Inspiring the Next Generation – A Stockist’s View

07 February 2022

As part of our Inspiring the Next Generation series, we spoke with some Purdy stockists to find out what they believe it takes to be a professional painter and decorator, why they think the trade should be valued as a profession and why they recommend the use of high-quality tools.

 

Mark Bannister, Learning & Development Manager at Crown Paints

Mark believes that a painter and decorator must have good attention to detail and understand the importance of preparation for ensuring a quality, lasting finish. For Mark, Purdy products stand out in terms of quality – and he says that products like ours will help painters and decorators achieve a professional result quicker. His advice to someone starting out in the industry is to work with good quality decorators and learn from them.

 

Ewan Schmidt, Store Manager Dulux Decorator Centre, Wellington

Ewan is passionate about the painting and decorating trade and views it as an artform. He believes that the use of quality tools is important because each product has a different use and is designed to tackle different applications. He says that having a selection of tools that can deal with an array of tasks will save time, money and effort.

 

James Pym, Assistant Store Manager, Dulux Decorator Centre, Exeter

According to James integrity, honesty and a steady hand are all key to being a great painter and decorator. What’s more, James believes that good quality brushes are a must as they help to produce a more superior finish.

 

Mark Rigby, Skills Development Consultant at Dulux Academy

According to Mark, the skills shortage is the most significant challenge for the painting and decorating industry today. He believes that it is not only vital to introduce new talent into the industry, but also to upskill the current fleet of professionals. His best advice for newcomers is to concentrate on the skills and adding high quality tools to the toolbox – and not to worry about speed, as this will naturally come with time.

 

See our video (filmed at the Painting & Decorating Show) below: