Preston’s College & JTL Announce Partnership Agreement

Lancashire further education provider, Preston’s College, has announced a long-term partnership with national apprenticeship, training and assessment specialist, JTL. The building services engineering partnership will focus on the delivery of apprenticeship provision, providing Lancashire employers with an effective solution for their training needs. Preston’s College is currently the largest apprenticeship provider in its local area, while JTL supports over 3,000 companies and 7,000 apprentices nationally every year across electrical, plumbing, heating and ventilation, and engineering maintenance. The partnership will see the two organisations work together to provide apprentices with high-quality training, delivery and assessment, whilst continuing to utilise the College’s industry standard workspaces. Jon Graham, chief executive of JTL, said: “We are delighted to be forming this new strategic relationship with Preston’s College – an organisation we have been working with for many years. “By bringing the strengths of both organisations together, I am confident that we can provide a great learning environment for our apprentices and continue to improve local skills for the building services sector.” Dr Lis Smith, Principal & Chief Executive at Preston’s College, added: “Our relationship with JTL will provide a simple and effective solution for Lancashire employers wishing to engage in training, development and assessment in the building services sector. “The construction sector has witnessed considerable growth over recent years, and with the continued momentum of the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, the partnership will ensure we meet the workforce demands of the local economy. “Equally, partnering with one of the UK’s major training providers will ensure our apprentices continue to receive first class outcomes whilst developing their skills in high quality, technology rich learning spaces.”  

EIC Appeals For Volunteers For Its Practical Participation Programme

The Electrical Industries Charity (EIC) is looking for volunteers to help keep dreams alive by providing practical support or by signing up to the charity’s very own powerLottery. Every year EIC makes dreams come true through its Practical Participation Programme (PPP) that harnesses your specialist skills in terms of time, equipment and materials – providing practical help where it is needed most. PPP is part of the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which offers a wide range of exclusive support services, complex case management and makes a significant contribution to improving the lives of apprentices, employees and their families, right through to retired colleagues. Through PPP, EIC offers practical support to people in need like the Rhodes family. Nine-year-old William Rhodes is suffering from a rare genetic blood condition – Diamond-Blackfan Anaemia – and requires blood transfusions every three weeks. William’s number one wish was to have a football pitch in his garden. EIC fulfilled his dream by laying down an all-weather football pitch using artificial grass with floodlights in his garden, so William will be able to play football all year round. Practical assistance can go a long way to assisting in delivering large-scale solutions. For as little as £1 per month you can also sign up to the charity’s number one fundraising stream – powerLottery. Simply download the new EIC powerLottery app on your Apple or Android device and tap the app to be in with a chance of winning one of 15 cash prizes worth up to £1,000 each month. So far over 21,000 people are taking part in powerLottery and helping EIC continue to provide life-changing support to thousands of people in their time of need. Sign up to EIC powerLottery today and help the charity remain the first port of call for thousands of industry colleagues and their families in the most turbulent times of their lives. To show your support, or for further information, contact Vicky Gray: vicky.gray@electricalcharity.org.

JIB Gives Qualified Welcome To Construction Industry Support For Direct Employment

A call to encourage direct employment throughout the construction supply chain has been given a qualified welcome by the JIB. In its 2018 strategy, the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Skills Workstream has set a specific action to ‘encourage action to reduce the number of workers not in direct employment, especially false self-employment which is a clear barrier to employers investing in training. Industry needs to collaborate to encourage all public and private sector clients to consistently mandate direct hire practices in their supply chain.’ The CLC draws together business leaders from across the construction sector to drive industry improvement. Within its skills strategy is the objective to develop the quality and capacity of skills required to support the sector, including its productivity and modernisation aspirations. Promotion of direct employment is a cornerstone of the JIB’s work and the organisation works to improve employment standards for its members and their employees. Members of the JIB are committed to industry-recognised terms and conditions for their electrical workforce and also provide a comprehensive package of employee benefits via the JIB benefits scheme. "Whilst the statement by the Construction Leadership Council Skills Workstream is welcome, it is simply warm words at this stage. What we need is evidence of action, for example the inclusion of direct employment in tender invitations and contracts. That will make a difference and every JIB member will welcome the opportunity to tender for electrical work on a level playing field," said Steve Brawley, JIB chief executive. "The same point applies to false self-employment, main contractors and clients should not accept false self-employment on their projects. We will be very happy to work with any client or main contractor who takes this aspiration seriously and wants to make a difference.”

