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Press Release 13 June 2017 Trade associations from across the UK furniture and interiors industries have united under a single banner, the Furniture and Interiors Education, Skills and Training Alliance (FIESTA), to combat the threat of a widening skills gap. The new organisation aims to unite and inspire furniture and interiors businesses, helping the industry to become a sector of choice within the UK by facilitating internationally recognised skills development. FIESTA will provide a forum that allows its stakeholders to identify, clarify, promote and engage with all issues and needs relating to education, training and skills for people of all ages and businesses of all sizes across the furniture and interiors industry. The alliance will be employer-led and bring the industry together through an ...

The complete programme of debates, interviews and presentations for the kbbreview Retail & Design Conference 2016 has been unveiled. For the first time, the annual conference takes place at the heart of the kbb Birmingham exhibition across the four days of the show. Visitors to the show can attend any session as no tickets are required once in the hall. The programme has been developed by the editorial team of kbbreview and includes panel discussions, expert presentations, advice, design workshops and keynote interviews. “This is a fantastic line-up of experts drawn directly from the industry itself,” said conference host and kbbreview managing editor Andrew Davies. “It’s so important that the sector takes advantage of the opportunity a big show like kbb Birmingham gives ...

The Kbsa is pleased to announce the Judges for the 2016 Kbsa Designer Awards. Bruce Thomas, Business Development Director at Mereway is joining the panel as our newest judge. The Panel also includes, Head Judge, Renee Mascari, CEO Kbb NTG, Director Mascari Studios; Martin Thomas, Denmore Interiors; Richard Hibbert, KSL and Kbsa Board Member. Bruce has over 43 years experience within the Kbb Industry, in both retail and manufacturing with some of the leading names in the industry. ‘We are delighted that Bruce has agreed to join the judging panel for 2016, we’re looking forward to the launch of this year’s competition and seeing the spectrum of top quality designed projects Kbsa members create’ Ruth Ward commented. Details of the 2016 competition ...

It seems unbelievable that it’s been two years since the last kbb Birmingham exhibition and we have to say we’ve missed it! Not only is the exhibition a great platform for the industry to come together under one roof, it also enables our industry to showcase the vast array of fantastic products available. We are honoured to once again be one of the sponsors for this year’s event and our CEO Renée is also on the judging panel for the Innovation Awards, which is part of kbb Birmingham 2016's Future theme. “I am thrilled to be part of the judging panel and I am excited to see all the entries, I’m sure it’s going to be tough to decide between them” ...

Renee Mascari (pictured), chief executive of the KBB National Training Group, has called on the industry to support the organisation amid plans to lift it to “the next level”. The NTG was key to the launch of the new foundation degree in kitchen design and many other industry training initiatives, but Mascari admitted that funding is drying up and new backers are desperately needed. “It’s time to share the load,” she said. “We need new members. We need fresh eyes, fresh ears, fresh ideas and fresh financial support. We owe a lot to the founding members. We’ve achieved what we’ve achieved with their support but we need to continue it. So if you can bring both your expertise and your wallet ...

Our thanks go to Kitchens & Bathroom News for featuring our new Surveying Learning Guide in their September edition. Take a look at page 75 of the magazine to read the full extract taken from the guide. The guide has been written to assist in understanding the importance of carrying out an accurate survey and why adding structure to a survey should result in making less mistakes, which therefore means little or no loss of profit to a business.  Take a look at all five learning guides in the series by visiting our shop at ...

Press Release Written & Supplied by Airflow Drawing on the expertise of sponsors Airflow Developments, The National Training Group (NTG) has released a new Ventilation Learning Guide, which explains the importance of ventilation and best practice principles for those specialising in the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom industry. The first coordinated body of its type, the NTG is a network of individuals, businesses and manufacturers dedicated to providing first-class educative materials and support services for those working within the sector. Working in partnership with industry associates such as Airflow, the NTG is able to establish new career paths and help up-skill existing workforces by developing qualifications through CPD learning. Expert in its field, Airflow Developments has been instrumental in producing the latest Ventilation ...

Graham is running his award winning KBB Sales and Customer Care course on Tuesday 10th November 2015, 10am-4pm at Articad, Watford. More than 2000 KBB delegates have attended this course from over 100 companies operating in the KBB sector. By booking onto the course before Friday 14th August you will get a free delegate place on the follow up level 2 Sales and Customer Care course which is being run on Tuesday 1st December at Articad. The total cost per delegate to attend both through this offer is £150, while attending just the Level 1 course will cost £130 per delegate. To find out more about the course content or to book a place, visit www.grahamhaydentraining.com or contact Graham by mobile on 07889 692164 or ...

I am sure by now that many of you will have heard the news of the recent retirement of Graham Ball. Throughout his tenure at the helm of the KBSA, Graham was a great supporter of the KBB NTG and his experience and guidance was invaluable both to me personally in my role as CEO and also as an NTG Council Member. He was very generous with his time and available to offer advice and a considered view whenever needed. Graham’s belief and commitment to the development of industry specific educational programmes, across all sectors, was admirable. I will miss working with Graham in his capacity as the KBSA CEO, NTG Council Member and as fellow colleague on the many projects ...

We are delighted to announce the launch of a series of industry Learning Guides. The series of guides have been developed to form part of the Kitchen, Bedroom, Bathroom industry’s Continuous Professional Development (CPD) as well as building together to form a foundation of learning adding support to our industry’s education programme. It is essential that individuals working within the industry keep up to date with the constant changes in technology, trends, compliance and regulations. With this in mind the guides have been written in partnership with industry contributors and our thanks go to them and to the CITB for supporting the development of the guides. The subjects covered within the series include Compliance, Inclusive Design, Lighting, Surveying and Ventilation. Each ...

The KBB National Training Group and the team behind the development of the Foundation Degree in Kitchen Design, which includes Buckinghamshire New University, were presented with a Special Achievement Award at the recent kbbreview Retail & Design Awards 2015 in recognition of their drive and commitment in developing this ground-breaking course. Renée said “This is a landmark moment for our industry’s education programme and firmly establishes kitchen design as a profession. Thank you to Buckinghamshire New University for their academic input and leap of faith.” She continues “Special thanks also need to go to our industry partners for their commitment and drive in developing this momentous Foundation Degree ...

Alongside the current courses of level 1 and level 2 Sales and Customer Care courses, Graham has launched the new “Customer Delight” course for the kbb industry which looks at the skills and techniques that delegates can understand and introduce to their business roles in order to maximise their profitable sales, increase referral business, and deal with any customer complaints effectively. The course duration is 4 hours which means that it can be delivered as a morning or afternoon slot or alongside product training modules to complete a training day. Reaction so far has been extremely positive and delegates from Ashford Kitchens and Interiors found the course to be ideal for their admin and support staff. To date, Graham has run over ...