TRADE ASSOCIATIONS SHOW THEIR TRUE COLOURS IN A CRISIS
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By Kevin Griffi n, SELECT President
It’s said that you only ever see someone’s true character in a crisis. Well, during the pandemic, your trade association has come into its own and demonstrated its unique and unquestionable value to Members. As a not-for-profit organisation, the
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sole purpose and principle of SELECT is Members’ welfare. This commitment has shone through in the past months. I’ve been enormously impressed
by the way SELECT has rallied to help Members keep calm and focused during an extremely worrying time. As the impact of the pandemic
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face-to-face, with the remaining four Branch Updates – Dumfries and Galloway, Tayside, Glasgow and Aberdeen – being held via webinar. Weekly Digital Drop-ins also gave
Members the chance to ask staff questions in live Q&A sessions. Our ever-popular training courses
have also moved online – see pages 16 and 17 for details of how we kept Members learning during lockdown. And for those Members still carrying out emergency and essential work across Scotland, our Technical Helpline has been staff ed every day. Director of Technical Services Dave
Forrester said: “Our staff may not be able to carry out assessments or training in person, but we’re still in contact with Members on a daily basis through other measures, helping them until things are up and running again.” SELECT also recruited the help of
industry experts including the SEC Group’s Len Bunton and the legal eagles
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at MacRoberts to untangle contractual, commercial and legal issues, with the Electrical Industries Charity also off ering much-needed mental health support. Our ongoing commitment to the
industry also means we’ve been lobbying hard behind the scenes to help maintain cashfl ow and protect jobs as a key member of the Construction Industry Coronavirus (CICV) Forum. More details about this can be found on pages 18 and 19. Alan added: “Having worked in the industry for nearly 40 years, I’m used to seeing the ups and downs of things like recessions, but this current crisis has put us all to the test. “Our Members have
experienced a situation that we could barely have imagined – but SELECT is determined to keep helping them through these diffi cult times and beyond.”
became clear, it was truly heartening to see The Walled Garden spring into action with a host of practical and proactive measures, from refunding membership fees to lobbying behind the scenes for continued cashflow. With face-to-face contact reduced,
SELECT has used every alternative measure to reach out and reassure Members that they’re not enduring this unprecedented incident alone. As a contractor myself, I know that
even a friendly call asking how you are makes a difference. Knowing someone is thinking of your welfare – and not your wallet – means the world to us. It’s also heartening to know that
SELECT and its fellow trade bodies are in the unique position to influence and shape REAL change on our behalf; delivering tangible results that make the industry better for everyone. All of these things show the value of trade bodies. We might not be able to stop the virus, but associations like SELECT can assist Members with the things they REALLY need and will continue to do so long
after it’s safe to pick up our tools again.
CABLEtalk JUNE/JULY 2020 15
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