Calling all trade partners! In an effort to support more professionals in the sector, Caribbean Blinds will now be offering its installer training courses for free.

For over a decade the UK shading manufacturer has provided hands-on training across at its Installer Training Academy, now across its entire product range.

Courses include surveying, installation, adjustment, commissioning and maintenance of external blinds, awnings and louvered pergolas.

The Suffolk-based company says its decision to offer its courses for free comes as a bid to encourage more installers to “gain expertise in external shading solutions”, as well as foster upskilling across the sector.

All courses are held at Caribbean Blinds’ headquarters in Sudbury at its dedicated training facility, with class numbers limited to ensure “personalised attention”.

Stuart Dantzic, managing director of Caribbean Blinds, comments: “By making our training courses free, we’re removing barriers and enabling more professionals to gain expertise in external shading solutions. Our academy combines practical installation experience with valuable product knowledge, helping our trade partners build successful businesses in this growing market sector.”

Separate courses are also available for louvered pergolas and external blinds and awnings, with the option to complete both over two consecutive days.

The course aims to help attendees to measure and specify confidently, install smarter and faster, avoid costly mistakes during both survey and installation, advise customers on the proper operation and maintenance, including troubleshooting, avoiding unnecessary service calls to site and become confident in wiring and automation including sensors.

Upon completion, participants receive a certificate of competency and join the company’s approved database of trained installers.

Those who complete the course will also receive 24/7 access to bite-size training videos via the company’s trade portal.

New training dates are now available and will be running weekly until the end of the year. They will then resume again at the end of January and run weekly until Easter.

To secure your free place or learn more about becoming a Caribbean Blinds trade partner, call 0344 800 1947 or visit www.cbsolarshading.co.uk/trade