Electrical contractors to benefit as Green Deal boosts uptake of energy saving measures

The next year should see electrical contractors benefit from a growing number of new opportunities, the Electrical Contractors' Association (ECA) has predicted.

Publishing its latest Quarterly Business Trends Survey, the professional body has revealed that more than one in four of its members saw an increase in turnover during the first three months of 2012.

What's more, around half of all of those contractors surveyed expressed their confidence that more work would be coming their way over the remainder of the current year and into 2013, particularly since the new Green Deal is expected to see growing numbers of consumers and businesses look into investing in energy-saving measures such as LED lighting.

Commenting, ECA chief executive Steve Bratt said that the next 12 months "will be an interesting time for the electrical sector", not least following the expected introduction of the Green Deal in autumn.

"This will create more project opportunities for contractors, especially if, as we have been calling for, there is a focus on 'active' energy saving measures, such as lighting and controls, which can have remarkably short pay-back periods," he said.

At the same time, Bratt added, the government's longer-term carbon reduction targets, as well as ongoing efforts to unlock funding for a wide range of major infrastructure projects across the UK, should create a wealth of new opportunities for contractors great and small.

Just last month, the ECA announced plans to build on its efforts to train women living in social housing to become electricians.

Set up by Diane Johnson, the body's first female president, the Wired for Success initiative sees the ECA work alongside housing providers to give women the skills they need to push ahead with a new career and get off benefits.

According to a recent BBC report, 11 women have been trained through the pilot scheme, with the ECA now looking to build on this across the country.