ASSOCIATION NEWS
Update:
LATEST NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE AMALGAMATED HEATING AND PLUMBING CONTRACTORS GROUP… SEAI: is a new approach needed?
W hile the latest reports show a huge increase in activity at all levels year on year, the target of 500,000 deep retrofits based on current performance seems an impossible target. While grant aid is significant, the capital cost of the overall project leaves an additional funding requirement for most average families that is well beyond their means. This, coupled with the need in most cases to vacate the dwelling for the duration of the work, means that, even for committed and environmentally aware families, this work is not a runner. In tandem with this, the SEAI should work on restoring its goodwill with the thousands of contractors that they are depending on to carry out this work. This relationship has been badly eroded, if not completely lost, over the past few
years, with large numbers of reputable tradesmen and small contractors actively opting to avoid SEAI-aided contracts in a buoyant market that allows them to do so. Proposed measures like increasing stamp duty on the sale of buildings rated below the required B2 level are further examples of the “gloved fist” approach, an unwelcome development that will impact those who can least afford it, while depressing sales of their properties. Incentivising sales with an immediate upgrade of these homes may yield better results. APPRENTICESHIP SCHEMES The apprenticeship schemes have been in the news recently with the call for increased pay and conditions for all apprentices, particularly first years.
The basic requirement is that the apprentice goes out and finds an
employer or “master” to train them. This makes it very difficult for many interested individuals to get into a trade, as they simply don’t know where to look. From the employer’s point of view, many sole traders are loath to take on a trainee, as they feel that they are training their own opposition for ten years down the road. From a training point of view, all apprentices receive the same off-the- job training, but the practical aspects of the apprenticeship may be limited if the employer specialises in a certain type of work or niche area. Would it not be better to change the whole system and let the training provider (in this case, SOLAS, the state agency that oversees further education and training in
“Currently, apprentices receive good all-round training to QQI level 6, which is of a higher standard than many other countries.”
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