2023 Review

As 2023 draws to a close (already!), we want to take this opportunity to look back at some of the major milestones of the last 12 months, both for Paddeco and the industry in general.

Building Regulations

Back in January, we looked at the impending impact (article found here) of the Building Safety Regulator, quoting Dame Judith Hackett:

“2023 is going to be a big year for Building safety”.

Indeed, that proved to be the case with The Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2023 coming into force on 1^st October, 2023.  The regulations stipulated that “Any person carrying out any building work or any design work must have…the skills, knowledge, experience and behaviours necessary”.

Our September article explained how the necessary skills and knowledge can be found in the relevant National Occupational Standards, and prior to that, back in April, we discussed the merits of qualifications versus courses (click here for more info).

It is now time to heed the Building Safety Regulator’s advice:

“We will see increased competence and accountability among those working in the built environment. There will be improved compliance and enforcement of building regulations and standards…where we are not satisfied that the functional requirements of the building regulations are being met, we will take action”.

Competitive Advantage

Dame Judith again emphasised:

“2023 really is the year to stop seeing building safety as a regulatory compliance issue and join the group of leaders who understand both the moral imperative, and also the market advantage opportunity, of doing the right thing”.  

And so that has proved to be the case time and time again with large numbers of our corporate clients reporting they have won major contracts off the back of their relationships with, and qualifications from, Paddeco. Only last week, we received a phone call from a Scotland-based client who thanked us for our partnership with them that has helped them win two national contracts.  You’re welcome!

2023 has seen us reaffirm our commitment to our corporate clients and support them on their journeys to compliance. Major names include Ductbusters, Shepley Engineers, Exyte Hargreaves, Perfect Service Solutions and Nederman UK.

To quote the team at Ductbusters, “This ground-breaking qualification, spanning NVQ 2/3, is spearheaded by the renowned training provider Paddeco”. They continued “By December 31st, 2024, a recognized qualification will be a prerequisite for SKILLcard holders. We are immensely proud to share that our engineers are set to be the trailblazers.”

For more information about our corporate partnerships, click here.

Centre of Excellence

Back in March we undertook our annual External Verification process, overseen by the SQA (Scottish Qualifications Authority). An audit process, mandatory for every SQA training and assessment centre, it assures a centre’s quality of assessment and verification. Needless to say we passed, once again, with flying colours, with the SQA concluding:

“An excellent virtual verification allocation, the Centre continues to be at the forefront of development in legislative documentation and accompanying standards in the UK. The focus towards learners and achieving competency ensures that the Centre objectives are met, the approach is universal with all Centre personnel producing a high-quality product.”

Further details of the verification process can be found here.

External Verifier Appointment

Finally, and most recently, we shared news that we are perhaps most proud of – our CEO, Joe Lloyd, accepting a role as an SQA External Verifier (details here).  A qualified IQA (Internal Quality Assurer) since 1997, Joe brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the role.

One of the prerequisites for the role is the ability to ‘demonstrate an up to date and sound knowledge of the occupational standards and qualifications/courses/units’.  Having personally designed and written the curriculum content, linked directly to the National Occupational Standards, for three of Paddeco’s customised SQA awards, no person is better qualified for the role.

Well done, Joe! This is great news, not only for you, but for the industry as a whole.

All that’s left is for us to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and a peaceful and prosperous New Year. We want to thank everyone for their support in 2023 and look forward to working with you all in 2024.