TRAINING
ALPHA HEATS UP INSTALLER TRAINING
Elizabeth Jordan visited The Norwich Gas, Oil and Electrical Training Centre, the new home of Alpha Heating Innovation’s training academy designed to educate installers about the options available to them and how to improve their skills...
T 30
here is much validity in the idea that, to really undertand how a product works, you need to get as hands-on with it as possible. That’s why so many boiler manufacturers invest in training their customers and Alpha is no different. The company’s new training base is in Norwich, chosen because the area is particularly strong for the company. The training there is is headed up by Alpha area sales manager, Steve Farrow, who says: “We chose Norwich as the home for our training because it’s the strongest area for Alpha boiler sales. Plumbers and installers can be fairly set in their ways, like most of our industry, so we are hoping to use this stronghold to inspire more to explore Alpha. This training aims to teach installers to
push their belief boundaries and discover new brands that might be better for them than the same old ones they’re used to.” Farrow says that one of the methods used in the training is to put an avid Alpha installer amongst a group of installers that are new to Alpha’s products, so that alongside the trainer, the group can learn from the experiences of a fellow installer who knows the products.
Strength in Numbers “The key focus of the training is to build relationships.” Farrow explains. “People buy from people so we are working on building connections alongside product knowledge. Training also brings new installers into the local area- our training calendar is currently booked
up until the end of May so it’s already proving a popular idea.”
The training itself is a day in the upstairs room of the Norwich Gas Training Centre, with lunch provided, stepping through installation, issues, tricks and tips for Alpha boilers. Farrow says the idea is to keep updating the training programme to keep it relevant for installers (and their customers) so they are welcome to attend as many training days over time as they want.
“The training isn’t the end of our connection with our trainees,” continues Farrow “When I joined Alpha I wanted my installers to talk to each other, so I set up the Whatsapp Group for them to speak to each other and us whenever they need to. This means that they can ask for
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net June 2019
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76
