Frank Bertie, Chairman of the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT), discusses the benefits of Trade Association membership
I attended a meeting recently. The sun was shining when I left the house. I was in an optimistic frame of mind, and I decided not to take my coat...
Why is it that it always seems to rain on the one day that you don’t wear your coat?
As you can probably guess, I arrived completely soaked and feeling more than a bit put out.
The simple answer is that it will rain when it rains, but you notice it most when you’re least prepared.
Preparation is crucial in almost all aspects of life really, whether it’s as simple as pre-empting unpredictable weather or as important as ensuring your business has the resilience to react to industry change.
It’s a concept that leads me nicely from my soggy misfortune to an important question: why join a trade association?
Like the great British weather, the building services sector can be notoriously changeable, and if you aren’t part of a trade association, you can’t contribute to the course of change. You can’t rely on a community of fellow contractors for support if things go wrong. And you can’t expect to be kept up to date with the latest industry developments to help you avoid potential pitfalls in the first place.
For the uninitiated, a trade association is an organisation that works to support and promote the common interests of its members. It is your weather report, your umbrella and occasionally even your weather machine.
I was speaking to Linda Cavender, General Manager of the Trade Association Forum, recently to get her views on the subject. She said: “I think those who have never been a part of a trade association would be really surprised at just how much they do to support their members. From offering friendly advice to bringing about significant industry change, the scope of their work can be vast”.
NAPIT started out as a trade association for electricians carrying out inspection and testing, back in 1992. Since then, it has grown exponentially, expanding and developing to incorporate new trades as the Registration, Certification, Services, Training, Inspection and Insurance divisions of an organisation that would become the NAPIT Group were added.
The NAPIT Group now offer a wide range of training and certification for: electrical, plumbing, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, building fabric and renewable technology installers. It’s the ideal solution for those who need to work across a number of trades and to be represented within those trades.
The NAPIT Trade Association is passionate about defending and advancing the interests of all of our members and we send regular surveys to assess their interests, giving everyone a say on the issues to be prioritised for the year ahead.
We hold meetings up to three times a year in 11 locations across the country. All members of a NAPIT scheme can attend and they are the ideal forum to learn more about your trade through technical presentations and hear campaign priority updates. They also provide an opportunity to raise ideas or feedback to the National Council that elected NAPIT members sit on.
This democratic approach means we can speak for the collective interests of over 10,000 registered tradespeople. If our members tell us they want us to tackle an issue, we have the combined voice to make industry and Government sit up and take note.
The NAPIT Trade Association has had and will continue to have a significant impact in bringing about positive change for the electrical industry.
Our members spoke and we listened, playing a central role in the launch of a single register for all competent, registered electricians, namely Registered Competent Person Electrical.
We also listened to widespread concerns regarding enforcement of Part P, sponsoring a report into its enforcement, carried out by the industry forum the Electrical Safety Roundtable. This resulted in calls for appropriate action to be taken, widespread publicity and the communication of the report’s central findings to Government and industry officials – and it’s an issue we will continue to pursue.
Currently the Trade Association is also working closely with the Electrical Safety Roundtable and other industry stakeholders with the aim of improving electrical safety in the private rented sector.
It is estimated that one in six tenants are currently living with electrical hazards in the home and a recent member survey has shown that over 90 per cent of NAPIT Trade Association respondents agree that mandatory electrical safety checks should be carried out every five years or more frequently. So, we are campaigning for the introduction of a mandatory Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), to be carried out every five years by a competent, registered electrician, supported by an annual visual inspection by the landlord.
We also contribute to consultations on subjects such as energy efficiency and have representatives on more than twenty different industry committees, including the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification Management Committee and the Wiring Regulations Advisory Group, as well as regular meetings with the Sustainable Energy Association and the Heating and Hot Water Industry Council. These committees allow us to represent the views of our members in meetings which can bring about concrete industry change.
But it’s not all about politics. The Trade Association allows members to raise queries and contact NAPIT directly for friendly, impartial advice at any time. It also allows you to build a robust network of contacts through regional meetings and a range of great seminars and exhibitions.
In recent months, we have held over twenty free Amendment 3 Seminars across the country in association with our partners, with more to come. These events have drawn capacity crowds as tradespeople looked to take full advantage of the chance to learn more about the requirements of the new Amendment to the Wiring Regulations from industry experts.
NAPIT EXPO, a fantastic trade show for networking, on-the-day discounts and valuable business advice, has also drawn the crowds in recent years. This year, the Trade Association is taking this show on the road, to nine different locations, to reach more of our members than ever before.
It’s all about giving everyone the opportunity to participate. All members of NAPIT membership schemes benefit from the ability to voice their views, get involved in positive change for their industry, meet with like-minded people in their trade, access a vast support network, and get expert advice and guidance from industry experts at a range of great events.