SIG Roofing has announced the continuation of its partnership with national skin cancer prevention charity Skcin.
The news highlights the company's commitment to raising awareness of the disease, in particular with male outdoor workers, who make up a significant portion of the SIG Roofing customer base. During 2025 the partnership will offer SIG customers free training to learn how to implement key skin cancer prevention measures and educate them on how to spot the early signs of the disease.
SIG Roofing started working with Skcin charity last year when it learned about the launch of its national Sun Safe Workplaces accreditation programme for employers of outdoor workers. As a result of its efforts, the business was awarded a certificate for completing the programme, having conducted over 150 training courses for its employees, which included staff from all 107 branches.
A survey conducted by the SIG Roofing business in 2024 highlighted the necessity for educational intervention for customers as well. It revealed that 95% of roofers reported experiencing repeated sunburn due to working outdoors – a leading cause of melanoma skin cancer. Additionally, 63% indicated that they never, rarely, or only sometimes use sunscreen, while nearly half admitted that they were unaware of how to check their skin for signs and symptoms of skin cancer.
Skin cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and fastest-rising cancer in the UK, and one of the leading causes of cancer-related deaths among individuals aged 15 to 34. Solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is responsible for 90% of all skin cancer cases, which puts outdoor workers at a significantly higher risk of developing the disease.
Additionally, the predominance of men in the UK's outdoor workforce raises further concerns, as statistics indicate that the incidence of skin cancer is increasing at twice the rate in men compared to women. Men are also 69% more likely to die from this disease.
In 2024, SIG Roofing, in partnership with Skcin, dedicated time and resources to conduct surveys, install in-store point-of-sale displays, advertise in trade publications, provide free sunscreen stations and giveaways, and train its employees throughout its branch network.
These initiatives aimed to raise awareness of skin cancer among customers and employees who work outdoors and are at high risk for this disease. SIG's efforts were recognised by the Builders Merchants Awards, where it became a finalist in the Health & Safety category. Additionally, it won an award at the Safety & Health Excellence (SHE) Awards for its 'Take a Squirt' sun station initiative.
Charlotte Pritchard, Marketing Director at SIG Roofing, said: “We are excited to continue our support for a charity that excels in raising awareness and educating people about skin cancer. In 2024, our focus was on ensuring that our branch staff completed the excellent online training course offered by Skcin. This course explains how UVA and UVB rays affect our health and teaches how to reduce their risk of skin cancer and recognise the early warning signs.
"Additionally, we conducted specific research with our roofing customers to gain insights into their thoughts and habits regarding skin cancer awareness. Following this, we launched a branch initiative where we installed sunscreen stations and promoted an in-store TV campaign to address this important issue.
"This year, we are continuing these efforts with an added emphasis on encouraging our roofing customers to participate in the Skcin training course, which will be funded by SIG Roofing. We are also involving our external sales team to stress the importance of this initiative and encourage roofing contractors to enroll their teams in this vital awareness course, which can be completed in less than an hour.”
Marie Tudor, CEO of Skcin, said: “We are delighted to continue our partnership with SIG Roofing. Outdoor workers are in one of the highest risk groups for skin cancer. Outstanding commitments such as this dedicated partnership to invest in the vital awareness and education of both employees and customers is a powerful force – driving much needed behavioural and attitudinal change that has the power to save lives”.
