Become a Flood Professional Certified Contractor and your work levels are set to rise for the foreseeable future!
Flooding once more hit our TV screens and newspaper headlines last winter as homes and businesses across the North were hit by some of the worst flooding on record.
Unfortunately, as we are seeing all too frequently, this was no one-off isolated incident.
It’s a real and present danger, at any time of the year and not restricted to just the more obviously prone parts of the UK. And, according to the climate experts, the problem is only set to get worse.
The facts speak for themselves, with almost 6,000 properties flooded in Britain during 2014 alone and a further 5 million homes (one sixth) at real risk of being swamped.
In fact, you are much more likely to be inundated by foul water than you are to be burgled. Not surprisingly then, the
flood mitigation sector is now expected to be one of the fastest growing in the UK construction industry.
For its part the Government allocated in excess of £197 million in grants following the floods of 2013/14, and a further £60 million has been allocated following the winter’s flood.
Whilst the media tends to focus on big, infrastructure schemes, the measures individual property owners can take to protect their homes and businesses is often not given the airtime it deserves.
There has never been a more pressing need therefore, for high quality, reliable mitigation products at an individual property level, supported by a professional and highly trained installation service. To this end The Flood Professional’s scheme was established in 2014 as a move to set quality standards in the industry.
In 2105 it become the first and only BSI Kitemark certified product, survey and installation scheme designed to ensure industry approved flood products are only ever installed to exacting Kitemark standards by qualified installers.
To the homeowner this not only provides peace of mind but also has the added benefit of significantly reducing future insurance premiums.
Opportunity for Building Trade
As an existing and experienced builder you could become a Flood Professional Certified Contractor and benefit from the opportunity this growing sector presents.
You don’t need any previous experience in the flood industry, you just need to hold recognised building trade qualifications and be able to access appropriate insurances – you’ll learn all you need to know on a 5-day Flood Professionals training course.
The aim is to train local companies in flood mitigation, so they can provide their immediate communities with support they can trust. Once you’ve ticked all the necessary criteria boxes, a course date will be agreed.
Becoming a Flood Professional
- The 5 day course involves a mixture of classroom and practical hands-on training covering flood risk, property survey, Kitemark product specification, installation & maintenance.
- Practical sessions are undertaken in purpose built pods where installations are tested in ‘live’ flood conditions.
- Once this series of stringent tests has been passed, you will be awarded your Stage One certification.
- You will then be in a position to secure your first property survey & installation.
- As part of this first installation, your work will be assessed by the Flood Professionals independent Audit Team.
- Once this ‘live’ second stage has been passed, you will achieve Stage Two certification officially recognising you as a fully certified Flood Professionals Contractor.
- Now you start to book your own work & grow your business to another level.
Lincs Flood Defence is a typical example of the sort of businesses which is benefiting from becoming involved in the scheme. The company has over 10 years building trade experience. Initially specialising in flat roof installation, the devastating floods that hit their home town of Boston in Lincolnshire back in 2013 opened their eyes to the potential of the flood prevention market.
Managing Director, Mark Leafe commented: “As a small father and son company, we are in an ideal position to offer 
the diverse and personalised service necessary when delivering property level flood defence. Whilst initially it was a flood event that would generate business for us that is now beginning to change.
Property owners are becoming more aware of how they can be prepared should the worst happen and we believe this is leading to a consistent flow of business for us. And whilst historically our business has relied heavily on word of mouth recommendations, we are now taking a more structured approach with a new website, promotional leaflets and sign written vans.”
Mark continues: “Clearly being members of the Flood Professionals scheme means we are able provide the peace of mind people are looking for. They understand we only fit the highest quality products to the very highest industry standards. We believe the Flood Professionals membership provides us with that all important competitive advantage that is enabling us to grow as a business for the long term.”