New Network Launched For Female Electricians

A new online network has been launched to allow women working ‘on the tools’ in the electrical industry to connect, share views and advice, and create a forum for discussion and ideas. Open Circuit – the name given to the network – has been established by the charity Women on the Tools, in partnership with industry bodies the Joint Industry Board (JIB), Certsure and ECA. Any working or training female electrician is eligible to join the group, which is on Facebook. The idea to create such a group was inspired the Amber Light Society, a group of female electricians in New York who take an active role in supporting each other and the industry. In New York, 10% of the workforce in electrics is female compared to less than 2% in the UK. All organisations involved are now encouraging female electricians to join the group and calling on electrical contractors to promote the network to their female employees. Women on the Tools’ business development manager, Andrea Kelmanson said, “We believe that the ‘Open Circuit’ network has the capacity to reduce the isolation experienced by many individual tradeswomen, to become a forum for sharing information and ideas, to be a place for making and developing work contacts, as well as becoming a way of enabling the experience of women electricians to be accessed and heard.” Women are invited to join Open Circuit by visiting facebook.com/groups/opencircuit

NICEIC & ELECSA Renew Sponsorship Of Luton Town FC

Certsure has renewed its deal to sponsor Luton Town FC for the 2018/19 season – the tenth year in a row it will be supporting the Division One side. Once again, the NICEIC and ELECSA logos will appear on the backs of the Hatter’s home and away kits, in time for the start of the new season on Saturday 4 August. The new season will mark a decade of continued sponsorship between NICEIC and Luton Town FC – who will be competing in Division One following promotion from Division Two last season. Director of marketing, Mark Smith said, “We are delighted to once again support Luton Town FC. “We have enjoyed a great partnership with Luton over the last 10 years and it was great to see them promoted last year after performing so well. “We are committed to promoting our contractors and this promotion into Division One will ensure even greater coverage for the NICEIC and ELECSA brands. We would like to wish the management and players the best and we are looking forward to another great season working together.” Promotion to Division One means Luton will be performing in front of larger audiences with more TV coverage also. The first home game of the season against Sunderland has already sold out with a bumper crowd close to 10,000 fans expected. The first match of the new season takes place on Saturday 4 August with Luton Town Playing away against Portsmouth FC.

ECS Registered Electrician Reaches 10,000 Milestone

Over 10,000 ECS cardholders have signed up to become ECS Registered Electricians since the initiative was launched last October, says the JIB. The JIB established ECS Registered Electrician status to recognise those who are not only working at the industry-recognised Level 3 status, but also have the current edition of the Wiring Regulations. Following the introduction of BS7671:2018 this month, there will be a transition period until January 1 2019 where both the 17th and 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations will be accepted for a Registered Electrician application. After this point, only the 18th Edition will be accepted. All Registered Electricians will have until July 1 2019 to update their ECS account with the BS7671:2018 qualification. “The achievement of 10,000 is a fantastic first milestone and that number continues to grow daily,” said David Thomas. “With the introduction of the 18th Edition, we are set to see even more electricians now opting to become Registered Electrician after gaining their BS7671:2018 qualification. “Feedback from our cardholders shows that the Registered Electrician status is a highly desired and positive move for the industry, raising not just standards but also the profile of electricians and electrical contracting.”

Marshall-Tufflex Funds New Hospital Ventilator

Medical staff caring for critically ill patients at the Conquest Hospital, Hastings, have a new ventilation machine thanks to Marshall-Tufflex. The cable management manufacturer is a long-time supporter of the hospital, having donated thousands of pounds to it for various pieces of medical equipment and items to make patients’ stays more comfortable. The latest donation enabled the hospital to purchase a Hamilton G5 ventilator for use in its Intensive Care Unit, as Pauline Simes, Critical Care Lead Nurse, explained: “The G5 is a high-specification ventilator that will enable us to treat critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation/life support. It has several features that will be extremely beneficial and is very versatile – it can be used to help patients of all sizes to breathe, from tiny neonatal babies of less than 5Kg in weight to a large adult. We are, once again, incredibly grateful to Marshall-Tufflex for its very generous donation.” Group personnel manager Steve Baldry added, “We are delighted to be able to provide the Conquest with funding for this new piece of equipment. The hospital is a really valued facility within our community and it is important for Marshall-Tufflex – through its charitable trust – to support it as best we can.”

