NICEIC & ELECSA Training is introducing a suite of management courses to help contractors build their business.
The new business skills seminars are separate to the practical, hands-on courses traditionally offered by the two organisations. This time, they are aimed at contractors who may run their own business, or those who have recently taken up a quality supervisory or management role and are looking to expand their skills.
The first set of courses in the new range will cover project management, relationship management and pricing.
Neil Vincent, Training Manager at NICEIC & ELECSA, comments, “Running a successful electrical contracting business is not just about being practical and handy with the tools. There is a range of other skills and knowledge required, a lot of which might be alien to the busy electrician who has solely focussed on technical work previously. These courses will provide contractors with skills in additional areas, which will ultimately help them build their business.”
In addition to learning new skills, contractors will also benefit by improving their business processes.
NICEIC & ELECSA estimate that around 95% of all complaints from householders relate to a contractual dispute of some format, where a basic contract has not been put in place or a defined scope of works has not been agreed at the start.
Research carried out by NICEIC & ELECSA has revealed that:
- 80% of quotations provided by electrical contractors do not properly document the terms or conditions of the appointment
- 74% of electrical contractors have never produced a construction phase plan
- 45% of electrical contractors receive variation orders verbally
- 60% of electrical contractors would invest in training for improving business process solutions
Vincent adds, “The majority of complaints between a contractor and client are down to a breakdown in communication over what was agreed at the outset. Such instances fall out of the remit of our complaints process, and so end up costing the contractor time and money to resolve.
“We believe that with the right training, these issues can be avoided. The courses are designed to improve planning, aid negotiation and to give contractors confidence in an area they might not have covered before. It will help improve the efficiency of the service they deliver, prevent costly litigation disputes, and help manage client satisfaction.”
The first set of business courses available are:
Introduction to project management – a one-day course that will give contractors the necessary skills and confidence running a successful project.
Stakeholder relationship management – a one-day course in effective customer communication and engagement.
Introduction to estimating – an interactive one-day course to help calculate project costs and overheads for the execution of a construction contract.
For more information, and to register, click here.
