Builders Merchants Journal – BMJ Publishing to Builders Merchants and the UK merchanting industry for more than 95 years
Accessible, affordable training across a range of timber-related job roles is being rolled out by the Timber Trade Federation starting with three cohorts of delegates on its timber sales management courses, the first of which starts its journey towards a professional sales qualification on 24th April.
“The key to embedding regular training as part of business culture across the timber supply chain is to offer programmes that deliver a definable return on investment for the employer, yet to not set that investment-level so high that it deters companies from making the commitment to staff training in the first place,” declares Timber Trade Federation managing director David Hopkins.
“Our first Foundations of Sales Management course starting this month was sold out almost immediately and only the odd place remains available on the second and third groups starting on 28th May and 25th June respectively. We are pleased to see the swift take-up amongst companies wishing to give themselves the competitive advantage that staff training costing just £1,500 for a year’s tuition will bring to their business,” 
Hopkins adds.
The TTF is also launching its next phase of free Responsible Purchasing Policy (RPP) update training in mid-May. This brings TTF members’ purchasing staff up to speed with the latest developments in the RPP and the TTF Code of Conduct, ensuring that all members are trading in ‘Timber you can Trust’. The training is free to TTF members. The Federation’s RPP celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer, having established a reputation as the industry benchmark for auditing due diligence in the purchase of
legally-harvested and sustainably-grown timber and wood products. TTF members have already benefitted from free Brexit readiness training and free training on meeting the needs of architects, specifiers and designers.
“The next phase of our affordable training drive is to make online information and training modules available through partner trade federations further along the supply chain,” TTF’s David Hopkins states. “We are in discussion with organisations representing the end users and ultimate purchasers of wood to increase both their timber knowledge and their understanding of essentials such as, for example, timber treatments. We are thus sharing the wealth of knowledge represented by the collective membership of the TTF.”
