ceda Launches First Ever Catering Equipment Service and Installation Technician Apprenticeship

After lengthy discussions with course providers and employers, ceda is thrilled to announce the launch of the first ever Catering Equipment Service and Installation Technician Apprenticeship, which will be provided in partnership with registered apprenticeship provider, ECTA.  

The apprenticeship, which is funded by the Government, will last for a period of 30 months for each cohort of apprentices and has been developed to cover knowledge and skills including Electrical Competence, Basic Plumbing, Health and Safety issues, Relevant Regulations, ACS Accreditations and fault finding procedures, as well as behavioural requirements such as customer care and communication. As the course is being offered on a block release basis, apprentices only need to attend the Stockport training centre for one week every eight weeks. 

Any employer in the catering equipment or related industries is able to make use of the course and need not be a ceda Member to become involved. 

The apprenticeship’s introduction comes as the demand for highly trained maintenance technicians grows, with catering equipment becoming ever more sophisticated and catering operators both increasingly understanding the need for regular preventive maintenance and demanding quick repair response times.

Commenting on this brilliant new apprenticeship, Peter Kay, ceda Technical Support Advisor, said “ceda has long recognised the need for an apprenticeship for service and installation technicians. However, historically, apprenticeships were driven by academics and based on formal qualifications and whilst ACS Gas Accreditations are a legal requirement, they are not classed as qualifications. Ceda also considered all the available electrical qualifications but found that they were designed for installers of electrical systems and did not deliver the skills and knowledge required by a catering equipment technician. ceda even looked at developing a suitable qualification but the cost was prohibitive.

Fortunately the Government recognised that many other industries were in a similar situation and changed the apprenticeship system in 2014 to one of apprenticeship standards which could be developed by employers to meet their industry’s needs. In 2018 ceda encouraged its members to form a Trailblazer Group to develop a standard and with the help of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Further Education the standard was approved and published in July 2019.”

As apprenticeships are the responsibility of the devolved nations, the standard is only available in England. However, Government funding is still available for any apprentice who works at least 50% of their time in England, irrespective of their employer’s location. There are a number of apprentices in the first cohort who work for Welsh employers.

The first cohort of fifteen apprentices begins their training course later this month; future cohorts will start in the coming months. ceda is therefore encouraging all employers who wish to take part to contact the organisation for more information.   

Adam Mason, ceda Director General, summed up, “This is a momentous thing for the Industry as for so long the development of a sector-specific Apprenticeship standard has been talked about. Huge thanks to those organisations that took an active role on the Trailblazer Group, chaired by Kirstin Hatherley. This is a piece of work that ceda has facilitated but it is very much those Members who gave of their time, knowledge and expertise for a greater good, who deserve absolute praise. I can’t wait to meet the first cohort of Apprentices later this month and I am thrilled that we are able to deliver this for the Industry.”

ceda Technical Support Advisor, Peter Kay, has been instrumental in the development of the new apprenticeship.

ceda is pleased to announce the launch of its latest initiative, cedaAssist, which aims to promote collaboration between Member companies to the benefit of their customers.

cedaAssist is a cooperative arrangement, where a number of ceda Members (cedaAssist Providers) have undertaken to carry out service, repair and installation work for customers on behalf of another Member (a cedaAssist Principal). Any Member can be a cedaAssist Principal.

Peter Kay, ceda’s Technical Support Advisor, commented, “Even though all ceda members have service and installation cover for their main areas of business, there are sometimes occasions when they need help and cedaAssist is designed to provide this. By using a cedaAssist Provider they know that they will be represented by qualified engineers who will look after their interests in the same way as their own engineers.”

So far, 26 Member companies have signed up for the initiative, meaning that services of every kind can be carried out in every region of the UK. It is hoped that as many Members as possible become involved in the initiative, to ensure that the highest standards are upheld and that customers receive the best possible service and choice.

cedaAssist will be overseen by the ceda Technical Steering Group, who set the conditions of participation.