Hager Helps Electricians Understand Changes Following 18th Edition Publication

Just a couple of weeks after the publication of the 18th Edition of the Wiring Regulations, electrical professionals are actively seeking out help and advice and are homing in on overload protection of devices as a key area of interest. ‘Regs Live’ is Hager’s informative campaign designed to support professional electricians as they navigate their way through the changing regulatory landscape, understand their new responsibilities and seek out compliant product solutions. At the centre of the campaign sits ‘Reg’, Hager’s industry-first chatbot, which is offering simple, accessible and impartial advice for electricians looking to discover more about the 18th Edition changes. Use of the chatbot since the new regulations became public has already exceeded expectations, with over two hundred electricians opening up an online dialogue in the first few days following Reg’s launch. Overload protection is a key area Early analysis of the type of information most eagerly sought out shows that overload protection of devices, and the new responsibility for electricians to carry out a risk assessment on future electrical installations, is high on contractors’ priority list when assessing changes to the regulations. Ian Smith, marketing manager at Hager, comments, “We have been delighted with the initial industry response to the creation of ‘Reg’, our informative chatbot. “It is an important element of Hager’s wider ‘Regs Live’ initiative, which is supporting the industry through a period of significant change. The chatbot offers a new and novel way of accessing specific information that electricians are seeking. The high number of online ‘conversations’ that have already taken place clearly demonstrates that the industry wants to utilise such easy-to-use and informative communication tools. “Interestingly, initial interest seems to be centring on overload protection for devices and the wish of electricians to find out more about how the 18th Edition regulations affects this area.” In addition to Hager’s chatbot ‘Reg’, Hager has also developed its wider ‘Regs Live’ campaign to offer the industry the means to access the information it needs in a manner that suits the individual. This includes the availability of in-depth training courses provided by Hager experts which sets out both the significant changes to the regulations and, importantly, how it will practically affect day-to-day installations and electricians’ responsibilities. Following completion of the course, attendees receive a handy bitesize guide to all things 18th Edition, which has been created by Hager’s technical team. It provides a quick and accessible overview of what has changed as a result of the 18th Edition, including reference to product changes that become mandatory next year. For members of the professional electrician community looking to put a question to Hager’s Reg chatbot, simply visit the Hager 18th Edition Regs Live Facebook page and hit ‘send a message’ to begin a conversation.

IDEAL Networks Issues New Guidance On MPTL Testing

Modular Plug Terminated Links (MPTL) are increasingly used in networks, but as testing is still relatively new, it can present a challenge. IDEAL Networks has published a new, free White Paper to educate installers on the testing and certification of MPTLs. “Although an MPTL is essentially just an Ethernet cable with a female socket (jack) on one side and a male plug on the other, testing is not simple and not the same as a Permanent Link (PL),” explains Tim Widdershoven, global marketing manager for IDEAL Networks. “A PL has a female socket at each end and can be tested with approved certifier test leads using qualified male RJ45 plugs. However, because an MPTL has a male plug at one end, the certifier must be equipped with a female socket to test the plug performance." “You might assume that all you need to do to test MPTLs is change the adapters on the certifier, but it’s not that simple – measuring the performance of the plug at the end of the MPTL takes special care,” Widdershoven adds. “That’s where our new White Paper can help.” The White Paper, The Rise of Modular Plug Terminated Links, provides in-depth information about how MPTLs work. It also covers the pitfalls to be avoided during installation and testing, as well as looking at permanent links, LAN cable standardisation and testing channels. The handy guide also highlights upcoming changes to the TIA-568.2-D Standard (part of the TIA-568 series), which will include MPTL as a recognised cabling topology. To download The Rise of Modular Plug Terminated Links (MPTLs) or to obtain the free MPTL software update, visit idealnetworks.net

Hamilton Mourns The Passing Of Founder, Rod Hamilton

Hamilton Litestat, which this year is celebrating 50 years since the company’s incorporation, has sadly announced the death of its founder, Rod Hamilton, at the age of 90, following a stroke. Rod started as a commission agent selling electric shavers, smoothing irons and electric fires. A request to try selling a new piece of technology called a dimmer, when the first question was “what’s a dimmer”, led him into the field of switches, sockets and lighting controls, with an ever-expanding choice of plate designs and finishes. For many years, these came from the Italian firm, Frascio; a close relationship that built the fortunes of both companies. From an initial base in the west of London, he took the big step of moving the company to Mere in Wiltshire in 1984. This allowed expansion to serve not only the national market but also international demand, and to build a brand known and respected for quality and choice. Gradually the need for a wider skill base led to a factory being established in Bristol, where the bulk of the operation is now based. Rod was still going into the firm at the age of 86, although much of the day-to-day running had moved into the hands of his son, Ian. Right to the end he would ask Ian, "How’s business going?" Known as a tough businessman with native acumen, he nevertheless was also gregarious and generous, hospitable and humorous.