UK Construction Journal - Issue 1 - April 2026 - Flipbook - Page 80
The Lead Sheet Training Academy
The Lead Sheet Training Academy has had an extremely busy year so far with numbers up on both
Lead and Hard Metals courses. By far the most popular courses are the City and Guilds Accredited
Basic Lead and Hard Metal courses which teach candidates the basic techniques required to either
boss and weld lead or shape and solder hard metal. Not only are we delivering these courses at
our training centre, but we are also delivering them UK wide, via mobile courses and at the LSTA
Satellite centres.
Retention on our courses is very high with many of our
candidates going on to sign up for the City and Guilds
Accredited Traditional Intermediate craft courses, which
encompass all lead work and hard metal details for example,
cladding, wood roll roofs/hollow rolls, box gutters, dormers
etc.
training centre but also practical on the job experience as
what happens in a controlled environment such as a training
centre is very different to being onsite with factors such as
weather, access to the job, time constraints, codes of lead etc.
Sustainability & Recyclability of Lead
Lead is one of the most recycled materials in widespread
use which has the highest end-of-life recycling rate of all
commonly used metals. This is a result of the physical chemical
properties of the metal and product design, which makes
lead-based products easily identifiable and economic to
collect and recycle. High recycling rates, coupled with the fact
that lead-based products and architectural lead sheet are
manufactured from recycled material, makes it one of the few
products that operate in a true closed loop. Even the waste
material created in the production process is recycled.
The CITB Specialist Applied Skills Programme level 2 & 3 in
Lead and Hard Metals has again proved to be very popular
with 100% take up so far this year. The level 3 has been very
popular as it is fully funded. It is a great way of bringing new
entrants into the Lead or hard metals industry and ensures they
get the right training from the off, with industry qualified and
experienced tutors. At the end of the course, they can also
apply for the CSCS Skilled workers card which we know is
changing at the end of December 2024. When the CSCS
card rules change.
• Lead is made from 100% recycled material.
• Lead is 100% recyclable.
• Lead has a 50-year lifetime warranty.
The most challenging aspects of the courses from candidates
tend to be on the lead bossing, this is because there is a huge
amount of technique required for bossing different codes and
details of lead, This requires a lot of practice not just at the
Lead is in the BRE Green Guide – which outlines the
UK CONSTRUCTION JOURNAL
78