Advocating on net zero skills

WE ANALYSED

The Electrical Contractors Association is the leading voice for the UK’s electrical industry. Electrical contractors are essential to the UK’s transition to net zero, installing key technologies including solar PV, heat pumps, and EV charge points safely and to a high standard both domestically and commercially. Ensuring there is a strong future workforce is a critical sector priority.

The current approach to electrical skills is broken. A high proportion of young people undertaking electrical training courses cannot secure an apprenticeship. The industry as concerned by the government prioritisation of short courses in specific technologies.

The ECA needed government to recognise and act on their policy solutions.

WE ACTED

We recognised that we needed to start by building awareness of the problem. Using industry and government data we mapped the problem, creating an Index that identified the constituencies with the biggest electrical skills crisis.

We helped the ECA clarify their key asks and policy solutions, creating an impactful Charter that acted as a blueprint for action. We secured backing from influential industry bodies, think tanks and campaign bodies, and trade unions for the Charter showing that their asks had widespread support.

We used the Index and Charter to mobilise political support targeting those MPs most impacted by the issues, engaging through bilateral meetings and a parliamentary roundtable featuring the Minister for Industry, Sarah Jones.

We plugged the ECA into key influencers and decision makers including Chris Stark and Skills England.

WE ACHIEVED

We quickly built the ECA into a key voice on electrical skills, demonstrating to the new government how they could support the delivery of three of the government’s Missions – Economic Growth, Clean Power, and Opportunity.

The ECA shifted from being an organisation on the outside with limited influence to a body with a genuine seat at the table who were respected and recognised by government.

Their specific concerns and challenges were recognised, feeding into future policy thinking.

Critically, as a membership organisation, their members recognised the impact they were having and saw the value of effective external affairs campaigning.