AWE is celebrating its third industry accolade of 2014 as its Smart Home Academy Foundation Workshop scooped the Best Training Award at the ERT Awards. Since its launch in September, this training session has proved popular with those retailers who are looking to add profit through the installation of smart home technology into their portfolio. Awards hosted its annual, lunch time event on 21st October at the Grand Connaught Rooms in London's Covent Garden. Retailers, manufacturers, distributors and suppliers of electrical goods and services gathered to celebrate excellence within the electrical retailing industry.

AWE fought off tough competition from Panasonic and Samsung in the Best Training category, taking first place with its Smart Home Academy – Foundation Workshop course.

“This award is very special to us as it highlights that we were correct to introduce this new training course into our existing education programme” comments Stuart Tickle, Managing Director of AWE. “The team has worked hard in ensuring the content we cover in the session is relevant to those new to the installation market and provides a combination of theory and practical learning sessions. Many companies are transitioning into the installation of smart home technology to allow them to grow their business and benefit from a thriving market. The need for formal training is essential to be able to do this and AWE’s Foundation Workshop is the perfect starting point for retailers wanting to take a first easy step.”

The AWE Smart Home Academy is a full training programme which has been designed to reach a range of industry professionals, specifically including independent retailers. The Foundation Workshop covers the fundamentals of custom installation with other courses covering more advanced topics such as whole house integration and lighting control. As well as important background and theory based learning, the workshop focuses on the essential skills and knowledge required for a variety of tasks that smart home integrators will be faced with on a regular basis. Starting with basic health & safety advice and the do’s and don’ts of custom install, the full day course progresses into the practical sessions. A variety of tasks await course delegates, from neatly and safely placing an in-ceiling speaker between joists and mounting a TV bracket, to reliably terminating and testing CAT 5/6 networking cables.

The inaugural training session was held in September and a full team from Hughes Smart Home attended the session. Peter Harvey, Team Leader at Hughes Smart Home commented: “This first session gave a good insight into how this will take off and was received incredibly well with both experienced and new members of the team getting fully involved. Guys that had never held a drill were learning how to safely and neatly cut holes in walls and ceilings, mounting ceiling speakers and screens as well as programming a basic control system!”

For further information on the AWE Smart Home Academy and to book your place on a course, visit www.smarthomeacademy.co.uk, call 01372 729 995 or email [email protected].