Former Top Gear Stig, Ben Collins, is this year’s guest speaker at the Guild of Architectural Ironmongers (GAI) Education Awards, on Thursday, November 7, at the Royal Lancaster hotel in London.
Ben started his motorsport career in 1994, competing in Formula First, Formula Vauxhall Junior and International Formula 3. He is best known as The Stig from BBC TV’s Top Gear show, but has also been a television presenter, author, stunt driver and world record holder.
The GAI Awards for the door hardware sector include Gold, Silver and Bronze awards for the top students in the GAI Diploma, as well as the Pinnacle Award, sponsored by Eurobond Doors, for the student with the best aggregate results over the three years of the Diploma programme. The GAI Diploma is designed to give students product knowledge and the ability to hardware specifications and quotations. The qualification is, the Guild adds, suited to those in customer facing roles, contract management, scheduling and estimating, and sales.
GAI president, Julian Newman, pictured, said: “Scrutiny of the skills and competence of everyone in the building industry has never been higher, and each part of the supply chain needs to prove its worth. The GAI Diploma makes this possible in our sector – it is the only recognised architectural ironmongery qualification to British and European standards in the world. As we celebrate the fantastic achievements of this cohort of students, it’s important to reflect on how far the education programme has come and to recognise the hard work of our members and committees that have shaped the course to ensure it is always relevant to today’s ironmongery professionals.”
The award event sponsor is the physical security product company ASSA ABLOY opening solutions. To book tickets, visit the GAI website.
