A top industry award could be on the cards for Redcar and Cleveland College’s course leader for wet trades, Adam Barringer, after being named a finalist in the Finishes and Interiors Sector (FIS) Training Awards.
Adam is in the running for the FIS Training Champion Award, with winners announced this week at a prestigious ceremony in London.
“I was surprised and pleased to even be nominated,” said the 36-year-old from Redcar.
To then go on to be named a finalist, he added: “I was quite shocked.”
Among the highest awards in the sector, the FIS Training Awards recognise achievement and excellence in the plastering and interior fit-out sector.
They are organised as a collaboration between FIS and the Worshipful Company of Plaisterers and are supported by British Gypsum.
With just eight titles up for grabs, Adam said: “It would be great for the college to pick that type of award up.”
In the face of some tough competition nationally, he explained: “It just goes to show the growth there has been here in the last three of four years.
“While small in comparison to some of the other providers, it is recognition that here at Redcar and Cleveland College, we are more than capable of delivering training of the highest standard and as a result, produce quality students and apprentices ready for industry.”
A former plastering apprentice who trained at Redcar and Cleveland College himself straight from school, Adam has built a career in the trade, going on to run his own business.
It was as an employer offering work experience opportunities to new entrants that first turned his attention to the possibility of training others. Working with the college, he said: “It all stemmed from there.”
Now teaching at the college where it all started, with 20 years of industry experience under his belt, Adam explained: “Coming from industry means I am able to prepare the students for what to expect in the workplace.”
Redcar and Cleveland College is one of the only providers in the Tees Valley to offer plastering as a full-time course. Adam said: “The sector has developed so much, with so many avenues to choose from.”
The FIS Training Awards take place tomorrow (Tues 25th November 2025) at Plaisterers’ Hall in London.
To find out more about plastering courses and training at Redcar and Cleveland College visit: www.cleveland.ac.uk/plastering
