Archives for January 2021

The GGF Marketing and Communications Committee (MCC) invites Members from the Home Improvement sector and Manufacturing and/or Glass Processing sector to put themselves forward for election onto the Marketing and Communications Committee.

There are currently three spaces available and we are looking for representatives from the Home Improvement and Manufacturing/Glass Processing sectors.

The MCC scope and remit is to provide an advisory and steering role for the GGF’s marketing communications and external affairs strategies, activities and resources to ensure the best value and benefit for GGF Members.

The seven GGF Members who currently form the MCC are from different sectors, locations and backgrounds. They are custodians of the GGF brand and are responsible for ensuring the external image and reputation of the GGF is protected and projected well to all audiences. 

The current issues the Committee is working on include:

• GGF consumer marketing campaigns Stay Safe with MyGlazing.com and Think Glass
• New GGF Publications
• GGF web content and digital developments
• GGF presence at industry events and exhibitions
• GGF Members’ events including Members’ Day
• Trade Press/Media Relations and PR

What’s expected of successful applicants:

• To attend approximately 3 x 2 hour meetings per year (currently these are by video link but if they are held face to face then they would be at the GGF HQ in London and travelling expenses are paid within the GGF Expenses Guidelines)
• To share expertise / knowledge of marketing/PR/media or events
• To exercise votes on any motions/activity or elections of Chairs and Vice Chairs for the Committee
• To proofread/check any documents sent to the MCC for approval
• To occasionally attend any industry exhibitions/events or GGF events on behalf of the committee such as Chairpersons’ Forum

To put yourself forward to be part of the GGF Marketing and Communications Committee please send your CV to the MCC Secretary, Tom Butler via email at tbutler@ggf.org.uk.

Alternatively if you would like to know more about the MCC please email tbutler@ggf.org.uk or for an informal chat on the MCC feel free to call Tom Butler on 0798 3443740.

Construction product manufacturers reported a second quarterly increase in sales in the fourth quarter of 2020, according to the Construction Product Association’s (CPA) State of Trade Survey for 2020 Q4.

This reflects a catch-up in construction activity and pent-up demand in sectors such as housing as the industry continues its recovery from the Covid-related contraction in the first half of the year. Constraints related to material and component supply, however, as well as capacity and import concerns all registered more strongly than in recent surveys.

The CPA reports that 85% of heavy side manufacturers reported a rise in sales compared to Q3. Sales of light side products were reported to have increased by half of manufacturers. Product sales remained lower compared to a year earlier, however, mirroring ONS data that shows new build construction output is yet to fully recover above 2019 levels.

Reflecting expectations of a continued recovery path for construction and a government focus on keeping activity on site despite further periods of lockdown, both heavy side and light side manufacturers anticipated a rise in product sales in the near-term, on balance. Nevertheless, the strength of demand over the next year remained the largest concern for manufacturers, whilst international logistics bottlenecks and Covid-related labour concerns were also prominent.

Rebecca Larkin, CPA Senior Economist said:

“The welcome recovery in construction continues to drive the improving performance in the closely-linked product manufacturing industry, but pinchpoints are starting to emerge. At the end of last year, around one-fifth of product manufacturers noted that issues around material and component supply risked constraining activity over the next 12 months. For the heavy side, this was the highest proportion on record and highlights the effect that global supply issues for imported products such as steel and timber, as well as maritime transport logistics, are having on UK manufacturing and construction. Given expectations of continued recovery in activity throughout 2021, concerns over capacity, particularly if large numbers of staff are required to isolate due to coronavirus, were also notable among manufacturers.”

Key survey findings include:

• 85% of heavy side firms and 50% of light side firms reported that construction products sales rose in Q4 compared with the previous quarter, both improving from balances recorded in Q3.
• On balance, 50% of heavy side manufacturers and 44% on the light side anticipated a rise in sales over the next 12 months.
• On the heavy side, 46% of firms cited demand as the factor most likely to constrain output over the next year. 47% of light side manufacturers cited this as their primary constraint.
• 23% of heavy side firms cited material/component supply as their primary constraint over the next year, marking the highest proportion since the survey began in 2008.
• 16% of light side firms cited material/component supply as their primary constraint over the next year.
• 12% of heavy side firms cited capacity as their primary constraint and 16% of light side firms cited imports.

The GGF is a long standing Member of the Construction Products Association (CPA) and will cascade any market information to GGF Members as and when its released by the CPA.

Following a rigorous vetting process, Building Our Skills has been appointed as a specialist fenestration training provider as part of the Green Homes Grant scheme.

The offer of fully funded training for the fenestration industry is a part of the initiative devised by BEIS and the Midlands Energy Hub to help train the next generation of tradespeople to deliver home improvement measures through the Green Homes voucher scheme in England.

John Ogilvie, Director of Building Our Skills is now calling on fenestration industry employers to make the most of the time-limited, fully funded practical training that Building Our Skills can offer under the scheme.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to be a part of this project.  Like all the industry we would of course all prefer that in the fullness of time Fenestration becomes a primary measure on these kinds of schemes, designed to update and upgrade the thermal properties of older buildings, but for Building Our Skills to be appointed by BEIS as a specialist training provider is recognition even now that our industry has a significant role to play.

The training scheme officially launched on the 4^th January and we have 100% fully funded practical training courses available to the industry until the end of May.

If I were an employer in the industry that has been appointed as a part of the delivery of the voucher scheme, I’d certainly be very keen to make the most of the opportunity the scheme is providing.

The fact that our practical training courses are formally accredited by the fenestration industry’s leading awarding body GQA Qualifications, not only contributed to our winning a place on this training framework but gives learners something tangible to take away from their training. It is a further endorsement of the importance of setting a standard for training that learners can aspire to and take pride in their achievement.  It is also a great confidence boost for them, their employers and the people in whose homes they will be working in.

Attendees to the training programme at our academy building in Sheffield will undergo three days of training, at the end of which they will have the knowledge and skills to be able fit windows and doors, glaze and re-glaze existing windows and doors, and have a full understanding of the site requirements and building regulations that impact the trade. On successful completion of the training and on achieving a set standard they will be formally accredited and receive a skills card containing their achievements.

The 100% funded course is available for employees of any industry company who is a part of the delivery programme for the Green Homes voucher scheme, or for anyone they may wish to employ as newcomers to the industry who will then be involved in the delivery programme.

The Green Homes Grant scheme funds up to two-thirds of the cost of green home improvements, up to £5,000 or 100% of the cost for homeowners on low incomes, up to a maximum of £10,000. The Green Homes Grant skills training scheme is designed to help deliver the Green Homes Grant Voucher Scheme.

For those wanting to access the fully funded training programme, contact Building Our Skills, simply email sayhello@buildingourskills.co.uk 

Or visit the website www.buildingourskills.co.uk