Nightingale Roofing & Building Services

‘Training is the starting point for success. The more skills you acquire, the better you get.’

Markus Micklewright Company Partner

Business sector:

Manufacturing

Employees:

9 employees

Region:

South West

Company profile:

Nightingale Roofing & Building Services was set up by brothers Markus and Maurice Micklewright in 2003. Shortly to be moving to new business premises in the village of Ipplepen, near Newton Abbot, Devon, the company undertakes roofing and associated roofing building work throughout the South West and expects its turnover to hit £1 million this year.

The challenge:

The Micklewrights launched their business three years ago with two employees, a van and several thousand pounds worth of tools.

Maurice, who has worked as a roofing contractor all his life, takes charge of the site work while Markus, who was a general manager in the food industry for 17 years, is responsible for business development, risk management and training.

By 2005 work tenders were coming in so fast that Markus decided to join the business full-time and the brothers took on more staff. Markus was already aware that training employees in as broad a range of skills as possible was the key to success and contacted Train to Gain, the Learning and Skills Council’s new Skills Brokerage service, for advice about training.

‘Our drive is to be the first choice roofing solutions provider in the South West,’ says Markus. ‘Our training needs are driven by the fact that our team needs to be as multi-skilled and versatile as possible. Rather than simply being slaters or tillers we wanted all of our employees to be able to do things like lead work, metal roofing and cladding as well.’

The solution:

Train to Gain put Markus in touch with Plymouth-based Skills Broker Janet Powell.

‘I gave Janet the information about where we had come from and where we wanted to be and she went away and found out what training was available,’ says Markus.

‘Nothing was too much trouble for her. She found suitable NVQ courses through the South Wales & South West Roofing Training Group in Exmouth and also tracked down supervisory skills training courses for our team leaders. Four people have been doing the NVQ courses and the team leaders will do their training over the coming year.’

The results: 

Markus and Maurice are delighted with the benefits Train to Gain has brought to their business.

‘Train to Gain has been invaluable,’ says Markus. ‘The advice and support that Janet has given us and the funding she has sourced have enabled us to deliver some excellent projects.

‘One of the most important benefits to our clients is that they are able to have the complete package from one company. They recognise that being able to deal with one contractor, delivering a variety of roofing systems, keeps costs down. This is a really attractive initiative.’

‘We would not have the level of business we have if we hadn’t put training first and attended the courses. Our employees appreciate that we are investing in them and as a result they are committed, motivated and very loyal. They will all go that extra mile.’

‘Training has given them more skills, greater earning power, job security and job diversity. We can send any of them to a repair or an emergency. One week they might be working on the roof of a cathedral, the next they might be on a new-build. They are highly skilled in a variety of systems additional to their areas of speciality’.

• Thanks to some of the Nightingale employees taking a Flag UK course in single ply membrane roofing & green roof installations, the company has won £400,000 worth of work which it would not have had otherwise.