Rising stars celebrated
The door and window hardware industry’s rising stars were celebrated recently at the 39th annual Guild of Architectural Ironmongers’ (GAI) Education Awards in London.
The awards celebrate the architectural ironmongery professionals who have achieved a GAI Diploma and recognise the highest achieving students.
This year, exams were sat by 355 learners across all three stages of the GAI online training programme. Learners came from 23 different countries, with 51% of them based outside the UK. There has been a particularly high number of learners in the UAE, China, India, Hong Kong and South Africa.
Since 1980, the GAI Education Awards have included Gold, Silver and Bronze medal awards for the top students in the GAI Diploma and prize awards for the top three students in the Certificate in Architectural Hardware.
The Pinnacle Award, sponsored by Assa Abloy, is also given to the student with the best aggregate results of the Certificate in Architectural Hardware and the Diploma programme.
Eryl Jones, managing director of Assa Abloy Security Solutions, presented this year’s Pinnacle Award to Thennarasu Parimalam, former architectural sales consultant at Dormakaba in Kuwait.
Thennarasu Parimalam said: “I received the first prize award for the GAI Certificate last year, but working on the Diploma is actually much tougher because there’s so much more to learn about writing specifications. I’m so proud of this achievement now.
“I recommend the Diploma to everyone I talk to who’s interested in working in the hardware industry – it teaches you the things you simply won’t just pick up from experience; it builds a career. I now go into meetings with consultants and contractors and I get their respect, even though I’m younger than them, because I have this qualification. It’s well recognised in Kuwait, and it’s everything I need for my future in this industry.”
The winners and newly qualified Diploma holders were presented with their awards by David Stacey, president of the GAI, and the event’s keynote speaker and ex-England international football player, Graeme Le Saux.
David Stacey, said: “The new diploma holders and award winners are part of a growing community of excellence spread around the world. Over almost four decades we have celebrated more than two and a half thousand diploma holders. The knowledge and qualification are transferrable internationally, and recognised globally. The GAI education syllabus is the only recognised programme in the world that leads to a qualification in architectural ironmongery to British and European standards.”
