ANALYSIS
SURVEY FINDINGS HIGHLIGHT THE IMPORTANCE OF ECA’S WORK TO IMPROVE SKILLS IN THE SECTOR AND THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ELECTRICAL CONTRACTING SECTOR TO THE DELIVERY OF THE UK’S NET ZERO GOALS… Engineering services firms continue to struggle with labour shortages
Electrotechnical businesses continue to be held back by slow growth, partly attributed to a shortage of adequately skilled workers, according to the latest quarterly survey of the UK engineering services sector. Backed by the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), Building Engineering Services Association, standards body SELECT and the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation, the Q1 2024 survey published in June highlights labour as an ongoing concern for a fourth quarter. Of all survey respondents, 48% currently have vacancies with 50% struggling to fill roles due to an insufficient supply of applicants, 46% reporting applicants lack the right attitude or behaviours and 45% finding applicants’ pay expectations are too high. SMEs accounted for 85% of survey respondents. ECA said the findings highlight the importance of its work to improve skills in the sector, and the significance of the electrical contracting sector to the delivery of UK net-zero goals. Andrew Eldred, chief operating officer of ECA, said, “Through further action at national and local levels, we need to bring the number of electrical apprentice startups to a sustainable level. We should also expand appropriate green upskilling opportunities for already qualified electricians, using the industry’s own Electrician PLUS kitemark. “Policymakers need to start listening to engineering services SMEs and reshape the skills system to deliver training routes which real-world employers value and recognise. This is essential if we are to build an appropriately-sized workforce with the right qualifications to install low-carbon technologies efficiently and safely.” Electrician PLUS was launched by The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership in August 2023. The skills framework focuses on the core competence of a qualified electrician as a foundation for
upskilling and training in low-carbon installation. The survey also looked at payment times, with commercial clients and main contractors taking 31 to 60 days to pay for 63% and 61 to 90 days for 13% of survey respondents. Public sector clients, meanwhile, took 31 to 60 days to pay for 49% and 61 to 90 days for 13% of survey respondents. Overall, 58% of respondents said between 1 and 10% of their turnover is currently being held in retentions. Rob Driscoll, Director of Legal and Business at ECA, said, “Until the scope for late and abusive payment (including retentions) is resolved, the health of the engineering services sector will continue to be stunted. Slow growth disproportionately affects SME firms who tend to be at the end of the supply chain. “Without more action to fairly and proportionately spread risk throughout the supply chain, there is a potential for unnecessary business failure in the industry. “For electrotechnical firms to remain resilient, there must be fairer risk sharing between clients and industry. There will be little growth in the economy towards
green energy and net zero if those at the delivery end of the supply chain carry a greater burden of risk.” Debbie Petford, Director of Legal and Commercial at BESA, said, “In our recently published Top 30 M&E Contractors Report, many of the sector’s senior managers noted that the prospects for growth were improving - particularly in high-value sectors like healthcare, data centres and research. “They noted that there was a clear pipeline of projects for the next three to five years in sight and that MEP services were responsible for a higher proportion of the value in these strong growth sectors. “However, they continue to be worried about the lack of skills and diversity in the industry’s workforces, and the need to improve productivity by wider adoption of digital and off-site solutions which require new skillsets. This will clearly be a barrier to growth in the near future and BESA will be working hard with its members to help them plug key gaps.” ECA Northern Ireland Regional Office T: +44 (0)28 9147 9527 E: alfie.watterson@eca.co.uk www.eca.co.uk
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