Industry News

THREE-QUARTERS OF UK ELECTRICIANS DON’T FEEL CONFIDENT HANDLING FINANCES

Almost three-quarters (74%) of UK electricians don’t feel confident in handling their company finances, and many have lost money as a result, new research has revealed.

The study, conducted by ElectricalDirect, surveyed electricians from across the country and found that only 26% are comfortable dealing with the financial side of their business.

This includes pricing up jobs for customers, with a quarter (25%) admitting to having lost money because they’ve made mistakes whilst giving quotes.

A simple way for workers to check if their prices are reasonable is to see what other electricians in their area are charging for similar jobs. However, almost three-quarters (73%) of respondents said that this isn’t something they do.

Furthermore, the vast majority (76%) of electricians do not account for the cost of living or inflation rates when giving quotes to customers. This is despite living costs rising at their fastest rate for 30 years and inflation predicted to reach 8.3% in April, meaning take-home pay could fall heavily.

Although they don’t specifically consider the cost of living, more than a quarter (28%) of UK electricians have raised their prices since the start of 2022, and four in five (80%) have upped their quotes in the last year.

However, despite the pandemic significantly disrupting the industry, one in 20 (5%) have not increased their rates in the last two years. This equates to more than 2,000 electrical businesses across the UK. ElectricalDirect, electricaldirect.co.uk

GARDENERS URGED TO STAY SAFE ON SPRING RETURN

UK Power Networks wants gardeners to put safety first as many spring into action and venture back outside at the end of winter.

The UK’s biggest electricity distributor is reminding those with green fingers to stay on red alert when undertaking any digging work.

The company needs gardeners to understand that contact with high voltage underground electricity cables can be fatal.

The main risk to gardeners comes with deep digging, but wider advice includes how to stay safe using mowers, ladders and even replacing fence panels which may have been damaged during recent storms.

The top tips for gardeners include:

• Be aware of the location of underground electricity equipment and request details before work starts. Cable plans can be found at linesearchbeforeudig.co.uk. For larger projects use a Cable Avoidance Tool (CAT). • When digging deep in the garden, for instance planting trees or installing fence panels, assume all cables are live and hand dig trial holes to check the depth of cables. • When mowing the lawn, always fit plugs with a Residual

Current Device (RCD) to protect against electrocution. This safety device automatically switches off power when there is a fault. • If doing outdoor jobs involving a ladder, always look up and look out for overhead power cables, as contact could cause serious injury or even death.

UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk

HIGH-PERFORMERS TRIUMPH AT EDA AWARDS

Ten future leaders won an Electrical Distributors’ Association Learning Achievement Award at an annual lunch high above the rooftops at London’s iconic The Shard on 4 March 2022.

The Association’s celebration of training excellence brings together talented individuals from EDA wholesaler and manufacturer businesses. Each worthy winner has delivered an outstanding performance in the EDA’s Product Knowledge Programme or in an apprenticeship.

Margaret Fitzsimons, EDA CEO, says, “Our winners are the cream of the UK’s electrotechnical sector. Travelling from as far afield as Guernsey to the South, Cork in Ireland to the west, and North Yorkshire and from businesses large and small, but they all have one thing in common: each has worked extremely hard to achieve amazing results in their training.

For an outstanding performance in the EDA Product Knowledge Modules, the Learning Achievement Awards went to: • Sian Alford, Edmundson Electrical in Guernsey • Joe Sayer, BEW Electrical Distributors in Peterborough, part of the Fegime UK buying group • Gary Dowling, Kellehers Electrical, part of Rexel UK, in Cork, Republic of Ireland • Dean Jones, Alert Electrical Wholesalers in Ilkeston, part of The IBA Buying Group • Alex Bright, Termination Technology in Bristol • Richard Banks, Deta Electrical Company, Charlton, Bedfordshire

For an outstanding performance in an apprenticeship, the Learning Achievement Awards went to: • Shannon Rooney-Sadler, BED (Corby), part of the ANEW buying group • Finley Maxwell-Hoff, LAMPS – Lighting and Mains Power Solutions in Aylesbury, part of the AWEBB buying group • Joshua Craggs, CEF in Ripon • Harvey Small, Stearn Electric Co in Southampton

REVEALED: THE MOST IN-DEMAND TRADES ACROSS THE UK

Brits search for local tradespeople on Google over 700,000 times a month and now new research has revealed which of the trades are most in demand.

