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[ Spotlight Training and skills ]

Case study: CF Roberts Electrical & Mechanical Services, Cheltenham

Cheltenham. It received funding approval in April 2009 from the ECA West region to cover 10 of its project and contracts managers to take the IOSH Managing Safely qualifi cation. (IOSH is the Institute of Occupational Health and Safety, the world’s biggest professional health and safety organisation). Marion Mitchell, business support director, says: ‘What’s great is that we were able to get the training provider to deliver the course in-house, and we negotiated the price down to £3,000, which was fully refunded by the ECA Training Fund. If we had sent them on the course individually it would have cost more than £4,500. It was a four-day course and we chose to train across four weeks, and were able to pick the days that suited the workload. It also meant we were able to pick what days suited us to have the guys out of the offi ce.’ The level of health and safety knowledge provided is

One of the companies to benefi t from the ECA Training Fund is CF Roberts Electrical & Mechanical Services, which employs 250 people at its bases in Hereford and

ideal for individuals across different management roles. Marion says: ‘We fi nd it’s suited to managers who are not working directly in a health and safety position, but who need to understand and manage health and safety on sites.’

Good management is key for

business; but according to ECA research, management skills are critically underdeveloped in many companies in our industry

T

o get fi nances back on track, contracting fi rms need any edge they can get. One way is to bring new knowledge to the team – and right now that’s going cheap. The ECA Training Fund is a

unique opportunity for ECA registered members to invest in employee development for as close to free as training gets. And it could prove a very valuable business benefi t for those who take advantage. Not only are skills shortages in the electrical and

engineering sector a major concern for the UK economy, they’re bad for business. Our registered members need the expertise to win large future projects to help lift the country out of and beyond recession. And at company level, if specialised knowledge or particular skills are called for and nobody internally fi ts the bill, you’ll have to hire anew.

Funding growth

The ECA fund was introduced to alleviate industry shortages, but equally it supports business development. Holding any of the eligible craft, health and safety, specialist, academic, business or management qualifi cations within a company can pave a route to expertise, professionalism and specialist skillsets. As a result, the business can cut costs, expand or diversify, offering an enhanced portfolio of services and ultimately delivering higher quality to clients. In two years, more than 120 ECA registered members

have applied to the ECA Training Fund, and been approved for grants ranging from £300 to £3,000. This amounts to more than 230 individuals who are either currently undertaking or have completed a qualifi cation with the ECA’s assistance.

Better management

Good management is key for business, but according to ECA research*, management skills are critically underdeveloped in many companies in our industry. This is despite the fact that fi rms might have staff members with the right potential to be developed into management roles. The best people to take on management responsibility

are often existing employees who understand the fi rm and who have succeeded in previous craft, junior or unskilled roles. Rather than just putting someone in charge, formal training will give the candidate the confidence and knowledge they need to achieve in all the areas they will need to cover. ECA registered members now have a further great

incentive to develop staff into supervision and management roles. We have recently launched a new management development training programme, approved by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI), which will run regionally with full funding. The programme consists of team supervisory (team leading) and management stages, and the content is specifi cally focused on electrical contracting. Participants are assured of the quality of the management

development programme and its delivery, because gaining CMI accreditation demonstrates that our programme is of a suitable standard to gain approval from the UK’s foremost professional body for managers. It also means that candidates who complete the programme can opt to register for a formal CMI qualifi cation, proving their skills have been independently endorsed at professional level.

* Source: “Incentives and Barriers to Training in the Electrotechnical Industry” – ECA and the Institute for Employment Studies, 2007.

About the author

Iain Macdonald

Iain Macdonald is the head of ECA Education and Training and has been representing the ECA’s skills and training agenda since 2004.

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