JIB – change at last?

icking off his third JIB conference, chair Sir Michael Latham reminded delegates that this was the first for nearly four years, the previous one due to have been held in 2002 being cancelled. He paid tribute to the work done over these years and outlined some of the progress made and the changes introduced.

The four year gap between conferences clearly showed the changes brought about as a result of Harrogate 2000, many of which it is clear would not have been apparent had the conference in 2002 gone ahead.

The short opening addresses from JIB stalwarts George Ashcroft and Paul Corby (from the ECA and Amicus respectively) focused everyone's minds on these developments notably the M&E Major Projects Agreement, the introduction of the ECS card and cabling grades and the restructuring of the JIB Regions, the National Board and it's Committees. They went on to highlight the questions this conference was to review.

David Pollock, ECA director, and Danny Carrigan, deputy general secretary of Amicus, pledged their organisation's allegiance to the JIB. Carrigan in particular passed on the support of Amicus general secretary Derek Simpson. Unlike previous conferences the talking, at least from the podium, stopped there.

The delegates then dispersed into groups for hour-long workshops. The workshops each had a theme and statement to consider. In this way all delegates had the opportunity to contribute to each of the themes. It would be hard for the JIB to be more democratic or inclusive than this!

On registration, delegates had been given papers prepared by the JIB giving background to each of the themes. This put them in context and provided some basic facts and statistics on the industry, employment and training. The history of the JIB and the results of its 2002 perception survey were also distributed. This background information was aimed at elevating the discussion and subsequent outcomes to a higher, more focused, level.

Themed discussions
The first workshop theme was to consider the development of the grading structure to reflect the skills and performance required by the expanding industry. Delegates were reminded that over 2000 grades have been issued since the JIB's inception in 1968 and grades for apprentices and adults have been introduced since then.

While grades for cabling have been introduced recently, those for skilled mechanical assemblers (SMAs) have not. The introduction of the ECS scheme was done outside the JIB, but in agreement with the two parties and in a way that enabled what was effectively the development of the JIB grading structure into other sectors.

The second workshop met to consider the best methods of training adults and apprentices to match the industry's skills requirements. Background details here reflected on the 1965, 1983 and 1999 apprenticeship and JIB training schemes and introduced the 2004 scheme. It also focused on the Adult Training Scheme introduced in 1989: a scheme that the JIB admits has had minimal impact.

The statistics provided showed that while the total number of apprentice starts rose from 1765 in 1995 to 2595 in 2001, the average dropout rate of over 450 per year was decimating the provision of trained electricians.

Equally starkly portrayed was the fact the for the eighth year in succession it was the small and medium-sized companies – those with up to 100 employees – that bear the brunt of the training carried out in the industry. Large firms – those with over 100 employees – employ just 757 apprentices alongside a skilled operatives total of 5393, while small and medium-sized companies employ 4381 apprentices alongside 13 190 operatives: ratios of 7·1 and 3·0 operatives per apprentice respectively.

The third theme was to consider the role of the JIB agreement in a changing working environment. The papers here outlined some of the changes evidenced in the contracting market over the past five or so years, with examples of client-driven changes, such as those introduced by BAA and changes driven by the Latham and Egan reports.

Also discussed were regulations emanating from Europe with, for example, the 2003 European Directive on the awarding of public works and services contracts as well as European legislation and directives in the areas of social, economic, environmental and social standards covering such areas as health and safety, sustainability and working time.

The future JIB
The final workshop area was to consider ways of developing the JIB in response to current influences and pressures. Here delegates were asked to look at the broader role of the JIB in the industry. The background information put the JIB in a historical context – one that is almost unchanged despite the quite radical development of the union from the ETU to Amicus. The role of the secretariat of the JIB was explained and the tasks that it operates on behalf of the employers and employees listed.

Questions asked of delegates included whether the JIB should become more active in the labour market and if the grading structure in place now still reflects the needs of employers and employees.

In the June issue of Electrical and Mechanical Contractor the deliberations, questions raised and solutions offered will be revealed and explored and the conclusions of the day presented. Until then readers may consider whether the questions that the JIB delegates set out to explore were the right ones and what, if they were, would you have suggested as the way(s) forward? If you feel other questions should have been asked please send the JIB your suggestions on what you think the conference should have focused.