Equipment Industry Walking Group reunites for a 2020 Kinder Scout Challenge

Following on from their challenge walk up Blencathra in the Lake District last September, the Commercial Catering Equipment Charity Walking group are once again re-uniting to take on their next challenge  – a walk up Kinder Scout in the beautiful Peak District.

The team led by James Connolly of Celltherm Coldrooms and Nick Archer of Archer Catering Services have launched their next event which will again seek to raise much needed funds for Hospitality In Action, one of the few charities who assist members of the hospitality Industry who have fallen on hard times, suffered bereavement and are in need of their support. The team will head up Kinder Scout in the Peak District on Friday the 21^st February 2020, leaving Edale Village at 9:30am after a bacon sandwich and a tea/coffee.

The Kinder Scout walk will re-enact the Mass Trespass back in 1932 where the Ramblers Group had its humble beginnings. This walk was the initial act of defiance against aristocratic landowners which culminated in the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 and opened up swathes of wild land to walkers, ramblers and the general public without fear of prosecution.

Nick Archer mentions, that “the walk is about 8 ½ miles and will be over 2,200 feet high. It should take us about 4-5 hours but there is no time limit and the team welcome walkers of all ages and abilities. We wait for everyone and there’s no rush, but please come prepared”!

Basing themselves in Glossop for an overnight stay after the walk and holding the walk on a Friday gives industry bosses an opportunity to give their staff a day off to attend the walk or even organise their own team building day within this event.

James Connolly mentions “these series of walks are very much about the Health and Wellbeing of our industry. There’s no mandatory fee and no commitment to raise funds but the team are asking for donations to their fundraising page here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kinder-scout-challenge-2020

The last walk in the Lake District was a great success and the Chief Executive of the Foodservice Equipment Association, Keith Warren, has given the walking Group his organisation’s full support. “I am delighted with this initiative that is focussing on our industry’s mental health and wellbeing. The Foodservice Equipment Association (formerly CESA) is delighted to get behind this brilliant initiative and we are actively encouraging our members to get involved, in fact I’ll be popping along myself in February, having enjoyed last years’ walk”!

These series of walks have drawn wide ranging attendance from not just manufacturers but Kitchen Houses, Distributors, Foodservice Consultants and even competitors pledging their support. Offers of support have been pledged from Celltherm Coldrooms, Falcon Foodservice, Archers Catering Systems, Blue Seal, Essential Supplies to name but a few.

Anyone wanting to join the group on their day out are asked to email James or Nick on james@celltherm.co.uk or nick@archercateringsystems.com for further information. The group have also started a LinkedIn page for those wishing to keep in touch with future challenges and events. Click on this link to visit he page and request to join: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8839711/

Technical Steering Group Update

At the last Technical Steering Group held on 6th November, Peter Baulch stepped down as Chairman after serving for two years. 

Although he was unable to attend the meeting, he sent a letter to the Technical Committee, stating that “it has been an honour and privilege to have served as Chair.” He thanked Peter Kay, Technical Support Advisor, for his assistance, especially in regards to the development of recent educational programmes, such as the apprenticeship scheme.

He then welcomed Derek Maher as the new Chairman, recognising his vast knowledge of the industry and the advice he has supplied over the past few years in his role as Vice Chair.      

Peter hopes to continue being involved in the Committee in future. 

Derek then announced that Nick Archer had accepted the role of Vice Chair.

Sprint Group Install the Future of Catering

The future of catering is coming – with the new F-Gas Regulation aiming to reduce Global Warming emissions caused by F-Gases, and eco-friendly practises becoming ever more in the forefront of the industry, Sprint Group ask: what are we doing to help our planet and our customers too?

This is a big question and one that Sprint Group ask daily. Indeed, the legislation has been in effect since 2015 and aims to achieve a 79% reduction in the use of HFCs by 2030, encouraging manufacturers, service companies and operators to adopt a different approach to how they operate.

To achieve this, the next big changes will come into effect in 2020 and may impact other operators in areas such as the service and maintenance of existing refrigeration equipment and the availability of like-for-like replacements.

