Industry News

TOOLSTATION OFFERS TRADESPEOPLE ONE-YEAR ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE SUBSCRIPTION

Toolstation has launched an offer designed to help electricians, plumbers, carpenters, builders and other tradespeople save money and help them run their businesses more conveniently. Existing and new Trade Credit Account customers can secure a free year subscription to Quickbooks accounting software.

The launch comes as research by Toolstation reveals that 40% of tradespeople manage their own accounts, but 60% of those don’t use any software to help. In fact, 26% of tradespeople find keeping on top of paperwork the most challenging aspect of their job.

The initiative has been launched as HMRC is set to introduce its Making Tax Digital rules from April 2023. Under these new rules, any business or sole trader with an income of over £10,000 will have to file returns to HMRC quarterly instead of annually as they currently do. In practical terms it means they will need to use compatible software to keep their records and send an income and expenses summary to HMRC every three months.

Toolstation’s Trade Credit Business Development Manager, Renato Vieira, says: “It’s clear from our research that almost half of tradespeople manage their own accounts and that’s one of the reasons we have launched this new initiative, to give them a helping hand. While the Making Tax Digital rules are intended to make filing tax returns easier, many don’t currently use any software to help them, so we would encourage anyone with a Trade Credit Account to take advantage of this free offer to help them with their paperwork and quickly prepare for these new rules.”

Toolstation, toolstation.com

APPRENTICES OF THE YEAR CROWNED BY SJIB AND EDMUNDSON ELECTRICAL

Two young electricians have been recognised for their exceptional talent in the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) Apprentice of the Year awards, sponsored by Edmundson Electrical. Cameron Wood and Patrick Henderson were presented with their awards and certificates in special ceremonies with their respective employers.

Cameron proudly lifted the 2021 trophy, while Patrick received the 2020 award which had to be delayed due to lockdown. Both also received £500 from the SJIB and £500 from Edmundson Electrical.

Cameron is now a qualified electrician who works for JS Hardie Electrical in Lauder, Berwickshire, after completing his studies at Borders College in Galashiels. The 21-year-old says: “I was really surprised when I found out I’d won this award; I definitely didn’t expect it and it’s made all the hard work and sleepless nights worthwhile!”

After successfully completing his training, 2020 winner Patrick now works for Atalian Servest AMK in Loanhead, Midlothian, after studying at Forth Valley College in Falkirk. The 23-year-old says: “When I started my apprenticeship, it didn’t even cross my mind that I’d win an award like this. I just saw it as a job but it turns out I was good at it!” Scottish Joint Industry Board, sjib.org.uk

LIVERPOOL JOHN MOORES UNIVERSITY SELECTS SALISBURY GROUP FOR HARD FM SERVICES

Facilities management company, Salisbury Group, has won a contract with Liverpool John Moores University for building, electrical and mechanical maintenance services. The deal covers planned and reactive works across 37 different buildings in the city of Liverpool. The contract will run for a maximum of five years and is expected to be worth over £1.5 million per year.

The agreement is the fifth university contract that the company has won and mobilised in less than two years. Salisbury’s Group Managing Director, Andrew Lunt, commented: “We are delighted to win this contract with an excellent new client. This is our fifth and newest partnership in the university sector, and it reflects how a values-led and people-focused business can succeed with like-minded clients. We have a great team on site who are now working hard to help the facilities run as effectively as possible for students and staff alike.”

Liverpool John Moores has grown to be one of the best-established universities in the UK. Its five faculties produce leading research that influences policy makers, improves people’s lives, and finds solutions to the problems of today. The university is constantly looking to improve its offering to students, with ambitious plans for the further development of the campus. Salisbury Group, salisburygroup.com

ELECTRICIANS ARE MOST LIKELY TO FEEL PROUD OF THEIR WORK

Tradespeople are significantly more likely to love their jobs than the average working Brit, with over half saying they really enjoy what they do, according to new research.

The study, by IronmongeryDirect, asked UK tradespeople about their level of job satisfaction and found that 56% are happy with their careers, compared to just 37% across all industries.

Additionally, nearly half (47%) of tradespeople are proud of the work they do and around a third say they are happy with both their work-life balance (32%) and level of income (31%).

