Modern Building Services

8 MODERN BUILDING SERVICES JULY/AUGUST 2021 INDUSTRY NEWS Skills gap threatens cooling sector’s safety and environmental aims A shortage of skilled technicians will make it increasingly difficult for the refrigeration and air conditioning sector to adopt new ‘alternative’ refrigerants, which are critical to achieving greenhouse gas reduction targets, according to the Building Engineering Services Association (BESA). The Association’s head of technical Graeme Fox told F-Gas Question Time that too many operatives had out-of-date practical skills and were unfamiliar with renewable technologies and the flammable refrigerants that were quickly taking over from global warming gases. He confirmed that DEFRA was looking urgently at the situation and considering how it might legislate to improve the certification arrangements for the sector. He also urged employers to upskill their engineers to equip them for a rapidly changing marketplace. The UK has agreed to continue ‘mirroring’ European F-Gas legislation and phasing down the use of HFC gases in refrigeration and air conditioning equipment. This will lead to rapid deployment of alternative refrigerants in their place – many of which are flammable. He said all engineers should be required to regularly refresh their practical skills to keep pace with changing technologies and refrigerants and criticised the complacency that allowed “evergreen” certification like City & Guilds 2079 to remain valid without a regular re-registration process to keep skills up to date. www.theBESA.com/academy Construction Industry shortage: lack of tradespeople and building materials New research unveils 18% of Brits are seeking a career in the trades as a result of the pandemic • 18% of Brits agree that after COVID, have found employment within a trade sector to pick up additional work or to commence a new career path • 15% of tradespeople have seen their client demand increase post-COVID to their highest levels ever Ben Dyer, CEO of Powered Now shares research by the Office for National Statistics, which states that the employment rate in the construction sector for the UK fell from 2.3 million in 2017, to 2.1 million at the end of 2020. This demonstrates a 4% decrease in UK- born workers, and a 42% fall in EU workers. In London, employment fell from 311,124 workers in 2017, to 261,271 at the end of 2020, representing a 54% fall in EU workers, which has only led to further difficulties considering the construction industry was relied on heavily during the pandemic. • 18% of Brits agree that after COVID, have found employment within a trade sector to pick up additional work or to commence a new career path • 15% of tradespeople have seen their client demand increase post-COVID • 17% of tradespeople regularly work over 10 hours a day • 16% of tradespeople agree that they lose out on business due to extensive administrative tasks, such as chasing invoices • 16% of tradespeople agree that sequential waves of COVID had made themmore motivated to work George Clarke to open BESA Conference The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has confirmed that this year’s National Conference will take place on November 3 and 4 and will once again be a ’virtual’ event. Structured around an overall theme of ‘Building Back Better, Safer, Greener’ the event will have a strong focus on the detailed technical elements of rebuilding from the pandemic, delivering the requirements of new building safety legislation, modernising the sector’s workforce, and pushing on towards a net zero emissions future. The BESA National Conference will be opened by TV personality and ar- chitect George Clarke. He is best known for the Channel 4 programmes The Home Show, The Restoration Man and George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. Clarke will give an opening keynote and discuss a range of industry topics with BESA chief executive David Frise and delegates. Challenges The Association said it intended to use the two-day event to run a series of specialised technical sessions that would dig into the details of the main challenges confronting the building services sector. Key topics to be covered at the BESA National Conference 2021 will include: • Ventilation solutions for healthier and more productive buildings • Fire and smoke safety • Heat pumps, alternative refrigerants, and other opportunities • Giving young engineers the tools to succeed • Getting back to the fundamentals of energy efficiency • Repair not replace to tackle embodied carbon • Decarbonising heat. www.theBESA.com/conference