What we do

Founded in 1901, the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) is the UK’s largest trade association representing the electrical installation and building services industries. The Association has over 2,700 member companies, ranging from local employers to national multi-service organisations. Members employ over 30,000 people and support over 8,000 apprentices with their training. Members dominate these sectors in the UK with a collective annual turnover approaching £5 billion.

The ECA assists and encourages members to provide high quality, good value and safe electrical installation and is dedicated to maintaining and improving industry standards by discussion and representation.

The ECA has a number of subsidiary companies involved in such areas as insurance, property management, quality assurance and training to support and assist its members' activities and interests.

Structure

The Council and Board of Directors of ECA Ltd comprise over 20 member representatives, which are supported by seven standing committees, six sub-committees and 12 Regional Executive Committees.

Each of the 12 regions is split into branches, of which there are 53 in total. This structure is serviced by 150 personnel across 11 professional departments at offices in Bayswater, Darlington, Mansfield, Sevenoaks and 11 regional office locations (the West and South West regions are serviced by one regional office).

Each professional department has experts to advise members on technical, legal, industrial relations, commercial, health and safety, environmental, information technology, training, marketing, management systems and other business issues. The Association also lobbies on behalf of its members.

Wider industry involvement

The ECA is a member of and actively participates in the European Association of Electrical contractors (AIE) and the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group (SEC Group).

The Association works with government and other industry associations to develop standards and represent members' interests. This includes:

• Department for Communities and Local Government (for Building Regulations and self-certification schemes)
• The Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform – formerly the DTI – (for TrustMark, best practice)
• Office of Fair Trading (for the industry code of practice)
• CENELEC (for issues of European integration)
• SummitSkills (for industry training and development).

The Association also works closely with other industry specialists, including:

• The Association of Plumbing and Heating Contractors (APHC)
• The British Fire Protection Systems Association (BFPSA)
• The Building Services Research and Information Association (BSRIA)
• The Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE)
• The Heating and Ventilating Contractors Association (HVCA)
• The Institution of Engineering Technology (IET)
• The Scottish Electrical Contractors’ Association (SELECT).

Complete our online query form to obtain further information on the ECA.