News ‘Lost generation’ warning
ECA president, Diane Johnson, has warned of an increasingly disenfranchised generation as unemployment figures for the 18-to-24 age group close in on the million mark. Johnson said: ‘There are a huge number of kids in this country who went to university in good faith, but who are now languishing on the dole. They should be part of our economic recovery, not struggling to find their place in society. As a businesswoman and a mother, this is hugely worrying. ‘Perceptions are shifting slowly, but it’s high time that the value of learning a trade was put on an equal footing as having a degree – and Apprentice Week is the perfect time to promote this. As university becomes increasingly unaffordable and the numbers of places fall out of kilter with
those applying, the unemployment situation could well snowball as those turned away from university reconsider their options.’
Arguing that an apprenticeship is a practical skill for life, which can be built upon and developed, she concluded: ‘It’s great that the government has committed to creating 75,000 extra apprenticeships. Although, we must not forget that not all apprenticeships are the same; in our industry, an apprenticeship takes four years – from an SME’s point of view, financially, this can be a tall order, particularly in this climate. We need to work with government to find ways to incentivise employers and alleviate some of the financial burden, as apprenticeships are a truly worthwhile long-term investment.’
ECA fees freeze for 2011
ECA president Diane Johnson BEAMA welcomes consultation However, BEAMA’s CEO Howard
Porter said: ‘BEAMA is committed to ensuring that the government does not see upstream generation as the only solution to an electric future. Through these reforms, the infrastructure development strategy, and the smart meter rollout, there are some important policy platforms in place. But there is still a lot of work to be done on the building side to support the energy shift.’
BEAMA argues that all energy-saving BEAMA CEO Howard Porter
BEAMA has welcomed the government’s consultation on a package of options for reforming the electricity market. With its focus on affordability, low carbon and security of supply, the association says it goes a long way to reaching the 2050 Pathways aspirations from earlier in 2010, pointing the UK towards an electric future.
6 ECA Today March 2011
opportunities from existing technologies need to be exploited by removing existing barriers to market. This will reduce both the peak load and overall energy demand, making it easier to achieve security of supply. It also believes that a clear strategy must be set out through a partnership of government and industry for the deployment of best available building services technologies through to 2050. This must reflect the planned decarbonisation of electricity and allow UK industry to ensure that sufficient manufacturing and installation capacity is in place. Porter added: ‘Building Regulations are an important policy mechanism
to encourage take-up of smart home solutions, and to open up the market for heating and lighting solutions driven by intelligent control and supply-side interoperability.’
Changes
In tandem with the proliferation of smart technologies, BEAMA believes that the government will need to take a long, hard look at how it assesses the carbon footprint of electrical equipment in calculation tools such as SAP and SBEM. Porter concludes: ‘The outdated approach of short-term CO2
emission
factors will need to be reformed in the next Building Regulations review, in line with BEAMA’s long-standing stance of forward projections of at least 15 years. This stance has been further supported by the Zero Carbon Hub’s report on national calculation tools in 2010. Only through this type of intervention can government really drive forward the electric future. It is time for government to fundamentally review the treatment of controls in calculation tools and building policy, specifically for heating and lighting.’
In light of the current economic climate, the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) has frozen its membership fees for 2011. Steve Bratt, ECA group CEO, said: ‘The ECA exists to help its members and provide them with the support they need to grow, and in these difficult times it’s not just a case of growth but, for many, survival. Therefore, we took the decision not to add to our members’ financial pressures and to freeze our membership subscriptions for 2011.’ Bratt continued: ‘Despite keeping fees at 2010 levels, we will continue to invest in existing and new resources that we believe will help members – whether that is around tactics to improve cashflow, contract negotiation, employee relations, upskilling or future growth opportunities.’
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