Abacus supports the future of the lighting industry

Date Announced: 01 Jun 2011 Russell Coles of E7 Contracting in Northampton has been presented with the prestigious Lighting Industry Federation (LIF) Outstanding Student of the Year 2011 Award. The prominent industry awards, sponsored by Abacus Lighting for the past ten years, were established to recognise the most outstanding student on the LIF Certificate course. The course provides education in lighting on a national level for people involved in the design/specification, maintenance, and the sale of lighting equipment. The finalists attended the awards ceremony this year which was held as part of the prestigious LIF Annual Lunch Event at Drapers’ Hall in London. The students made their final presentations to the judges Kelvin Austin, Lighting Director from Abacus Lighting, John Hugill, Training Manager at LIF and John Frost, a previous LIF Training Manager. The winner, Russell Coles was said to have impressed the judges with his lighting solution as well as a succinct and visual presentation of his findings.John Hugill, Training Manager for LIF commented: "Russell’s entry demonstrated the ability to light a space for both visual comfort and ambience. I am pleased that the LIF Certificate Course, which has now run for over 20 years, goes from strength to strength and would very much like to thank Abacus for their continued involvement with the award."Andrew Morris-Richardson, Group Managing Director of Abacus Lighting presented Russell with a £500 cheque and the commemorative sword which is a tradition continued over many years. He added: “Abacus are always delighted to be involved with this esteemed award and to work with The Lighting Industry Federation. We highly value the importance of training and development within the industry and we look forward to seeing Russell’s career flourish in the future.”“At Abacus in the past year, we have witnessed a fast-moving period of change in the lighting industry in terms of new product development, innovations and demands from the marketplace both here in the UK and internationally.As an organisation, we feel, we are well placed to greet these challenges but it is imperative that we continue to help develop and nurture emerging talent in the industry if the UK as a whole is to remain competitive in the worldwide lighting industry.The talent showcased as part of these awards is world class and has given me great faith that the UK is ideally placed to meet the challenges that lie ahead.”The runners up were Neal Robinson of Thorn Lighting based at Spennymoor and Andy Regan of Whitecroft Lighting based at Ashton-under-Lyne. Both received a £250 cheque for their presentation entry.The success of the LIF courses is demonstrated in the support for the Awards event by both the industry and its institutions. The number of students from the lighting industry and other individuals enrolled each year has continued to increase. The courses satisfy the academic requirements for The Society of Light and Lighting Awards and can be instrumental in gaining Membership of the Society as well as the Society’s Lighting Diploma. More information about the Lighting Industry Federation and the courses available can be found at www.lif.co.uk.

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