ANALYSIS
ATTRACTING A SKILLED WORKFORCE TO MEET FUTURE DEMAND FOR LOW- CARBON SOLUTIONS SUCH AS SOLAR PANELS, ELECTRIC CAR CHARGERS AND HEAT PUMPS IS A CHALLENGE FOR THE SECTOR… Electrotechnical firms feeling the pinch from economic slowdown and skills gap
Electrotechnical businesses are feeling the effects of the economic slowdown and a shortage of skilled workers, despite high activity and growing order books. The impact of staff shortages, high prices and slow payment times is highlighted in the Building Engineering Business Survey for Q4 2023 just published in March. The survey is backed by the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), Building Engineering Services Association, standards body SELECT and the Scottish & Northern Ireland Plumbing Employers’ Federation, and sponsored by Scolmore. It found 34% of respondents identify staff shortages as the biggest threat to their business and expect business growth to stagnate in 2024. While 40% said their turnover had increased in the final quarter of 2023, 62% said commercial clients and main contractors take 31 to 60 days to pay for work, and 15% said it could take as long as 61 to 90 days. In relation to public sector clients, 47% were found to take 31 to 60 days to pay, rising to 61 to 90 days for 9% of those surveyed. For 60% of respondents, between 1% and 10% of their turnover is currently being held in retentions. ECA said the findings underscore its recent work to make payment fairer for contractors. Following consistent pressure from the trade association for the electrotechnical services industry, draft legislation to amend the Reporting on Payment Practices and Performance Regulations has now been laid before Parliament for approval. Extending the Regulations until April 6, 2031, a key ECA ask, the draft legislation confirms large companies will be required to report on several new metrics from January 1, 2025. ECA also, meanwhile, highlights research by CBI indicating the UK green economy
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return to growth. “The challenge is attracting and retaining talent of a highly skilled workforce during the intervening period where commercial behaviour hardens in order to meet growing demand for more advanced low-carbon solutions like solar panels, electric car chargers and heat pumps.” T: +44 (0)28 9147 9527 E: alfie.watterson@eca.co.uk www.eca.co.uk “While the outlook for the sector is pessimistic for the rest of 2024, there are signs that the economy could turn a corner by 2025.”
far outperformed other sectors in 2023, growing by 9% to around £74bn. ECA works closely with its members, industry partners and government to raise the profile of electrical contractors in the transition to net zero carbon and believes this is key to returning the wider construction industry to growth. Rob Driscoll, ECA Director of Legal and Business, said, “In light of the wider economic slowdown, these latest survey figures are far from surprising. However, they offer some vindication for the hard work ECA has been doing to give electrotechnical and engineering services contractors a voice, and the opportunity to play their part in the nation’s economic recovery. “While the outlook for the sector is pessimistic for the rest of 2024, there are signs that the economy could turn a corner by 2025 and the sector could
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