127 get the handle on GAI awards
September 2016

A near-record 127 architectural ironmongers, builders’ merchants and door hardware students worldwide have this year gained industry qualifications from the GUILD OF ARCHITECTURAL IRONMONGERS.

Altogether, 87 learners have achieved the GAI Certificate in Architectural Hardware, with a further 40 completing the GAI Diploma. This is one of the highest number of successful learners since the start of the GAI education programme more than 50 years ago.

Learners on the GAI 2015/16 education programme are from 27 countries, with 47% of them outside the UK. Particularly high numbers of qualifications have been noted this year from South Africa, Dubai and Hong Kong.

Maria Powell, president of the GAI, said: “I am inordinately proud of the achievements of our learners this year. These are not your ordinary markers of success in a specialist industry, but genuinely tough and meaningful qualifications for hardware professionals who play a vital role in the global construction industry.

“Qualified architectural ironmongers work with architects, interior designers, contractors and others to schedule and specify the hardware for every door and window in a building. It’s a complex, responsible role, and a hard one to master, given that hardware is subject to more than 58 British and European standards.”

The GAI Certificate in Architectural Hardware consists of two stages with a total of 25 education modules covering everything a qualified architectural ironmonger is required to know.

Online enrolments for the GAI Diploma start again this month. The new prospectus is also available to download from the GAI Education Hub.