Letter from PDA CEO, Neil Ogilvie

Dear Members,

Since my last letter to you, we have had a spike the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus following the easing of restrictions on 19 July. Sadly, as the impact of the unlocking is felt, this is likely to continue for some time yet. We can only hope that it will peak and then diminish, but only time will tell. With the recent spell of sunny weather, you may well have been able to catch up on some external decorating projects that had to be put off due to the inclement Spring. Speaking with Members across the country, the general feeling is that they have pretty full diaries for the remainder of the year. Not unexpectedly, a proportion of this is postponed work from last year when we were in lockdown.

Work-wise, there are two additional constraining factors that have arisen in the past few months. Firstly, raw materials shortages affecting some specialist paint production, and secondly, a general lack of skilled labour. Again, speaking to Members, many are seeking to employ additional operatives due to the extra work load, but many are struggling to find suitably qualified people to join their team.

I am pleased to report that all site visits for the Premier Trophy Awards competition are now completed. We look forward to catching up with the winners at the awards event in London on 16 September. I want to reiterate my thanks to the six Clerks of Works judges who have not had the easiest of times with the judging this year. For some of this year’s site visits, I stepped in to help and I was involved in judging eight of the projects in various locations. Since my last update to you, I am glad to say that our four apprentice competitions were a great success. Thanks go to all who took part and in particular, the colleges and associate partner sponsors who did a tremendous job in supporting these competitions once again. We will see our apprentice winners down in London next month.

Our new website, which was launched back in February, is working well and we have received positive feedback from you. Please check your company profile page as it is a great opportunity to highlight your work to prospective new clients when they use the ‘Find a Member/postcode search’ facility. By adding information, images of work, company logos etc, you are able to provide future clients with a detailed picture of your company, thus enabling them to make a more informed choice for their contract. It really does make a difference to the way that your company is perceived. If you experience any issues trying to amend or update the page, simply pick up the phone and speak to one of the office team who will be happy to assist you. To those of you planning to take a long-awaited summer holiday, I hope it all works out well and you are able to travel and perhaps reunite with family and friends after the unprecedented fifteen months we have just gone through. By the time I catch up with you again, autumn will be just around the corner, and I do hope to be able to meet up with as many of you as I can at our November Networking Event in Liverpool. You can find full information and a booking form on this long-awaited event on pages 8 and 10 of this magazine. Finally, I would to thank those Members who sent me messages of congratulations and best wishes on my ten years as Chief Executive. Your kind words meant a great deal to me.

Neil Ogilvie

Chief Executive neil@paintingdecoratingassociation.co.uk