Sprint Group have been vigilant and, for the past 4 years, have managed to recycle 90% of all waste. Dellam Murray, Sprint Group’s Business Development Manager explains:

“With the help of many suppliers and clients, Sprint have not just ‘cleaned up our act’, we have recycled others’ waste alongside ours, helping everyone become as environmentally-friendly as they can be, with next to no hassle.”

Businesses that own or operate integral freezer cabinets, large coolers, larger multi-decks, cold rooms or remote systems that are more than a couple of years old, may have equipment operating on F-Gas (R404A), one of the high GWP refrigerant gasses which will be banned from sale in new equipment from January.

Dellam continues: “Sprint are here to help our existing clients make the change as pain free as possible, and we welcome those who are changing to chat with us, so we can talk about the provision of alternatives and advise what is best for them.”

There is an alternative already available today, Hydrocarbon refrigerants are natural, non-toxic gasses that have no ozone-depleting properties and low global warming potential.

For this reason, they have been selected as the environmentally-friendly choice of refrigerant for all of Sprint Group’s new commercial refrigeration installations, after being used for many years in domestic refrigeration.

If you’d like to chat with Sprint Group, please call the team on 01386 555922 or email sales@sprint-group.co.uk for more information about how they can design and fit an environmentally friendly kitchen or bar for you and your business

Grand Prix Award Entries Now Open

ceda is pleased to announce that entries to the 2020 Grand Prix Awards are now open.

The highly coveted Awards, for which competition between Member companies is exceptionally fierce, recognise excellence in hospitality and foodservice projects for every type of establishment.

By winning one of the Awards, members demonstrate to the rest of the industry that they operate with professionalism and excellence in all that they do. 

This year, members can enter six categories:

• Design Project Under £50k
• Design Project £50k to £200k
• Design Project £300k to £500k
• Design Project Over £500k
• Outstanding Customer Service 
• Project Management Excellence

In the ‘Design Projects’ categories, entrants will be rewarded for; good, original and sustainable designs, professional installations during which issues were overcome, and client satisfaction. If Consultant involvement in the project was significant, this will also be taken into consideration when scoring the design section of the entry.

Key factors in the judging of the ‘Outstanding Customer Service Award’ category will be the level of service provided by the company and overall client satisfaction.

In order to be considered in the ‘Project Management Excellence’ category, companies should demonstrate project understanding, effective communication and documentation practices, managing change and cost control, project execution and client satisfaction. Projects of any size and in any sector are eligible for inclusion.  

The overall winner will receive the Sir Donald Thompson Cup for the year. 

The judges will be veterans of the industry John Savage and Ron Neville. Once the projects have been shortlisted, the judges will visit the sites in person to assess the work carried out and to talk with staff. 

The deadline for applications is 31st January 2020. 

The winners of the prestigious awards will be announced at the ceda Conference and Gala Dinner, to be held on the 23rd and 24th April at the Majestic Hotel, Harrogate. 

Members can submit their entries by following this link: https://ceda.co.uk/members-area/submit-your-entry/

ceda Opens Legacy Honours Nominations

ceda is delighted to announce that nominations for the organisation’s Legacy Award, to be presented at the 2020 ceda Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, are now open. 

Intended as a development of the Industry Personality Award, the Legacy Honours by ceda were first introduced at the 2019 ceda Gala Dinner and Awards Ceremony, held in April. The first three recipients were Jeff Whitaker, Ian Bass and Andrew Humble. 

The honour is the highest possible accolade presented by ceda to an individual involved and associated with the commercial Foodservice and Hospitality Design, Equipment and Service Industry. It is presented to exceptional individuals who have enriched lives, served with dedication, passion and commitment and have played an active role in creating a tangible legacy that has made a significant positive difference to the industry.     

All ceda Members and Partners have been sent an application form to put forward individuals for consideration and further copies are available on the ceda website. For more information or if they have any questions, Members and Partners are advised to contact ceda Director General, Adam Mason. 

The deadline for nominations is January 31st 2020. 

An announcement will be made in the New Year regarding a Legacy Lunch in 2020, at which recipients will also be honoured.