The study, conducted by IronmongeryDirect, analysed search data from across the nation and found that in 82 of the UK’s 100 largest towns and cities, plumbers are the most coveted tradespeople, followed by electricians.

Trade

1 Plumber

2 Electrician

3 Landscaper 4 Roofer

5 Plasterer

6 Carpenter 7 Builder

8 Joiner

9 Bricklayer 10 Building Surveyor 11 Scaffolder

12 Painter Average UK monthly searches

162,415

107,230

94,337

67,508

65,943

60,798

56,585

41,563

18,664

11,612

8,538

8,283 1% The people of Bath are most likely to seek the services of a tradesperson, with 103 monthly Google searches per 1,000 residents – the highest rate in the UK. The Somerset city is followed by Preston (102) and Bedford (88).

However, this varies by trade, with Exeter being the most lucrative city for many workers.

Dominick Sandford, Managing Director at IronmongeryDirect, says: “Tradespeople are incredibly valued members of communities all over the UK, but it’s interesting to see exactly where their skills are most sought after at the moment.

“For people looking to enter a trade or set up their own business, data like this could be really useful when choosing a location to establish yourself, as it’s a helpful indicator of potential demand for your services.” IronmongeryDirect, ironmongerydirect.co.uk

Percentage of all searches for tradespeople

23%

15%

13%

10%

9%

9%

8%

6%

3%

2%

1%

DOMESTIC ELECTRICIAN APPRENTICESHIP RECEIVES GREEN LIGHT

The domestic electrical market in England now has a formal, funded training structure following the approval of the new Domestic Electrician Level 3 apprenticeship standard.

With the new apprenticeship, recently approved by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, domestic electrical work now has its own clear identity with an industry standard and assessment route agreed by employers.

Three years in duration, the apprenticeship standard provides a comprehensive Level 3 training programme that will cover all facets of planning, installing and maintaining electrical services within a domestic setting. It also includes training and assessment in domestic electric vehicle charging point installation, and will provide a strong platform of foundation skills to equip learners to undertake further training in the installation of new and low carbon technologies.

Domestic Electrician apprentices will gain a new Level 3 technical Electrotechnical in Dwellings qualification and will have to carry out an in-depth End Point Assessment that is a modified version of the existing industry assessment of competence, the AM2.

The standard was developed by an industry employer group, in response to growing demand for a high-quality training route that clearly ring fences domestic electrical work and provides a structured training programme for both new entrants and those already in the workforce. Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, instituteforapprenticeships.org

NEW RESEARCH INTO THE HUMAN IMPACT OF FIRES LAUNCHED

The Housing Safety & Wellbeing Taskforce, with founding member Aico, is launching a seminal piece of research into the human impact of fire and how different legislations across the four nations impacts its prevalence.

“One way or another we need to make buildings safe, that’s carbon monoxide and fire dangers. We have perhaps contributed to allowing a bad situation to continue for too long and I welcome finding the way forward,” says Sir Peter Bottomley, MP for Worthing West, and Father of the House at the Housing Safety & Wellbeing Taskforce (HSWT) Launch.

The key findings from the research are:

• The cost of each fire has reduced by 41.5% in Scotland, compared with 23.2% and 24.4% in England and Wales respectively • Accounting for additional investment, balanced against the net cost to the economy of fire incidents, significant savings have been seen in Scotland. If England saw reduction in costs at the same relative scale as Scotland, this would amount to £243 million of savings per year • The aggregate cost of dwelling fires amounted to £1.1 billion in 2019/20 after adjusting for inflation • Those classed as lower-income are a staggering 60% more likely than higher-income groups to face serious fire hazards in their homes • Those to have ever experienced a fire, 18.7% reported subsequent psychological trauma. This represents an estimated 957,000 adults • Individuals with children younger than five years’ old were the most likely to have experienced trauma in the aftermath of a fire, amounting to 31.8% of those in this category.

ONE IN THREE TRADESWOMEN EXPERIENCE DISCRIMINATION

New research from Rated People has revealed the biggest challenges faced by women who work in the trades industry, as well as the trades which have the lowest representation of women and the biggest gender pay gaps.

The study discovered well over a third of tradeswomen (39%) aren’t taken seriously because of their gender. One in seven (15%) have had personal safety concerns when working, and almost one in 10 (9%) say they’ve had customers who won’t let them work on a job when they see they’re a woman.

