Last edited 24 Sep 2024

Wall of support for post-Grenfell regulation of electricians highlighted on radio

Wall of Support for campaign to protect the title and trade of an electtrican and a statutory offence to misuse it.

Managing Director of trade association for the electrical contracting industry in Scotland (SELECT) appeared on national radio to reinforce the importance of regulation of electricians in the wake of the Grenfell Inquiry’s call for a shake-up of the construction industry.

Alan Wilson the MD of Scotland’s largest construction trade association told listeners on The Clive Holland Show on Fix Radio that it was “so important” for consumers to know that they could trust electricians who carry out work in their homes or businesses. His comments followed the many recommendations in the damning Grenfell report, including inquiry chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick saying the sector should appoint a construction regulator to oversee all aspects of the industry.

Alan agreed that such a suggestion underlines the urgent need for regulation of the electrical industry, for which SELECT has been tirelessly campaigning for over the past ten years. Speaking on the national DAB station, which has a weekly reach of 450,000 listeners, he said:

“In our sector there is already a measure of self-regulation, in that there are different bodies which oversee electricians, but there is no legal requirement to be registered which is why we have taken up the cudgels on the issue, particularly over the past six or seven years. Protection of title means that if you call yourself something, such as a teacher or a nurse or a doctor, then you have to have the qualifications and experience to show that you are entitled to call yourself that. You wouldn’t want anyone teaching your children or your grandchildren if they weren’t qualified, nor would you want anyone treating you in hospital as a nurse or a doctor unless they were suitably qualified.”

In the special episode – entitled Should Trades Have Protected Status? – Alan went on:

“What we are aiming at is to regulate the profession to make sure that, if you have gone through your training and you have done your other qualifications – what we call our experienced worker route – then you can call yourself a legitimate electrician. And that’s really the key to this; to make sure that people get work done properly. From my perspective, I think it’s really important that we have the proper people installing electrical products.”

Asked what achieving professional status would look like, Alan said it would be similar in some ways to the Gas Safe Register, where workers wear identification lanyards.

He said: “Because we are going through the Scottish Parliament to achieve this and consumer status is protected in terms of UK legislation, we can’t get business registration; that is not feasible. But what we can do is aim for individual regulation, and that would mean the Scottish Government holding a register of electricians who are qualified to do work.

“So the workforce would have a badge and the customer would have the opportunity to check them out online. And that is so important.”

The campaign for protection of title for the profession of electrician has been pursued over the course of many years by SELECT in partnership with the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB), the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT) and Unite the Union.

The campaign aims to make it a statutory offence for someone to call themselves an electrician when they have no, or inadequate, qualifications, and to make sure that those who work in the industry do so in a safe and competent manner.

SELECT now runs a Wall of Support for backers to add their voice to the cause, with recent additions including former Transport Minister Kevin Stewart and Conservative MSPs Craig Hoy and Oliver Mundell.

Other supporters include Unite the Union, Electrical Safety First, The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Scottish Association of Landlords, and the Energy Saving Trust.

Cross-party support was also evident in a recent episode of SELECT’s Sparks’ Remarks podcast, with Torie MSPs Jamie Halcro-Johnston and Brian Whittle and Labour’s Monica Lennon all reinforcing their backing for the campaign.

Listen to Alan’s interview here.

This article was isued via press release as 'SELECT Managing Director takes to the airwaves to reinforce call for regulation of electricians as part of urgent post-Grenfell change in the construction industry ' dated 24 September 2024.