Address the skills-gap with ExTRA industry training

As demand for manufacturers’ products continues to grow, how does the trussed rafter industry step up when there’s a shortage of experienced designers?  Sector-specific online TRA (Trussed Rafter Association) training provides a practical solution, particularly for employers seeking to develop home-grown skills within raw recruits.

“The skills shortage is endemic across construction,” says Karl Foster, Wolf Systems Sales and Marketing Director. “We need to ‘skill-up’ yet many people have left the industry and experienced designers are thin on the ground. We all recognise the need for attracting new blood into the sector, but how best can this be achieved?

“Many manufacturers believe that new designers are most effective when they are come into a business as raw recruits and through on-the-job training and hands-on experience, learn the ropes and develop vital skills.

“Now the TRA, in conjunction with Edinburgh Napier University is offering flexible online Trussed Rafter Design training for design technicians. This can only be a good thing. Not only does it build core individual skills, it provides real solutions for employers wishing to take on, train and develop new design staff.”

Wolf has recently enrolled two new recruits onto Part One of the course, ‘Essentials’, an introduction to Trussed Rafters for Designers and New Staff. For those wishing to further their skills and gain qualifications up to NVQ Level 8 HND equivalent, Part Two, ‘Advanced’ provides the next step.

Taylor Wheatcroft works in Wolf’s design office and has already completed Part One. “Its useful stuff, covering all the fundamentals of trussed rafter design, so I’ve found it’s helped me brush up on my existing skills and learn some invaluable new ones,” he enthuses.

 “The content is spread across a sequence of units including Reading Drawings, Trussed Rafters as a Structural Form and the Creation of Roofscapes. Each unit takes around an hour and a half or so to complete, so it’s easy to fit the learning in and around your schedule. You can progress at your own pace and access online course materials as and when you need them.”

Taylor believes that, armed with greater insight and knowledge of the design process, he can offer customers a better service. “I can stay up-to-date with the latest directives, and even on a communications level, I’ve found the course a big help. People often use different terminology to talk about the same things, so now there’s no room for confusion.”

He also believes that the genuine qualifications gained upon completion of the course offer a further string to his bow.”Wolf is a progressive company to work for and it’s great that I can develop my career in practice with their support, and, on paper through courses like this,” he says.

TRA Trussed Rafter Design training is available to TRA members at a specially discounted rate.

For further details of the courses and their content, click here