Since 2015 GDHV has been supplying its Dimplex electric heating solutions to Aster, which owns, develops and manages over 30,000 residential properties across the south of England.

Clearly impressed with GDHV’s electric heaters like the Dimplex Quantum, this contract was extended earlier this year to encompass the firm’s other brands, including the supply of Redring showers and Xpelair extractor fans.

As part of this scheme, the GDHV team offered Aster’s current roster of engineers the opportunity to take part in a customised training programme to learn more about the solutions in a bid to improve their understanding and best practice on things like installation, repair and diagnostics.

Proving incredibly popular with installers working on behalf of Aster, the course debuted in October to more than 50 installers from the housing provider’s regional sites including Devizes, Andover and Wareham.

Led by industry experts, the five-day course delivered expert advice on everything from the basic principles of ventilation and how to utilise the latest data-logging feature on Xpelair extractor fans, even giving useful tips on fault finding using diagnostics on Redring’s Selectronic showers.

The resulting positive feedback from those attending has led to two further training sessions being booked for January 2020, including a course on the BPEC qualification. The training is expected to not only benefit the installer but also prove a cost-effective scheme for Aster and its tenants, increasing the number of products that can be repaired quicker rather than replaced with a brand-new unit.

Fraser Smith, an Aster engineer who attended the course, said: “It was some of the best training we've ever had. It was clear the GDHV trainers are experts in their field and certainly knew what they were talking about, and delivered the training in a very informative and engaging way. They answered all our questions and were happy to teach us a few things we didn't know about the Dimplex heaters, Redring showers and Xpelair fans.”

Carl Millward, assistant electrical manager at Aster, said: “I’d like to thank GDHV for providing excellent training to our engineers. The GDHV team were not only friendly, engaging and very knowledgeable but also delivered the technical training in a way that our engineers could easily understand and digest. I look forward to continuing this training programme and we’ve already got dates in the diary for 2020.”

The training forms part of GDHV’s newly-launched Training Academy, with a number of courses specially designed to help installers to manage the complexities of modern installations and maintain a solid understanding of the most innovative solutions.

In addition, the business has also invested in two new liveried training vans, full of training equipment, to enable the company to provide tailored, expert training to installers all over the country.

Craig Cundey, head of product training at GDHV, said: “With decades of experience in the social housing sector, we’re always looking for ways to make life easier for our customers and the contractors they work with, especially installers.

“This tailored training programme for Aster is the perfect example of this, where using our extensive industry and product insight we were able to share our expert advice on the most challenging issues facing installers. I’m delighted that the first training session has been such a resounding success and look forward rolling this out further in the coming months.”