This week (September 27 - 28) saw the launch of FIT Show’s inaugural live, online learning event, coinciding with what would have marked the return of its live show at the NEC.

FIT Show co-founder, Paul Godwin kicked off the two day-programme. Hundreds of people registered and logged on for the sessions, which included a combination of live webinars and panels tackling key industry issues, delivered by experts from across the fenestration industry. 

Alongside sessions covering topics such as ‘tackling mental health in construction’, technical webinars covered ‘changes to building regulations’, ‘the importance of performance ratings’ and ‘trends in outdoor living’ delivered by RISA, BFRC and Renson UK respectively. 

Social media was a prominent content theme within the programme. JC Media’s David Glenwright delivered two sessions covering ‘LinkedIn for thought leaders’ and ‘how to create a visual brand presence on Instagram’. Installers were also given an insight into ‘how to work smarter, not harder’ and ‘avoiding the lost lead’ in two sessions fronted by Elton Boocock of Business Pilot. 

GGP editor, Charissa King hosted a lunchtime session offering advice on what makes good PR, with top tips for gaining press coverage with newsworthy content. 

Lively panel debates, all expertly hosted by Nichola Reeder of 12th Man Solutions, saw the likes of Fit for Trade’s Joanne Taylor, Tracey Jackson of Howells, BABSI’s Justin Ratcliffe and Endeavour’s Joshua Thompson discuss the growing skills gap and how to attract and retain new talent into the industry. 

Gio Laporta of SmartReady® and Nick Dutton of Brisant-Secure shared their thoughts on smart home technology and how to better equip installers to sell the benefits of these innovations to homeowners on the closing panel of the day. This panel, which also included Jey Jeshingham of ERA Home Security and Masterframe’s Alan Burgess, drove much engagement and debate. 

The entire programme is now available to watch back online here. The launch of the virtual learning programme follows on from the announcement that FIT Show’s live event will be postponed until May 10 - 12, 2022, with over 75% of space now allocated.

FIT Show event director Nickie West comments: “We couldn’t have anticipated a better response to our online event this week. The response from our community has been fantastic - from our speakers and panelists through to the trade media and all of our online attendees.

“Hundreds of people registered and logged on for the sessions - our conversion rate was over 60% which is brilliant for an online event. We managed to utilise a large proportion of the content that we had planned to run at FIT Show. 

“By running this content online we have created a vital touchpoint in our campaign as we work towards our return to FIT Show next May. We've created brand awareness, dialogue with our audience and served our community in the process. It was a huge success and I would like to thank everyone involved. 

“We know that nothing beats the power of face-to-face interaction and bringing people together at live events, but we’ll be back to doing that at FIT Show 2022 next May!”