of the 3 winning positions; I will never
be the fastest and this competition certainly put the pressure on in terms of
time. The GQA team must have found it difficult to manage the tight footprint
we were all given and hats off to the assessors in managing that process alone.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, focused on my change in career direction and know what
position I need to aim for in the 2017 competition.
Tim Warnock
Senior Workplace Learning Co-ordinator from West Suffolk College said “Although
the FIT show and the competition were hard work it really is an enjoyable few
days with some cracking people”
Jo Taylor,
Head of Construction from IPS International said “The layout of the
installation pods was excellent this year and enabled people visiting to see
ALL installations in one area”.
Katie
Thornton from the Window Company, (Employer of Terry and Rob Jones) said “Terry
and Rob are a tad disappointed but they are still very pleased to have been
finalists’ full stop. We are all very
proud of them and they know that. I hope to be able to attend the event myself
next year”
Dave Mechem
of RISA said “Having been involved as part of the assessment team for the first
time this year, I now appreciate the work that goes into the organisation and
assessment of the whole thing”
Simon Smith
of PM Training said “We put on a good, true and fair show which was challenging
for Installers but that’s the idea”
