Associate Membership – Training Provider
Associate members are an important part of the FIS community. They provide the services that accredited members need to ensure their businesses achieve optimum performance
Why join FIS?
FIS is the trade association for the Finishes and Interiors Sector. Our growing community of accredited members is drawn from contractors, manufacturers and distributors of ceilings, steel framing systems, operable walls, partitions, plastering, drylining and specialist interior fit-out and refurbishment businesses operating in every type of building.
Our associate member training providers deliver the training and qualification provision required by our contractor members to support their businesses and to provide proof of competence, which is a key element in ensuring their success.
Delivering Skills
Our dedicated team works with our Associate Member Training Providers to:
- Support members by identifying and signposting training and qualification provision.
- Attract new people to the sector.
- Advise and promote training, qualifications and apprenticeships to members.
- Provide members with the training and qualifications they require to support their business.
- Develop e-learning and best practice guides.
- Develop and provide FIS training support materials to promote standardisation.
- Promote the acquisition of formal qualifications as a method of proving competence.
- Identify funding to support members training and qualification
- Inform members where funding is available.
- Promote training and qualification offers and discounts.
Training Licences
FIS is developing Training Specifications to support apprenticeship training delivery. These are free to all Associate Member – Training Providers.
- Drylining (available)
- Ceilings (coming soon)
- Partitions (coming soon)
- Plastering (coming soon)
Winning Work
FIS promotes its members through an extensive outreach programme:
- Members are promoted to the construction sector via our online Member Directory Search (over 14,000 searches in 2018).
- SpecFinish magazine reaches an audience of 30,000 specifiers, installers and suppliers. Members get preferential opportunities for editorial coverage (online and in the printed magazine).
- Promotes best practice in the UK through the prestigious Finishes and Interiors Sector Awards.
- Throughout the year associate members have the opportunity to attend, participate and sponsor FIS events and activities.
A Dynamic Community
FIS draws the community together to encourage collaboration and best practice exchange:
- Regional contractor forums, our Annual Conference, regular webinars and SpecFinish magazine.
- Regular specialist working groups in drylining, heritage plastering, operable walls, ceilings, partitions, digital construction, health and safety, steel framing systems and women in fit-out.
- Members can access our monthly special interest webinars and online meetings.
A Mark of Engagement
FIS Membership allows you to demonstrate your quality credentials, the values you uphold and commitment to the sector. FIS members are:
- Engaged in the development of the sector.
- Informed of key issues related to regulatory compliance, innovation, safety and quality.
- Working with FIS to develop tailored services and packages specifically targeted at FIS Members
Managing your Risk
FIS will help you to identify and understand risks in our supply chain and how to overcome them:
- Evidence of compliance and competence by using our simple Product, Process, People (PPP) model.
- Access our Health and Safety Toolkit.
- Access our Contractual Tool kit (including a no win, no fee retention claims service).
Expert Advice
FIS offers you access to independent and expert advice and knowledge:
- FIS can help you overcome obstacles, managing difficult clients and plan change.
- We publish expert client guides in office fit-out and refurbishment and acoustics, best practice guides in drylining, partitions, suspended ceilings, technical notes and a BIM toolbox for contractors.
- We have an extensive online knowledge hub, supported by a dedicated advisory service and helpline, including a technical team to answer your queries.
Saving you Money
FIS as well as developing support tools and information, FIS works with partners to highlight opportunities and negotiate premium service or discounts:
- FIS Members and their teams can access a basket of discounted services through the FIS.
- We have negotiated tailored insurance packages for members
- We have expertise available to help you to identify funding and local business grants and R&D Tax Credits.
Membership criteria
Associate Members – Training Providers must:
- Provide training services relevant to companies operating in the finishes and interiors sector.
- Be financially stable.
- Be Ofsted, Ofqual and CCEA, SQA or QIW registered or approved by an Awarding Organisation OR
- Be vetted by FIS every 12 months.
- Be able to comply with the FIS Code of Code (where applicable).
Code of Conduct
On being accepted into the Association, all members agree to subscribe to and abide by the terms of the FIS Code of Conduct (where applicable to your company), which establishes a minimum standard of conduct for members in order to raise and maintain industry standards.
The FIS code of conduct requires members to:
- Conduct business in a manner that will reflect credit on the Association, the industry and themselves.
- Adopt and commit to the principles and practices laid down by FIS.
- Act with integrity towards others and exercise high standards of business practice and workmanship.
- Be committed to training its workforce.
- Ensure that they are conversant with and adhere to the relevant current British, European and International Standards and other relevant technical standards, regulations and practices.
- Ensure (in so far as they are able) that their products or systems are tested and/or comply with the recognised standards specified by the client or statutory authorities.
- Not knowingly mislead others by fact or implication as to the performance of their products or systems.
- Hold required levels of statutory and appropriate insurance.
- Operate an effective health and safety policy and have a current health and safety policy statement.
- Keep records of all RIDDOR reportable accidents and provide annual accident statistics to FIS.
- Have and implement an appropriate environmental policy statement.
- Display wherever practical the FIS Accredited Member Logo or FIS Associate Member Logo (as applicable) on its premises, website, business stationery and brochures and make this Code of Practice available for inspection.
Subscription rates
| Turnover over £100,000 | £64 per month |
| Turnover under £100,000 | £29 per month |
| Colleges/not for profit | £29 per month |
Subscriptions are annual (1 January to 31 December) and subject to VAT. They can be paid annually or by monthly direct debit.
We joined FIS to work in collaboration– to better understand the needs of the FIS market so that we can continue to develop market leading software that meets market demand. Shared values regarding improving the industry. To expand our profile within the FIS market, through the media opportunities offered by the FIS.
Trident Insurance Brokers is pleased to have been an Associate Member of FIS for many years. During this time we have been contacted by members who have found our details though the FIS website and who have entrusted us to advise on and arrange their insurances.
Having been a contractor member of both AIS and FPDC for many years I was delighted to become an Associate of both associations and then FIS when I started my fast-track ISO consultancy business for specialist contractors. This has allowed me to stay in touch with developments in the industry of relevance to the sector and also to contribute to and take part in FIS initiatives where appropriate. Given FIS’s increasing prominence this has proved invaluable.
Or contact us on 0121 707 0077 and a member of our team will be happy to provide additional information and answer any questions that you may have