Government funded qualifications for automotive glazing sector

PRLog (Press Release) - Oct. 18, 2010 - A campaign to encourage adults over the age of nineteen to register for an industry specific award is being launched by the Independent Windscreen Academy (IWA), which is the only organisation of its kind offering skills development and industry accreditation to the nation’s independent automotive glazing firms.

IWA is keen to offer opportunities for formal qualification of owners and employees to around 700 independent businesses in the UK.

Commented Maria Charlton, Director of IWA:

“Automotive glazing requires an extremely complex set of skills and an increasingly broad knowledge of how new windscreens work and interact with the rest of the vehicle. The windscreen fitter has evolved into a highly skilled technician and this new provision of funded qualifications will offer a fantastic means of affording national recognition to those who have built up considerable experience.”

In a bid to encourage new recruits into the sector, IWA also launched a brand new 12-month Apprenticeship in Automotive Glazing in 2009. This was a milestone for the independent sector as it was the first time that a structured programme of learning, resulting in a National Vocational Qualification (NVQ), had received funding support from the Government.

IWA has since registered twenty candidates, aged from 16-19 on the programme, as well as starting a brand new Modern Apprenticeship this month in Scotland for both young people and adult learners.


Ends

# # #

Based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, Blackbird Communications is a public relations consultancy that helps clients to be seen, heard and understood in their markets. Whatever your story, we can help you tell it.

Photo:
http://www.prlog.org/11006906/1