SELECT prepares to mark another successful year
A year of successful campaigning on behalf of Scotland’s professional electricians will be marked at the 107th AGM (next month)(June 5, 2019) of SELECT, the trade body for the electrotechnical industry in the country. SELECT’s long-running campaign for Protection of Title for electricians has gained a high profile in the Scottish Parliament over the year and support has increased from all quarters, including from senior parliamentarians. 2018/19 has also been an outstanding year for SELECT’s industry-leading training programme which has seen record numbers of attendees at courses all over the country. The meeting, which is being held at the Grange Manor Hotel in Grangemouth, will see the appointment of Kevin Griffin as President of SELECT and Donald W Orr as Vice-President and will feature a Technical Update presented by Dave Forrester, Head of Technical Services. Dave’s technical update will focus on the new Fire Detection and Fire Alarm Systems in Dwellings regulations. An amendment to BS 5839-6 this year brings changes to standards for fire detection and fire alarm systems. In Scotland, further changes are coming due to the extension of the tolerable standard and updated guidance on the repairing standard that will see the introduction of enhanced fire safety requirements across Scotland’s housing stock. SELECT managing Director, Alan Wilson said: “2018/19 has been an eventful time for the organisation and I think it is fair to say that we have stepped up our efforts across a number of fronts, maintaining and improving the profile of companies and individuals within the industry. We are particularly pleased to have been able to cope with record demand on our training offering, especially for our BS 7671 (18th Edition) courses. We are also encouraged with the steady progress of our campaign for recognition of the profession of electrician which is gaining significant momentum and is attracting the attention of decision makers at the highest levels.” For more information please contact Alan Wilson, Managing Director at SELECT, the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland, The Walled Garden, Bush Estate, Midlothian, EH26 0SB. T: 0131 445 5577. F: 0131 445 5548. Twitter: http://twitter.com/updates_select YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJVjt14CvIig8bIKwidVug
SELECT marks another successful year
Another year of successful awareness raising, outreach and training initiatives was recorded at the AGM of SELECT, the campaigning trade body for the electrotechnical industry in Scotland. Kevin Griffin was re-elected as President of SELECT and Kenny Duncan was re-elected as Vice President at the meeting and Technical Update, which was held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Edinburgh in Inverkeithing, Fife. The AGM also welcomed Darrell Matthews as the organisation’s new managing director and wished outgoing MD Newell McGuiness, who has served for 29 years, every happiness in his retirement. Mr Griffin pointed out that the technical hot topic over the course of the year had been work on the 18th edition of BS 7671 on which many hundreds of hours have been spent to ensure amendments would be practical and would meet international standards. He said: “For the third successive year, SELECT delivered awareness training to all local authority verifiers. This year we travelled to eight locations around Scotland delivering updates on BS 7671 and BS 5839. “These events are an important part of maintaining our relationship with local authority building standards staff, which helps us represent members’ interests around the Certification of Construction Scheme.” SELECT’s Toolbox Talks also had a strong year. In 2017, 12 events had a record number of attendees with more than 650 members coming to hear about updates to the Scottish Building Standards and Surge Protective devices, a presentation which now features on YouTube. Training played another important role with a 5% increase in demand for SELECT training courses. Over the year SELECT trained 2871 delegates across 267 different courses. 2044 delegates were from member businesses and the rest from non-member organisations. Dave Forrester, SELECT’s Head of Technical Services, who presented on the major changes, said: “It has been another eventful, but very satisfying, year with demand on the increase yet again.” SELECT’s 1250 member companies account for around 90% of all electrical installation work carried out in Scotland. They have a collective turnover of around £1 billion and provide employment for 15,000 people. For more information please contact Alan Wilson, Head of Membership and Communications at SELECT, the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland, The Walled Garden, Bush Estate, Midlothian, EH26 0SB. T: 0131 445 5577
