Working alongside its members, ECA will reflect on 125 years of progress while focusing on the future through four themes: legacy and leadership; skills and apprenticeships; technology and transformation; and trust, integrity and value.

The anniversary celebrations will launch with a film highlighting the journey ECA and its members have taken together, followed by a series of videos showcasing the vital work members do to power homes, businesses and infrastructure across the UK.

Steve Bratt, Group CEO of ECA, said: “As the UK moves towards Net Zero, electrification and electrotechnical skills have never been more important. This anniversary year recognises our past impact while highlighting what must be done to support the industry’s future.”

ECA’s 125th anniversary year is sponsored by Aico, Edmundson Electrical and Schneider Electric.

Find out more at www.eca.co.uk/125 and follow #WeAreECA across social media.

Find more industry news here

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Achieving the UK government’s target of 70GW of Solar Power by 2035 raises some significant challenges.

One of these is the availability of electricians qualified to install and commission Solar Photo Voltaic (PV) and other low carbon technologies. According to new research commissioned by The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership, the country fortunately needs just 500 more qualified electricians each year to realise its Solar aspirations.

The research, carried out by Pye Tait, shows that for many electrical firms installing Solar PV is not their sole occupation. A fully qualified electrician can upskill to install Solar PV, Energy Storage Systems and other net zero technologies in just a few days. Electrical apprenticeships in England already incorporate training in low carbon and smart technologies, including Solar PV. What’s more, employing qualified electricians provides business agility, as they can integrate a range of different technologies to work efficiently together, all at the same time.

The new data shows that while employers involved in Solar PV currently identify challenges in recruiting and training more electricians, 500 more each year is entirely achievable. With improvements in the skills system and greater collaboration between industry and education, there is a clear path to removing existing obstacles.

The Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), has recently launched the Recharging Electrical Skills Charter. The Charter calls for closer ties between industry, governments and education, to grow the competent electrical workforce to support the net zero transition. The trade body highlights the importance of electricians to the energy transition. It sees the short-term fix of ‘bootcamp style’ courses for new entrants as a cul-de-sac for learners and industry, as well as a waste of public resources.

Andrew Eldred, ECA’s Director of Workforce and Public Affairs, said: “Electrical courses of all kinds are in huge demand, so it’s clear there is no shortage of people wanting to join the industry. The main problem is completing learners’ training to the right, industry-recognised standards. To increase the size of the qualified electrical workforce, we must fix the broken skills pipeline. The Recharging Electrical Skills Charter offers an achievable policy programme to mend the broken pipeline. This will boost the numbers of qualified electricians needed to achieve the UK’s net zero targets.”

For related articles, click here

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Welcome to our June issue and congratulations to you all on making it through what feels like a very long winter. As I sit here writing this, the sun is shining and the world feels like a great place to be.

It certainly feels like we have seen the back of the dark and dreary days.

As we now head into summer it’s time to take advantage of the longer days and shorter nights but it’s also time to shed the cloak of doom and look ahead – and perhaps start a plan of action for changes which you want to make.

One of the interesting things I have noticed this month is all of the news we are hearing about apprenticeships. In April this year the Government announced that non-levy paying employers would no longer be limited to a maximum of ten apprenticeship starts which has allowed smaller organisations to increase their number of apprentices and effectively start to fill the skills gap and grow their business.

We often hear about the ‘skills gap’ in the electrical industry with many citing an ageing workforce and lack of new talent entering the industry as a problem. This isn’t unique to the electrical industry and is actually something which is widespread – particularly in the construction industry. But what are we doing about it?

The news for non-levy paying employers is very welcome and will be a huge turning point for those looking to recruit new Apprentices into their businesses. But if you turn to our news pages you will see the good news is more widespread.

Let’s start with the fact that entries are open for the ECA Edmundson Apprentice of the Year Award. What a great opportunity that is and what a great way to raise the profile of electrical apprenticeships which are helping to bridge that skills gap.

We then move on to the decision by the Department for Education to list apprenticeships on the UCAS portal. The news story features a worrying statistic that only 8% of pupils thought that an apprenticeship would lead to a good job despite the fact that the Higher Education Statistics Agency cite that 85% of apprentices versus 80% of university graduates had reached employment. This is certainly food for thought.

Apprenticeships have had a bad reputation with many people over the years and have often been seen as the poor relation to a university degree – that simply isn’t true and hopefully the news that they will now be listed on the UCAS portal will do a lot to change that.

We can however all do something in the longer term. The skills gap will not go away on its own and it is up to every single person working in the electrical industry to do their bit. It is clear that the apprenticeship route will be crucial in the longer term in bringing new blood into our industry – we just need to all get involved to make sure it happens….and that it is sustainable.

So while you’re enjoying the start of summer have a think about those things that you might like to change whether it’s a personal commitment or one for the business you are working in because industry training is the way forward so let’s embrace it.

