Plumbing apprentice Paul Marshall is set to test his skills against some of the United Kingdom's most accomplished students and apprentices during the WorldSkills UK National Finals in Greater Manchester on 15th-16th November. In his quest to be named SkillPLUMB champion, Paul will have to tackle a complex task that involves the installation of a central heating system and hot/cold water system, incorporating a boiler, unvented hot water cylinder and associated pipework and bespoke designed copper radiators. James Frew Managing Director Roddy Frew said: "I was delighted to learn that Paul has been selected to represent James Frew and West College Scotland at UK World Skills. He is an ambassador for James Frew and has consistently produced work of a very high standard. These types of experiences are essential for apprentices to test their practical skills and meta-skills and benchmark themselves against the best in the UK." We wish Paul all the very best in the final – good luck!

James Frew Managing Director Roddy Frew popped down to The Ayrshire Community Trust (TACT) today to present a cheque as part of Challenge Poverty Week. The Ayrshire Community Trust are a small charity based in Saltcoats and forms part of the North Ayrshire TSI (Third Sector Interface) along with Arran Community and Voluntary Service. Their mission is to deliver programmes and projects which make a difference to people’s lives by encouraging, supporting, and promoting community action. Roddy said: “We are thrilled to support such a worthwhile initiative and I have been really impressed by the fantastic work TACT do within the local community. Our James Frew donation will help create helpful food hampers and also support North Ayrshire Food Bank.” Roddy added: “TACT has evolved over the years and carries out a range of additional functions which we believe work towards making North Ayrshire a great place to stay. The functions include employability services, training, youth development and social enterprise development.”  Challenge Poverty Week 2023 runs from the 2nd to 9th of October. https://www.tact.scot/

This week marks a new beginning for Kyle Rafferty as he starts a new career journey as an Assistant Site Manager with our Modernisations business unit (Mods). One of the very first James Frew Academy graduates who started his apprenticeship in 2017, Kyle has been honing his plumbing and heating skills, gaining experience working on MPS sites, and mentoring other apprentices and young tradespersons. Head of Operations Paul Lynn said: “Kyle is a great example of possibility and opportunity that are available to our Modern Apprentices who come through our James Frew Academy programme. Kyle will start his new managerial career under the expert guidance of Site Managers Steven McInnes and John Dougall.” Kyle said: “I am delighted to be given the opportunity to progress to a management role within James Frew. I am keen to learn and develop and contribute to the operational success of the Mods. The Mods teams are Principal Contractor on site which is new to me but I am keen to learn how to coordinate other trades, manage resources effectively and help others to maximise their potential.”  Kyle will assist in the completion of our refurbishment works to North Ayrshire Council’s sheltered housing located at Barnett Court in Saltcoats and assist in other majors projects within the Commercial Mods as he progresses his management career.

We are delighted to announce that we are reorganising our MIE Heating: Service and Repair teams across Ayrshire, Inverclyde and Renfrewshire to better meet our customers’ needs. From September 2023, we will realign our field engineering teams including the appointment of two new Area Manager posts. Derek Blair and Alan McKeegan will now head up all social housing and private customers within Ayrshire, and Inverclyde and Renfrewshire respectively. Derek and Alan have both demonstrated a positive “can-do” attitude, embraced technology and have developed excellent management skills since their appointment as Contract Managers. Contracts Manager Drew Quinn will take up the post of Senior Contracts Manager with a strong focus on efficient and effective contract management across Ayrshire, and Inverclyde and Renfrewshire. Drew has a wealth of strategic and operational experience and will provide support to Derek and Alan as they establish their new teams going forward. Head of Operations Gordon Mack said: “We have undergone significant change over the past few years internally, and as we look to respond to changes externally such as the introduction of new technology in air source heat pumps, we wanted to realign our field engineering teams to maximise efficiencies, boost productivity and build capacity and capability.” Gordon added: “We will be working with the Area Managers to appoint Assistant Area Managers to help support the effectiveness of these new teams. These newly created posts will be advertised shortly.” Managing Director Roddy Frew said: “We have increased the number of new boiler installations year on year, we have successfully tendered for several multi-trade reactive repairs contracts and are now pressing ahead with plans to deliver ECO4 funded installations. We are realigning our service and repairs teams from a position of strength which will support our growth plans, improve our operational efficiency, and provide our customers with increased responsiveness.” Drew, Alan and Derek take up their new posts on the 1st of September 2023 and we wish them well in their new roles.