Tradies were also asked exactly which parts of their work they find the most enjoyable. The most popular answer was interaction with customers (22%), while the ability to continually learn on the job also ranked highly (21%).

The top five things tradespeople enjoy about their work are:

• Interacting with customers – 22% • Learning something new – 21% • Working outdoors – 20% • Job variety – 20% • Seeing visible accomplishments each day – 19%

When it comes to individual trades, bricklayers are the most likely tradespeople to say they enjoy their job (69%), but interestingly are also the least likely to feel proud of their work (19%).

Electricians (63%) and plumbers (61%) also have really high job satisfaction, while at the other end of the table, building surveyors are the least likely tradespeople to enjoy their work (43%).

Painter decorators and electricians are the most likely tradies to feel a sense of pride about their work (58%).

Millennial tradespeople are the least likely to enjoy their job, with only 43% stating that they like their work, whilst those over the age of 65 have the greatest career satisfaction (69%).

More men said they enjoy their job (60%) than women (50%), but women are more likely to be proud of their work (51% vs 45%). IronmongeryDirect, ironmongerydirect.co.uk

ANSELL LIGHTING GIVES KICKSTART TO YOUNG EMPLOYEES

Ansell Lighting has lent its support to a £2 billion government initiative designed to support young people aged 16-24 years into employment.

As part of the government’s Kickstart scheme, Ansell Lighting has provided five young people, who were facing the prospect of long-term unemployment, with six-month job placements.

Danielle Hazeldine and Molly Jones have been employed as Returns Administrators, whilst Haaroon Amin and Shannon Cragg have joined the business as Sales Order Processors. Reice Seerey has secured a role at Ansell’s lighting manufacturing operation as a Production Operative. All of the applicants were previously claiming Universal Credit and struggling to secure work.

Ansell Lighting worked closely with Kickstart project, setting up a new recruitment process where senior Ansell managers attended local Jobcentres to assist the efficiency of the selection process.

Sarah Ankers, HR Director of Ansell Lighting says: “As a business, we are pleased to have been able to fully support this initiative. As well as introducing new talent for our business it has given us the opportunity to offer young people in our community the chance to learn transferable skills that are aimed at increasing their chances of sustained employment.” Ansell Lighting, anselluk.com

T-LEVEL STUDENTS BENEFIT FROM NET FUTURE FARADAYS EVENT

Leicester College’s T-Level students found out more about the electrical industry, apprenticeships and employability at an interactive ‘Future Faradays’ event that took place recently.

The Future Faradays programme is an initiative from electrical industry charity, National Electrotechnical Training (NET), that aims to inspire and inform full time electrical students about the industry, the proper way to become fully qualified, and the opportunities available to them. During the event, around 50 students heard informative talks from Stuart Wiles and Lucy Willett, final year electrical apprentices at Leicester City Council, qualified electrician Stephanie Ward from PA Housing Association, project engineer Miah McCullagh from Elmleigh Electrical Services and Neil McManus, Leicester College’s Construction T-Level programme manager.

After the presentations, students had the opportunity to interact directly with each speaker during networking sessions to explore each topic in more detail.

The students’ own presentation skills were also put to the test after they were set a challenging task to improve classroom lighting efficiency. Students had been working in teams over the previous two weeks and, at the event, presented their research and solutions to the industry speakers. After each team was judged on the quality of their presentation, teamwork, research and solution, the top two winning teams were presented with a range of prizes from CK Tools and Scolmore. National Electrotechnical Training, netservices.org.uk

TRADES TURN TO DIGITAL TOOLS AS WORKLOADS KEEP RISING

UK trades firms are investing more in technology to stay on top of costs and manage the increase in demand they predict going into 2022, according to a study by field service software provider, BigChange, and independent research consultancy, Opinium.

The study shows that 85% of firms expect to be busier over the next 12 months, and nearly one-in-five (17%) anticipate that workloads will at least double.

Expectations of growth are highest among building maintenance, facilities management, cleaning and waste management firms. At least 88% of business leaders surveyed from these sectors said they expected workloads to increase going into 2022.

But growing demand doesn’t mean plain sailing in the year ahead. 73% of respondents said increasing costs for materials and fuel would reduce their profitability in 2022, and 69% said that the higher price of labour would negatively impact their finances.

