Government Business

David Pollock, Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) Group CEO, raises concerns over a looming skills crisis within the electrical industry and suggests that adult training is vital to the future of the UK electro-technical industry.

First, the good news: Between 2008 and 2011, the UK construction industry is expected to continue to grow. However, to deliver this sustained growth, Construction Skills Network’s report Blueprint for UK Construction Skills (2007-11) predicts that an average of 87,600 new workers need to be recruited into the industry each year.
    
In order to meet Communities Minister Parmjit Dhanda’s announcement that government will provide funding to deliver 508,000 new homes in the East of England over the next 20 years, and other major projects such as the 2012 Olympics, Construction Skills Network’s report points towards a need for 9,810 more qualified electricians to enter the industry.
    
It’s not just at entry level that we have cause for concern. We are also seeing a real gap emerge in management level staff. Simply put, those retiring are not being replaced in sufficient numbers; while at the same time, changing business practices have led to a reduction in traditional career progression.
    
Without a really significant increase in training the electrical industry is undoubtedly headed for a skills shortage on a number of different levels.
    
While, as an industry, we are grateful for the contribution made by the migrant workforce, we should not depend entirely on it. We are already seeing a trend towards repatriation resulting, ultimately, in the loss of that source of skills.
    
Looking at the issue long-term, I strongly believe that industry and government must invest in the development of a homegrown workforce to equip the UK construction industry now and for the future.

The evidence
In 2007, The ECA commissioned a survey by the Institute for Employment Studies, ‘Incentives and Barriers to Training’. The aim of the survey was to enable us to gain a clear understanding of the training culture that currently exists within the electrotechnical sector and to inform our future training and qualification policies.
    
The results of this research highlight two fundamental issues. Firstly, a worrying trend towards an increasing skills gap within the electrical industry, with more than half of the companies surveyed believing they do not have the skills to meet their anticipated future requirements. Secondly, a clear requirement and desire to make training mature apprentices easier in order to help fill this skills gap.
    
Findings from the employers surveyed show:

• Over 1/3 experienced difficulties recruiting electricians
• Only 2/5 felt their workforce had sufficient skills to meet future requirements
• More than 1/5 acknowledged an anticipated skills shortage but had taken no action to address this
• Less than 1/3 had employed a less-skilled individual for a job than required, and provided training
• Older, experienced workers experienced problems accessing qualifications.
  

Barriers to training apprentices
Coupled with problems of recruitment at the right level, there are also questions around the industry’s willingness and capacity to train the number of people required.
    
Traditionally, the four-year advanced apprenticeship has provided a comprehensive grounding in the electrical industry with NVQ level 3 as the outcome; a qualification, which the industry has supported strongly.  Arguably, however, it is now considered by many to be expensive and time consuming. As a result, we should continuously monitor its content in order to ensure that it remains appropriate to the needs of our industry and the new technologies we are encountering.
    
I also believe we need to look at how this qualification fits with social changes and the expectations of young people, together with industrial relation issues. It is for these reasons that the ECA believes that we must ensure the industry’s apprenticeship scheme is reviewed as part of an ongoing process in terms of focus, content and timescale.

Up-skilling
As it takes four years for electrical apprentices to qualify, those starting apprenticeships today will not be qualified in time to start work on projects already commissioned and due to begin construction. Major construction projects will also suffer from the lack of managers capable of ensuring projects are completed on time and to budget.
    
It is the ECA’s belief that adult training and up-skilling talent that already exists within the industry is key to plugging this immediate skills crisis. Up-skilling operatives already working within the industry takes approximately 1-2 years and would therefore go some way to providing a solution for the near future and beyond.
    
Our ‘Incentives and Barriers to Training’ survey highlighted that the burden of training falls heavily on small to medium sized enterprises. Training is costly for these businesses and, when added to time off the job, it is fair to say that many firms only train when they have no other choice; when legislation dictates or accreditation is required by third parties.
    
As part of our commitment to plugging the skills gap we have ring-fenced a £10 million training fund, which expressly intends to assist member companies to engage in further training to plug the gap. The aim is to incentivise those already committed to training and those struggling to get training programmes off the ground.
    
We hope that the fund will alleviate the financial burden associated with professional development, thus providing the means for our members to invest in not only their own future, but also that of the industry.

Join us
The high standard of skills and expertise present in the electrical industry are still very much in demand. With our £10 million training fund, we have pledged our commitment to ensuring a skilled workforce of the future. The ECA now asks government and the construction industry to join us in our efforts by supporting the development of the workforce through training and investment.
    
In a changing climate our industry now has different requirements and the workforce needs to reflect this. The ECA is rising to the challenge of training this new generation of electricians. We urge the rest of the industry and government to follow our lead and join the drive to tackle the crisis threatening to affect major construction projects and, ultimately, the future of the UK electrical industry.

About the ECA 
The ECA represents the interests of 2,800 member companies involved in electrical installation work. Collectively, the member companies have an annual turnover of more than £5 billion, employ over 30,000 operatives and support 8,000 apprentices in craft training.
   
The role of the ECA is to provide a focus for the electrical industry in terms of safety, training, qualification, technological development and industry performance.
   
Additionally, the ECA has a number of subsidiary companies involved in such areas as insurance, property management, quality assurance and training to support and assist members' activities and interests.

For more information
For further information about the ECA please visit: www.eca.co.uk