Five-year training strategy

Door and Hardware Federation (DHF) has embarked upon a new five-year training strategy, taking its training offering and initiatives into 2026.

Having presented its pioneering strategy to the board, plans are underway for a series of new training courses over the next five years that will complement its existing offering, the organisation said.

DHF will be seeking to work with other organisations, for example, ESA (Entrance Systems Alliance), which DHF launched as a joint initiative with Automatic Door Suppliers Association (ADSA) at the end of 2020.

ESA acts as an assessment centre and offers NVQs to the industries served by both organisations. These include door and gate systems, such as fire doors, automated gates and powered pedestrian doors.

Ecently, DHF announced the addition of a new Emergency First Aid at Work training course to its portfolio. Throughout the pandemic it continued to deliver training through a combination of face-to-face teaching and via its distance learning programme, and since April, more than 300 people have received training in its Automated Gate and Traffic Barrier, and Industrial and Garage Door training courses.

DHF’s head of commercial operations Patricia Sowsbery-Stevens said: “Training is a big part of DHF and the number of people taking courses has increased dramatically over the past three years. As much as we are a membership organisation, we recognise the part that training plays in our industry, and in keeping safe and compliant products on the market.

We have developed our new strategy with Dame Judith Hackitt’s report on Building a Safer Future (released in December 2018) very much in mind. We acknowledge that a competent workforce is absolutely vital and are committed to achieving this by offering training to the industries we service. We have a lot of work ahead of us and this starts now.”