Almost all (94%) of the firms surveyed expected to increase technology spending in 2022 to help manage extra demand and rising costs. A quarter (23%) say they will spend at least 50% more on digital tools than in the last 12 months.

The median – or middle of the pack – firm expects to increase technology spending by 11% in the next 12 months. Median firms plan to employ 7% more people and increase broader investment in their business by 10% over the same period. 82% of leaders told researchers that good practice in their sector now involved using digital systems to manage their businesses. More than half (54%) said that operations should be automated and optimised within a single system. BigChange, bigchange.com

NORTH-WEST LONDONERS TO BENEFIT FROM £1 MILLION SCHEME

North-West London is set to benefit from a new £1 million investment to upgrade the electricity network. Work is currently underway to install a new grid supply point in Willesden. The new equipment replaces existing equipment which has been installed for decades and will be decommissioned. This will help to meet future demand of local power supplies in Willesden and the surrounding areas.

The project, by electricity distribution firm UK Power Networks started in May 2020 and is due to finish in March 2022, providing power for the equivalent of 2600 homes. As part of the scheme, the firm has consulted local councils and other interested parties to ensure that people experience as little disruption as possible while installation work takes place.

Joshua Alderdice, project manager at UK Power Networks, says: “This cable upgrade is part of our ongoing investment in the network to maintain reliable power supplies. The aim is to test the cable connections as we go along, to ensure a smooth transition for when the project is completed next year.” UK Power Networks, ukpowernetworks.co.uk

NAPIT LAUNCHES NEW DIGITAL MEMBER ID CARD

NAPIT has introduced a new membership identity card app to make it quicker and easier for customers to verify the competence of NAPIT members. NAPIT electrical members can now access their new digital ID card anytime and anywhere, be it online or offline.

The introduction of this new digital ID card makes NAPIT the first certification body in the electrical industry to offer this service.

Mike Andrews, CEO at NAPIT Group, says: “Our world today is undeniably one which is focused and reliant on digital technologies and advancements. With this in mind, we are very proud to launch our digital ID app that allows our electrical members to access their membership ID card on-the-go via their smartphones, with or without internet connection.

“As a business, we are committed to enhancing safety and promoting competence in the sector. This digital ID app allows our members to demonstrate their certification scope in a clear and easy way to their customers. The additional benefit of a QR code, on the card, allows the customer to verify the member’s identity and competence, enhancing this offering further.”

NAPIT services such as technical support and customer services are also easily accessible via the app. NAPIT, napit.org.uk

CEF REVEALS A NEW NAME AND FRESH LOOK FOR ITS WIMBLEDON STORE

The CEF store based in the famous London postcode of SW19, is rebranding as CEF Wimbledon. Previously known as CEF’s Merton store, it’s one of 390 branches of the nationwide electrical distributor that stocks over 3,000 everyday essential electrical products.

The Wimbledon store has always been well stocked and ready to supply customers with everything from cables and lamps to sockets, ventilation, heating and switchgear from its trade counter, and it’s hoped that its new name will prevent future confusion about its location.

Group Manager, Dan Alimardani comments: “There was sometimes a bit of head scratching about our store name, with customers not realising exactly where we are. We hope that changing our store name will lead to CEF Wimbledon becoming as famous for its outstanding service as the world-class players at our neighbouring tennis club.”

The SW19 postcode is famous worldwide as the home of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club, home to the Wimbledon Tennis Championships. Wimbledon is actually a district and town in the Borough of Merton in south-west London, England. CEF, cef.co.uk

MOVERS & SHAKERS…

Hylec-APL has announced the appointment of Andrew Ferney as Wholesale Director. Andrew will spearhead a drive to heighten the company’s presence in the wholesale electrical trade and increase sales of Hylec’s comprehensive range of electrical products. Andrew has spent 35 years working in the electrical industry, having held senior sales and management positions within the electrical wholesale, manufacturing and lighting sectors.

Ellis Patents has strengthened its UK-based export team with the appointment of Alex Floyd as Export Sales Executive. The Rillingtonbased cable cleat manufacturer is currently active in 45 export markets; and Alex’s appointment means the company now has a five strong export sales team based in the UK.