Where do people go to learn about timber? How do people find ways of maintaining an income while gaining trade knowledge to further their careers? What can companies do to give their employees a chance to reach a level of knowledge that is beneficial to the business and the employee? Above all, will the training certificate be worth having?

These are questions that have dogged the UK timber sector for some time and two years ago Finnforest felt the time was right to provide some of the answers. When planning its new office complex at its processing plant in Boston, Lincolnshire, it decided to include a study centre, known as the Finnforest Timber Academy.

Finnforest has committed a significant investment in the Academy and the ongoing costs of running a course each month are large. It sees a payback in terms of the customers increasing their sales through greater product knowledge and developing greater customer loyalty. The company has decided to give the industry a chance to train employees to a known standard which will help to maintain the growing appreciation of timber products, at a heavily subsidised rate.

Boston sales manager Simon Messam and national account manager Darren Pack devised the majority of the course, from workbooks right though to the final multiple-choice exam papers. Mr Messam said that Finnforest recognised that, to have credibility, the course had to be accredited by an outside agency and so it linked up with the Open College Network (OCN) which has vast experience in adult learning.”

Having seen all the course work, the OCN then suggested amendments, particularly in the structure of the course. “As an example, we set out a flat percentage pass rate on the final exam, but the OCN wanted to see a level of proficiency in each section of the course,” said Mr Messam. “They also ensured that we included some elements within the course that are of a general nature. Health and safety is a good example, where we all have a duty to try to minimise accidents.”

So, how does someone get on a course and what will they have to do?

Any dedicated and committed Finnforest UK machined timber customer can propose employees for the course, which is aimed to be of use to anyone within the industry, from yard, office, machining or sales areas and from office junior to director level. Most companies send two candidates at a time, although there are dedicated individual courses too. The courses have a maximum of 14 candidates and individual needs can be catered for.

Basic product knowledge

Once enrolled, candidates receive a workbook, Introduction to Timber, which forms the basis of ensuring a level of product knowledge before attending the residential course. It is essential that a line manager helps the candidates through this early stage, so that they maintain a confident attitude and really do learn about all of the sections.

“We allow one month to complete the workbook to ensure that there’s time to fully understand each part,” said Mr Messam. The workbook covers types of softwood timber and sheet materials, grading, machining, preservation, uses and linked sales, stock maintenance and presentation, measurement and calculations, and environmental issues. As a student works through the sections, there are self-marking tests to ensure the information has been retained. The final part is to complete an invigilated multiple-choice question paper at their branch.

This can be a daunting prospect and care needs to be taken to ensure that the student is prepared and given a quiet place to do the exam. “It contains 40 questions that have all been covered in the workbook,” said Mr Messam, “and this is sent off to the Academy for marking. A pass at this point qualifies for a Credit 1 with the OCN, which means that even if a student does not continue, they will have a nationally recognised certificate.”

Residential course

Provided the student passes this stage the next step is to attend the two-day residential course at the Timber Academy. Finnforest employees, who are actively involved in timber sales themselves, run the courses. They have all had to undergo training that maintains a high standard of tuition for students.

The topics studied in the workbook are expanded upon, so that the students receive a more detailed understanding. Timber product knowledge is centred on softwoods; grading and moisture are the main topics to start with. No matter how long students have been involved in timber, this section alone will produce new information. While we all appreciate that knots and other defects are part and parcel of dealing in timber, the cause and effect of different situations or practices on the material is explained clearly with visual aids, giving students a far higher understanding. A non-threatening test on one’s ability to identify grading, species and sawing (ie battens and boards) also ensures this knowledge has been retained.

The course is designed not to be all classroom-based and a tour of the Finnforest factory on the first day helps students see wood processing in action, as well as large stocks of different qualities from which they can see the different grades discussed that morning. The enormous stocks of sawn and machined materials give them a chance to inspect the wide range of softwoods available, along with many different machining techniques.

Tuition ends with an update on current environmental information.

The Finnforest group also manufactures and distributes an enormous range of timber based sheet materials, which require competent product know-ledge to ensure that the correct product is specified. The current big issues are on structural products and the course covers this in fine detail, helping students reduce the chance of supplying to site products that are not fit for purpose.

The correct storage and handling of timber products is crucial to maintaining high standards, but all too often, particularly in the merchant industry and at customers’ sites, bad practices occur. On the course, the safe, efficient storage of timber products is explained in depth, including space allocation for fast or slow moving products.

Calculations

All this information is vital, but to deal in timber products requires a total understanding of the relevant calculations involved in the trade, from cubic metres, through to the finished surface area of flooring products, including wastage factors. This is a complicated area and for people who find maths difficult it could be daunting, but the care and attention given to this topic helps students feel confident by showing easier ways to the right answers.

The final part of the course is a multiple-choice exam lasting 60 minutes. As Darren Pack, one of the co-writers of the course, explained: “We need to see that anyone who has completed the course is proficient, to give it real credibility, and the only way is to have an exam. There is a range of test papers that we randomly select from for each course, testing every area and the students have to pass in each area. We do not get a 100% pass rate and frankly, if we did, it would devalue the course. This is meant to be a valued certificate, which proves that a student has really gained from all the hard work but, even if they fail, students will have still got a lot out of it. A pass from the Timber Academy gives a Credit 2 pass with the OCN and that’s recognised nationally as a very worthwhile achievement.”

Those who do not pass the exam will still have gained a credible amount of additional knowledge and receive a Finnforest certificate of attendance. All the students leave Finnforest with a full set of printed notes which they can use as a reference guide in the future. n Editor’s note: Readers will be glad to hear Keith passed the Finnforest course test with flying colours.