News PEOPLE
ELCO UK, formerly MHS Boilers, has appointed Gavin Watson as its new sales director.
Airedale International has appointed Rob Rhodes as area sales engineer for the North West alongside Paul Golding who has covered the area for 14 years.
Dimplex has strengthened its sales team with the appoint- ments of Elwyn Williams and Howard Fincham as regional business development managers for installed products.
AmbiRad has appointed Steve Walford as product manager for engineered products, Europe.
FETA has announced a number of new appointments. Mike Lawrence of JTL Systems has taken over as president of the BRA. He will also become chair- man of the FETA Board, from July 2014 to July 2015. In addition, John Skelton of Sainsbury’s has become BRA vice president. Other new appointments at FETA include Graham Wright of Daikin Airconditioning UK becoming president of HEVAC, with Nick Howlett of Titon becoming vice president.
There have been a number of changes at the HPA, with Mike Nankivell succeeding Tony Bowen as president. James Timbs-Harrison of Mitsubishi Electric UK has become vice president for marketing and development. Graham Wright is now vice president for technol- ogy and implementation.
Bosch Commercial and Indus- trial Heating has added to its expanding sales team with the appointment of two new heating and hot water specialists. Ben Richardson and Richard Davies have joined the company as commercial technology consult- ants.
Chris Bailie, of Toshiba Air Con- ditioning accredited installer BL Refrigeration and Air Condition- ing, has been selected for Squad UK to compete for a place in the refrigeration and air condition- ing section of the WorldSkills championships, being held in São Paulo next year.
Research into apprenticeships: CIPHE and SummitSkills announce findings
On 29 July almost 100 people gathered at the House of Lords to hear the outcome of research into apprenticeships and professional rec- ognition in the plumbing and heating industry. The event was hosted by Baroness
Wall of New Barnet, who is a passionate supporter of ‘Fit for purpose’ training. In 2013 she was awarded Honorary Member of the Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN), for her championing role and support for apprenticeships. CIPHE (the Chartered Institute
of Plumbing and Heating Engineering) and SummitSkills led the research project, which was funded by the Gatsby Foundation. Information was gathered over a 12-week period from focus groups and questionnaires and around 800 employees and owner/directors of business from across the plumbing and heating sector participated. SummitSkills general manager,
Nigel Hollett, said: “We have been involved in the development of apprenticeships for many years and
we are pleased to be acting as the secretariat for this project. We hope this research will provide a valuable springboard to the development of a new apprenticeship standard that builds on the excellent work under- taken by employers and other stake- holders to date.” The main survey was conducted
over a three-week period, with 500 employers, individuals and industry organisations responding. It looked at how the current apprenticeship system for the plumbing and heating sector is working. One of its aims was to identify support amongst micro SMEs for professional recogni- tion, such as Engineering Council registration. The findings revealed that 98% of respondents think it is important that the plumbing and heating industry should collectively promote career progression.
More than 83% think that appren- ticeships should lead towards regis- tration with Engineering Council at EngTech level, while 97% believe it is important for the industry to recruit
more apprentices. Only 40% of those surveyed think that the current qualification system is fit for purpose and meets the needs of apprentices, employers and the industry as a whole.
It is hoped that the findings of the research will help in develop- ing a new, employer-led ‘Trailblazer’ Apprenticeship for the industry. CIPHE chief executive, Kevin
Wellman, said: “The response from industry has been overwhelming and I commend all those who have participated so far in this important research. It recognises the need for meaningful apprenticeships and the value of professional recognition.” He continued: “We are especially
grateful to the Gatsby Foundation for funding support for the research. The collaboration between the trade asso- ciations, training organisations and the CIPHE in encouraging employ- ers to develop future apprenticeship standards is vital and I hope that the Government recognise this by sanctioning a plumbing and heating Trailblazer.”
Ideal Boilers backs call for change in law
Ideal Boilers is adding its support to a campaign to change the law on carbon monoxide (CO) alarms. Plumb Center and Honeywell, who are leading the campaign, are call- ing for CO alarms to be mandatory when any carbon-burning appliance is installed in England and Wales. A law is already in place in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Tragically around 40 people a year die from accidental CO poisoning in England and Wales – with around 4,000 admitted to hospital with
symptoms, which could lead to brain damage and strokes, according to the Health and Safety Executive. The true scale of the problem might be much greater because CO levels are not rou- tinely checked during post mortems in this country. The campaign has launched an e-petition with government and needs to secure 100,000 names to force a debate in The House of Commons. Ideal managing director Shaun
Edwards said: “Ideal Boilers is very happy to give its support to this criti-
cal campaign - one death from CO poisoning is one too many.” “We work tirelessly to ensure the quality of every boiler we produce because customer safety is paramount. It is also vital that every carbon-burn- ing appliance is regularly serviced and maintained to ensure its safety. “However a CO alarm is a critical second line of defence and we would urge all installers to go to
www.no-to-
co.co.uk and pledge their support and ask their customers to do the same. We need to make this happen.”
Improving economy helps specialist contractors
Improving economic conditions are benefitting the specialist sector, accord- ing to the latest NSCC State of Trade Survey. The number of specialist contrac-
tors reporting an increase in orders in the second quarter of 2014 increased to 57%, up from 27% just over a year ago. The balance of orders - the differ- ence between respondents reporting an increase and those reporting a decrease - reached its highest level since 2000. Overall, 59% of specialist contractors are anticipating an increase in workload
6 | September 2014 | HVR
over the next quarter and a record high of 72% expect to see an increase over the next year. 84% of respondents reported they are now working at more than 75% capacity, while 43% are work- ing at over 90% capacity. However, this is leading to difficulties for some, with 64% experiencing increased sup- plier prices and 19% reporting they are unable to bid for work due to skills shortages, well above the five-year aver- age of 6%. Payment practices improved slightly during the second quarter of this year
with 16% of specialist contractors getting paid in an average of less than 30 days. This is the highest result ever recorded by the survey. In another first for the survey, the number of respond- ents waiting more than 60 days for pay- ment at 14% was lower than the num- ber receiving payment within 30 days. NSCC contributes its findings to the State of Trade Survey published by the Construction Products Association, allowing the experiences of the special- ist sector to be compared with the wider industry.
Daily news update at
www.heatingandventilating.net
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60