We are delighted to announce that we have promoted Svitlana Topchii to Business Systems Analyst at James Frew. This new post will drive our digital strategy to boost productivity, improve our competitiveness, and maximise opportunities to automate business processes. Finance Controller Billy Connelly said: “Svitlana has significant experience in business process improvement, and we are thrilled to be forging ahead with our digital strategy. Svitlana has excelled since joining the Finance Team in April 2023. We are constantly reviewing our operations and we are investing significantly in new software to help us automate processes, report on business performance, and share effective digital practice”. Operations Director Andrew Fogarty said: “This new post supports our ambition to be at the leading edge of digital innovation with the construction, building services and maintenance sectors. Our new software investment will provide James Frew with an opportunity to really drive operational excellence by streamlining and modernising our business processes. It is a very exciting time in our digital journey and we are delighted that Svitlana is leading our efforts in this area.” Svitlana said: “I would like to say thank you for the chance to take forward this new role involving business process automation projects. I am looking forward to applying all my skills and experience in business process automation to help contribute towards achieving our strategic priorities.”

Stephen Wright started his apprenticeship with James Frew at the young age of 16 back in 1998. Stephen was started by Davie Gaw and Dickson Leishman, and he recalls his first job was working alongside Billy Thomson and Alex Waldron in East Kilbride. Throughout his apprenticeship Stephen attended the Ayr College working under the guidance and tutelage of college lecturer Alan White. Managing Director Roddy Frew said, “25 years with James Frew is a fantastic achievement, Stephen has witnessed so many changes and is a great story of the success of our training programmes.” Stephen commented: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at James Frew. I love working with a local firm and have worked on countless sites and jobs over the years. It has been a pleasure to be with James Frew since leaving school and serving my apprenticeship.” More recently, Stephen has been working with Installation Manager Jim McKay and has progressed his development by adding air source heat pump installations to his long list of skills. Operations Director Andrew Fogarty said: “Stephen has played a key role in our reactive maintenance contract with Dundonald Links, particularly during their preparations for opening their new accommodation lodges, and also providing an on-call service throughout the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26). Since then, Stephen has been working on several high-profile renewable projects and consistently produces work of a very high standard.” 25 years and counting! A great testament to Stephen.

We are delighted to announce that James Frew have signed a sponsorship agreement with Greenock Morton FC for 2023-24 season. This exciting new agreement with Greenock Morton FC will see our new logo proudly displayed on a pitch-side advertising hoarding, and on LED advertising during televised matches. Morton legend and Corporate Ambassador Andy Ritchie welcomed James Frew Operations Director Danny Gibson and our new Inverclyde based Modern Apprentices to Cappielow Park last month to mark the sponsorship agreement. Managing Director, Roddy Frew, commented: “We are thrilled to be sponsoring Greenock Morton Football Club this year and their work within the community is making a real difference to the people of Inverclyde. As a business, we have enjoyed a long association with Greenock and the surrounding areas, and we are very proud of our track record in providing social housing maintenance services within Inverclyde. More recently, our multi-disciplined teams have been delivering a reactive all-trade service to registered social landlords such as Cloch Housing Association, Oaktree Housing Association and River Clyde Homes.” Roddy added: “We are committed to improving the life chances of young people and delighted to have recruited two Modern Apprentices in carpentry and joinery this year and wish them both every success as they progress their early career within the industry.” Greenock Morton Commercial Director, Graham Barr, stated: “It’s fantastic to be able to announce our new partnership with James Frew, we’re delighted to welcome them on board. “James Frew are another company with roots in the local area and we’re delighted they share our passion for supporting the Inverclyde community. We are all looking forward to working with Roddy and the team.”

We are delighted to Sponsor Megan Felgate, daughter of employee Jim Felgate. Megan reached out to us for sponsorship for her upcoming season, playing with the Ladies Greenock Morton team. Megan & Andy, both thanked us for her sponsorship and the investment in the area since James Frew arrived. Good Luck with the season Ladies.

James Frew are delighted to offer sponsorship support to employee Owen Phillips for his up and coming Rugby Season. Owen commented “A massive thanks to James Frew Ltd for the sponsor for this year's upcoming season with the Ardrossan Accies. Frew's have been a main sponsor for the club, and I am happy to be able to represent them on the field and at work.” Best of luck to Owen and the Team.