The Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) has marked educational achievements in door hardware at its annual Education Awards.
In front of near 400 guests, the Guild celebrated those who have achieved a GAI qualification this year. Of the 90 learners who attained the Certificate in Architectural Hardware and the 42 students who completed the full GAI Diploma, six also received awards at the ceremony.
Since 1980, the GAI Education Awards have included Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for each qualification and the Pinnacle Award sponsored by physical security product manufacturer Assa Abloy, which is given to the student with the best aggregate results over the three years of the Diploma course.
Neil Vann, Market Regional Manager, ASSA ABLOY presented this year’s Pinnacle Award to Sreejith Ramanathan, who has worked for dormakaba for three years as a project specifier, handling hardware specifications for various projects in the Middle East and North Africa region.
Sreejith Ramanthan said: “I’m really proud to receive both the Gold and Pinnacle Award. As a specifier, I will use the knowledge gained throughout my Diploma every day and it is going to continue to be a valuable qualification throughout my whole career.”
The winners were presented with their awards by Maria Powell, president of the GAI, and the event’s speaker, Sir Ranulph Fiennes. Maria Powell said: “The Education Awards are our greatest testament to the passion we have for our industry and to our international community of architectural ironmongery. It showcases our constant pursuit of learning and the maintenance of professional qualifications.”
The GAI reports that enrolments for 2015/16 saw a 23pc increase from the previous year. Learners can access a fully online platform containing all of the resources they need to complete the qualification.
Students based outside of the UK accounted for 47pc of the total learners on the programme for 2015/16 and this year’s exams were taken in 27 countries. The GAI reports that this year saw particularly high numbers of learners in South Africa, Hong Kong, Dubai and other GCC countries.
Neil Fisher, director of the GAI, said: “The Education Hub is designed for everyone working in the architectural ironmongery industry, regardless of their location in the world. It is constantly being updated to reflect changes in the industry, so we’re glad to see our education resources are being used across the globe. We are extremely proud that our education syllabus is the only recognised programme in the world that leads to a qualification in architectural ironmongery to British and European standards. The Education Awards allow us to not only recognise individual achievements but also celebrate the continuous progress of the GAI education programme.”
About the courses
The Certificate in Architectural Hardware is for those working in warehouse and trade counter roles, procurement, scheduling and estimating, customer service, technical support, sales and administration. Covering two stages within 24 online education modules, the certificate covers the product knowledge a practising architectural ironmonger is required to know. The modules include explanations, animations and video clips. There are also unlimited self-tests. After the certificate, students can progress to the third stage, the GAI Diploma, which builds on product knowledge and enables the writing of accurate hardware specifications and quotations. The Diploma is the GAI says suited to those in customer service, contract management, scheduling and estimating, and sales. To become a full GAI member, a company must have at least one employee who has passed the GAI Diploma.
Lorient sponsored the GAI Education Awards.
The awards winners in 2016 in full:
The Pinnacle Award:
· Sreejith Ramanathan, dormakaba UAE
The GAI Diploma:
· Gold – Sreejith Ramanathan, dormakaba UAE
· Silver – Mark Allen Basadre, dormakaba UAE
· Bronze – Ben Westlake. Kirby and Wells Ltd (Kawstore)
Certificate in Architectural Hardware
· Gold – Lee Gardner, ME Duffell
· SILVER – Régine Yvergneaux
· BRONZE – Christopher Hill, Humber Merchants Ltd.