See you next month,

Tracey

Read more viewpoints here

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Gary Parker, ECA Senior Technical Manager, looks at some of the major changes in BS 7671:2018+A2:2022.

There have been major events and changes since the release of the 18th Edition Wiring Regulations.

Since the ubiquitous ‘blue book’ was published in 2018, the electrical contracting industry has encountered Brexit, COVID and material shortages, Building Safety legislation and various green technology and other opportunities. Some of these have shaped the way we look at and think about electrical installations today.

On 28th March 2022, the second Amendment to the 18th Edition was released. The new book (brown this time) is filled with important updates that electrical contractors need to know about.

Implementation and information

The last update to the Wiring Regulations (Amendment 1, updating the requirements around electric vehicle charging installations) will be withdrawn on 27th September 2022. Any new work from this date must conform to the new Amendment 2.

Some of the wording has also been clarified. For example, some readers took the word ‘recommended’ to mean ‘mandatory’. This has been made clearer throughout, and should now be easier to understand.

RCD risk assessments

These updated requirements relate to Regulation 411.3.3 – RCDs and socket outlets. Previous Editions allowed building owners to omit RCDs in some cases where a risk assessment had been done.

This is still an option, but the requirements have been tightened up. Amendment 2 now insists that an RCD must be provided where children or disabled persons are present, regardless of whether a risk assessment has been done.

Additional earth electrodes

Some new wording has been added to Regulation 411.4.2 recommending that an additional connection to earth, by means of an electrode, is provided to PME earthing systems. As mentioned earlier, the word ‘recommended’ is key here. This is just one option, and not mandatory.

The existing Regulation 114.1 still remains and says that where a supply is given in accordance with the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR), it shall be deemed that the connection between earth and neutral is permeant.

Arc Fault Detection Devices

Readers may remember that previous drafts for public comment suggested requirements for more AFDDs. While Amendment 2 has increased the use of these products, it isn’t to the extent that we have seen in the drafts.

AFDDs are now mandatory for circuits supplying socket-outlets with a rated current not exceeding 32 A in:

• Higher risk residential buildings (HRRBs)
• Homes in multiple occupation (HMOs)
• Purpose built student accommodation
• Care homes

This clarifies the specific locations where AFDDs are required. Of course, this does not restrict their uses in other locations. That is up to the designer, but it is worth noting that some limitations do remain regarding AFDDs. For instance, they are single-phase only and may require a minimum load to function correctly.

Protected escape routes

Amendment 2 introduces a new phrase: protected escape route. Previous editions of BS 7671 referred to escape routes, although this led to confusion and the question, “what is an escape route?”

Amendment 2, Regulation 442.1 addresses this by defining a protected escape route as a route designed to be protected against fire for a specified period. During a fire, almost anything is an escape route. But a protected escape route is designed by a suitably skilled fire engineer or architect to last longer than a standard corridor.

Protection against overvoltages

For many years now, we have seen an increase in the use of Surge Protection Devices (SPDs) in the UK. But some of this uptake was caused by confusion about when SPDs should be used.

Regulation 443.4.1 is now much clearer and states that protection against transient overvoltages shall be provided where the consequences of an overvoltage could result in:

• Serious injury or loss of human life
• Failure of a safety service (such as sprinklers or smoke alarms)
• Significant financial or data loss

In other cases, protection shall be provided (there’s that word shall again) unless the owner declares they are not required, and the risk is deemed tolerable by the installer.

Bonding of outbuildings

A slight, but important, update has been made to Regulation 544.1.1, relating to bonding of outbuildings.

Now, any outbuilding on a TN-S or TT earthing system can be bonded in accordance with the incoming cable protective conductor related to that building. Previous Editions required the designer to consider the bonding from the main building, which is still the case for TN-C-S systems.

This update gives designers the flexibility to preserve materials, whilst also meeting the requirements of the Standard.

Solar PV systems

Section 712 has undergone a complete re-write for Amendment 2 and has grown from 5 to 14 pages!

With a lot more detail, new requirements and updated design criteria, this is a big change for designers and installers working with Solar PV systems.

Prosumer electrical installations

Most of us will recall that there have long been seven parts to BS 7671. Not anymore! Part 8 is here, and it deals with prosumer electrical installations. A prosumer is someone who both produces and consumes electrical energy. This is becoming more common now, and demand is only set to rise. Part 8 gives designers the tools they need to consider the future, now.

Certification

A welcome update here for those who must complete electrical installation certificates. The schedule of inspections has reduced from several A4 pages’ worth of checks and boxes, to 14 simpler tick boxes.

There is of course still a requirement to inspect, and the information is still held in BS 7671. But now, there is no need to complete multiple forms to confirm whether each element has been inspected or is not applicable.

The schedule of inspection remains for those all-important electrical installation condition reports.

You can learn much more about AMD2 at our forthcoming Roadshows and in an ongoing series of articles, videos and podcasts that we’ll be making available. Find out more by clicking here

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