The findings are taken from the newly-launched 2022 edition of Rated People’s Home Improvement Trends Report, where researchers spoke to more than 600 tradespeople across the UK about working in the industry, and over 2,000 homeowners about their attitudes to hiring tradeswomen.

Positively, there’s growing demand from UK homeowners – nearly half (46%) say they’d definitely hire a tradeswoman, 43% have no preference and only 11% of UK homeowners say they’d prefer a tradesman. Almost one in three (29%) women in the UK also say they would feel safer hiring a tradeswoman to do a home improvement or maintenance job in their home.

But the research highlights just how out of balance the industry is. Over half (11) of the 20 professions with the worst levels of representation of women in the UK are within the trades industry.

Women make up less than 1% (0.99%) of carpenters and joiners in the UK, and less than 4% of electricians, plumbers, floorers and tilers are women. Across the 10 trades with the lowest representation of women, none of them have more than 5% of women in the workforce.

Women electricians earn 54% of what men do. Women in construction and building trades only earn the equivalent of 57% of a man’s salary, and women plumbers would take home just 61% of what a man would in the same trade. Rated People, ratedpeople.com

RECOLIGHT WORKSHOPS IN LIGHTING PRODUCT DESIGN FOR A CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Recolight has announced a new series of workshops to help manufacturers embed circular economy principles in the design of lighting products.

The one day in-person workshops will describe circular economy standards and specifications that companies can use to show the circularity of their products. They will also provide practical guidance on circular design issues, including design for long and extended use, upgradeability and repairability, replaceability, choice of materials, use of recycled raw materials, and design for recovery. A series of case studies will be used to show how these requirements can be implemented in practice. Furthermore, participants have the option to bring their own company product to the workshop, for review by attendees, to consider how it might be adapted for greater circularity.

The workshops will feature a roundtable environment with a maximum of 12 delegates, giving the opportunity for full interaction, feedback, and questions for each topic. The workshops take place on four dates: 7 April – London 17 May – Birmingham 7 June – Leeds 14 June – London

NIGLON JOINS THE EDA

A company supplying a range of more than 4,500 products to UK wholesalers has joined the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA).

Niglon is now an affiliated member of the EDA, which represents around 75% of the wholesale industry – acting as a voice for the sector among policy makers and trade bodies.

Paul Dawson, Niglon’s Commercial Director, says: “We are delighted to have become an affiliated EDA member and to be working more closely with the organisation going forward.

“The EDA has a fantastic reputation within the industry and offers valuable networking opportunities, campaigns, initiatives and information sharing.

“We’re looking forward to taking full advantage of our membership and to seeing the positive impact this will have on our business.” Niglon, niglon.co.uk

SELECT DONATES POSTERS AND TOOLBOX CARDS TO KEEP APPRENTICES SAFE

SELECT is distributing posters and handy toolbox-sized safe isolation flowcharts to remind apprentices and adult trainees of correct working practices.

The campaigning electrical body is currently handing out ‘Ten Steps to Safe Isolation’ posters to all 22 training centres used by the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), to be displayed prominently as a reminder of how to work safely.

Smaller durable versions, designed to fit handily into toolboxes, are also being made available to all 2,669 electrical apprentices and adult trainees currently training in Scotland.

Running under the banner ‘Work dead safely: Stay alive’, the posters and cards have been adapted from the range of safe isolation materials launched by SELECT in January 2021.

The first resources were handed over to David Henderson, SECTT Assessment Centre Manager at Cambuslang, in March and the remaining posters and cards will now be distributed to the 21 approved centres around Scotland. The cards will also be handed out at SELECT’s upcoming Toolbox Talks in May and June, and posters are also available for members on request. SELECT, select.org.uk

MOVERS & SHAKERS…

BGEN has appointed Greg Duncan as Group Health & Safety Director. The board level appointment reinforces the company’s commitment to health and safety and will see Greg tasked with continuing the company’s continuous journey to zero harm. This will include overseeing the ongoing digitalisation of the organisation’s health and safety systems.

The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA) has announced Graeme Rees as its new President. Graeme takes over from Terry Sharp who has held the role for the past two years, while Paul Wetherfield will take Graeme’s place as Vice-President.

Lighting design practice, Michael Grubb Studio, has expanded its expert team with the appointment of Rachael Flint. Joining the practice as an Associate, Rachael brings with her more than a decade’s experience in the lighting industry. Having worked for consultancies in London, Oxfordshire and Sydney, Rachael understands the differing challenges of national and international projects.