01 April 2002

Formed about seven years ago, St Austell based Thermatech Timber Structures Ltd, is a leading timber framed building manufacturer with clients located across the UK.

"From our St Austell factory, we design and manufacture building structures which range from houses and luxury apartment blocks, to hospitals, nursing homes and schools," said operations manager Tim Raynor.

Timber framed building stuctures are being used increasingly in the construction industry mainly because of the high performance in heat and sound insulation, and speed of construction, compared to conventional building methods.

"We employ 20 staff - mainly woodwork machinists and our team of in-house designers, and a number of self-employed sub-contractors," said Tim. "We can produce a small two to three-bedroom house in a day, whereas the framework for an apartment block could take up to six weeks.

"Much of our business comes from word-of-mouth recommendations and repeat business, so we have to maintain high standards of production with skilled staff. Most of our training is done in-house, supplemented by outside training firms, such as Ultra, as and when necessary to guide people through their acquistion of skills.

"Jenny's work-based training for NVQ qualifications is structured to be entirely relevent to what she is doing on a day-to-day basis at work. Because the training is targeted to Jenny's needs, it benefits both the learner and the business.

On the basis that training is 'what is done to you', we talk about our staff having on-going learning and personal development opportunities to increase their talents and skills. That way, through programmes such as Modern Apprenticeships, people feel more in control of their own career management and that is a big motivational factor."