Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) Senior Vice President Jeremy Parkin and Head of External Affairs Jane Dawson met with Welsh Conservative MS Sam Rowlands and Plaid Cymru’s MS Peredur Owen Griffiths to discuss ECA’s Welsh Manifesto, electrical businesses, competence, and apprenticeships. 

Peredur Owen Griffiths has agreed to sponsor ECA’s Welsh Skills Forum at The Pierhead and speak about the new Government’s work in this area.

Sam Rowlands is keen to meet an ECA Member business in his constituency to see and speak to them first-hand about the challenges and opportunities in the industry. 

Both MSs are keen to continue dialogue with ECA, as the new Government takes shape and the policies emerge.

In its Welsh Manifesto, ECA has asked the new Government to address the steep decline in electricians and apprentices working in the country. The number has fallen from 13,400 in 2015, to only 7,600 this year.

ECA’s manifesto sets out three areas which must be addressed to maintain the safe and reliable electricity currently enjoyed in Wales, and which will generate good jobs and economic growth:

• To prioritise realistic support to deliver electrical apprenticeships. 
• Set out measures to support small businesses, who are the backbone of the industry and train most electrical apprentices.
• Embed safety and competence as a legal requirement for all electrical standards to prevent falling standards as progress creates a rapid expansion of electrical installations. 

Read ECA’s full Wales Manifesto here in English, and here in Welsh.