SELECT welcomes suspension of college lecturers’ strike after asking member firms to lobby MSPs and avoid “devastating impact” on young electrical apprentices

Scotland’s biggest trade association, SELECT, has welcomed the suspension of strike action by college lecturers that will allow electrical apprentices to continue their essential studies.

The campaigning organisation had marshalled the strength of its 1,240 member businesses, asking them to lobby their local MSP to intervene in the wave of strikes across further education centres which had been ongoing since May.

And SELECT has now welcomed the news that lecturers’ trade union EIS-FELA has called off strikes which were due to take place this week, as it recommends its members accept a new pay offer.

Alan Wilson, Managing Director of SELECT, said: “We are pleased that a potential solution is on the horizon as this ongoing action was having a major detrimental impact on electrical apprenticeships across Scotland, with classes unable to complete their work and negatively impacting learners’ progression to the next stage of their training.

“The dispute was impacting new recruits, with start dates being pushed back, and even apprentices who may have completed their college work were facing issues, with some college staff refusing to sign off their Candidate Assessment Records (CARs).

“Things were becoming so serious, we asked all our member firms to write to their local political representative to make them aware of just how potentially harmful this issue was for our young trainees and the devastating effect it could have had on their futures.”

He went on: “Record numbers of young people are signing up for rewarding careers in the electrical industry, and we’re just trying to make sure we have a steady pipeline of well-trained talent emerging to safely cater for a society in which the future is so clearly electric.

“It was a great shame that they were in danger of having their hopes dashed as a consequence of a dispute over which they had no input or control, so we hope the whole issue can be brought to a satisfactory end as quickly as possible.”

The suspension of strike action was also welcomed by the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), the approved training provider for the country’s electrical apprentices.

SECTT Chief Executive Fiona Harper said: “Apprentices work very hard to fulfil the academic side of their training while at the same time learning the complexities of the subject on the job, so it was heartbreaking to see their disappointment when they were told they might not be able to finish what they’d started.

“This dispute threatened to cause damage which could have taken years to undo, so let’s hope a permanent agreement can be reached that will secure the future of our young electricians.”

She added: “I’d like to thank all SELECT members who stepped up and contacted their local MSP. The strike action, which had been going on since May this year, had been having a huge knock-on effect for apprentices and adult trainees, who faced being unable to progress to the next stage of their training and losing wage increases through no fault of their own.”

ENDS