VIEW FROM THE TOP EMMA MCCARTHY
Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP
EDITORIAL General 020 7880 6200 | Fax 020 7324 2791 E-mail editor@niceicconnections.com
A thirst for knowledge It was Sir Francis Bacon who once said “knowledge is power”. Never has this been more true, especially in today’s electrical contracting industry. As I have said in these pages before, the opportunities presented by the feed-in tariffs and the renewable heat incentive are there for all those in our industry who are ready to gain the necessary knowledge and skills to take advantage of these emerging markets. Even the amendments to the 17th edition of the wiring regulations mean that our core knowledge has to be updated. Technological advances and the ever-changing ‘The opportunities use of electricity mean presented by the feed-in the wiring regulations are tariffs and the renewable constantly evolving and heat incentive are there for we will always need to all those ready to gain the update our knowledge in necessary knowledge and line with the changes. skills to take advantage of Training, although often the first budget to be these emerging markets’ cut in times of economic hardship, gives the people in our industry the knowledge and chance to develop their skills and strive for better things in their work. This issue of Connections contains an in-depth look at training within the electrical contracting industry and how investment in staff development is vital for growth, particularly in these tough economic times. There is a commercial advantage to be gained by companies with employees who are skilled in a number of areas. Over the past few months we have noticed a marked rise in the number of people applying for places on our solar photovoltaic and renewable courses, while our online training option is proving increasingly attractive. This latter initiative is important; our online training saves valuable time and cost because it can be done at home. We recognise that taking time off-site to attend training is not always practical. You can find out more at www.niceic.com. Emma McCarthy, chief executive officer, NICEIC 4 Spring 2011 NICEIC Connections
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Editor Nick Martindale Technical editor Mike Clark Sub editor Victoria Burgher Art director Mark Parry Art editor Adrian Taylor Picture researcher Akin Falope Head of business development Aaron Nicholls
ADVERTISING AND MARKETING Sales manager Jim Folley Senior sales executive Mark Palmer Sales executive Darren Hale Display 020 7882 6206 | Fax 020 7880 7553 E-mail enquiries@niceicconnections.com
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REDACTIVE PUBLISHING LTD Managing director Brian Grant Chairman Lord Evans of Watford
CONTRIBUTIONS Connections welcomes ideas for contributions. Please email nick.martindale@niceicconnections.com © Redactive Publishing Ltd 2011. by Redactive Publishing Ltd, 17 Britton Street, London EC1M 5TP. Registered No. 122038. All rights reserved. This publication (and any part thereof) may not be reproduced, transmitted or stored in any print or electronic format (including but not limited to any online service, any database or any part of the internet) or in any other format in any media whatsoever, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Redactive Publishing Ltd accepts no liability for the accuracy of the contents or any opinions expressed herein. Printed by St Ives (Peterborough) Ltd. Paper by Denmaur Papers plc The paper mill that makes the text paper for this magazine states that it uses at least 80 per cent wood pulp from sustainable sources.
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