Ray Hood has been associated with funeral service since 1974, being a registered tutor with the British Institute of Funeral Directors since 1990.

He qualified as an embalmer, winning the coveted ‘Trustees Award’ for the highest theoretical examination results in 1994, prior to going on to become a tutor with the ‘British Institute of Embalmers’.

In 1997 he was invited to formally become an ‘International Honorary Member’ of ‘SIGMA PHI SIGMA’ an educational fraternity based at the University of Southern Illinois, faculty of ‘Applied Sciences and Arts’, and is entitled to all the rights and privileges appertaining to lawful membership.

He has been a member of the ‘European Association of Embalmers’ since its inception and is proud that his membership number is in single figures.

Ray gained his ‘Certificate in Teaching in Adult and Higher Education’ at the University of London, where he continues his association, by basing his embalming tutorials and Modular Examinations at Birkbeck College.

Ray has written for the BIFD journal and the Funeral Service Journal. He is also actively involved in NVQ’s, having been personally responsible for establishing the very first NVQ centre in the country for funeral service at City of Westminster College, where he served as internal verifier.

His NVQ activities have also extended to areas outside the funeral industry and include Training and Development and Management. Ray is also a Key Skills and Institute of Management Assessor, having been involved with several ‘Advanced Modern Apprenticeship’ schemes.