The long-running campaign by SELECT, the electrotechnical trade association, which is also backed by the Scottish Joint Industry Board (The SJIB) and Unite the Union, for recognition of Electricians as a Profession achieved a major milestone last week (Oct 25) when the issue was debated in the Scottish Parliament. In
Street cabinet camo! The pioneering housing development adding innovation and style to broadband boxes by SEAMLESSLY blending them into the background Now you see them…and soon you won’t! At least that’s the case at an innovative Tees Valley housing development where street cabinets are looking a little different. Wynyard Park
The long-running campaign by SELECT, the electrotechnical trade association, which is also backed by the Scottish Joint Industry Board (The SJIB) and Unite the Union, for recognition of Electricians as a Profession achieved a major milestone last week (Oct 25) when the issue was debated in the Scottish Parliament. In a wide-ranging discussion, MSPs from all parties debated the call for the privilege of calling a person an electrician to be limited only to those who are qualified in this highly-skilled profession. The Holyrood debate was opened by Jamie Halcro Johnston, Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP for the Highlands and Islands, who has backed the campaign in the interests of public safety from its early stages. During the debate, Mr Halcro Johnston told parliament that he had been staggered to learn that the people who entered our homes and businesses to install and maintain our wiring, fuse boxes and appliances need have no qualifications at all and yet they can still call themselves electricians. Responding to the debate, Jamie Hepburn, Minister for Business, Fair Work and Skills, thanked MSPs for their contributions and said that discussions would continue with the aim of bringing a ministerial view to parliament in due course. Alan Wilson, Acting Managing Director at SELECT, the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland, thanked the MSPs who initially signed the Motion and who took part in the debate. He said: “Protection of Title has been at the forefront of our work for a number of years and in fact our recent campaign was triggered following a speech by a Government Minister at a European Electrical contractors conference held in Edinburgh in 2015. We are very grateful to have received support from Unite the union, the SJIB other trade bodies and politicians from all parties. “It is a major issue. The overall cost of poor and potentially dangerous electrical work in Scotland is around £120 million a year. “Recognition of the vital role that qualified electricians play in all parts of Scottish society is long overdue. These are highly-trained, uniquely qualified professional people whose contribution to modern life is immense.” Mr Halcro Johnston pointed out that, while more than 100 regulated professions exist in the UK – including gas engineers and even door supervisors at clubs – there is no protection afforded to electricians. His motion asked Parliament to recognise that improperly-installed electrical work creates a significant risk of fire as well as other harm to householders and that the installation of electrical work by unqualified or part qualified individuals carries a major safety risk. 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, Acting 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. E: admin@select.org.uk. W: www.select.org.uk Twitter: http://twitter.com/updates_select https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWJVjt14CvIig8bIKwidVug
Street cabinet camo! The pioneering housing development adding innovation and style to broadband boxes by SEAMLESSLY blending them into the background Now you see them…and soon you won’t! At least that’s the case at an innovative Tees Valley housing development where street cabinets are looking a little different. Wynyard Park has teamed up with graphic design experts at Shutter Media to blend street furniture into its surroundings by wrapping them in a range of clever designs – from brick, rendering and landscaping through to the woodland animals commonly seen on the development. Sixteen Virgin Media street cabinets are to get the wrap treatment – with plans to eventually hide the majority of the development’s street cabinets in plain sight. The project was the brainchild of Wynyard Park Development Manager Craig Pinder who teamed up with Steve Hale of Shutter Media to initially lessen the impact of two street cabinets with a deer and stag design. Work is currently underway to wrap a further 14 boxes. Craig said: “I saw an opportunity to add a bit of imagination and colour to some of the cabinets that have to be installed as part of the infrastructure and that’s when we decided to wrap the initial two. “The residents’ garden is a nice, relaxing area adjoining some of our woodland. “We wanted residents and guests to focus on the beauty of the garden rather than the cabinets. “The new graphics will certainly add a unique feel to the estate.” He added: “We get people stopping and taking photos with the first two boxes we trialled.” The reaction has been so positive that the idea was also picked up in other areas of the country – with Steve’s company, which is based at Durham Tees Valley Airport, wrapping street cabinets in Manchester and London. Wynyard Park and Virgin Media have co-funded the pilot project which may be rolled out to other developments if successful. Steve said: “We were certainly one of the first locations to do this. “The feedback has been great.” The vinyl used to wrap the cabinets is the same that Steve uses to decorate shop shutters as it adheres to galvanised steel. Graphics are then printed onto the material with latex and given UVA protection. The wraps have a seven to ten-year lifespan. “Our company started putting images onto shop shutters,” explains Steve, “hence our name Shutter Media. “But we have now used the material for so many different applications. It works on brick walls, we can wrap concrete up and once it’s on, it’s on. “The demand for these wraps is now rapidly increasing – and it all started here at Wynyard Park.” Luke Pattison, Head of New Business Development at Virgin Media, said: “This is a great project and we are always open to hearing about new and innovative ways in which we can do more with our cabinets. We hope local residents like the designs on the development.” For more information about the properties and self-build plots currently available at Wynyard Park please visit http://wynyardpark.com. Picture caption: Street cabinets at Wynyard Park