All requirements for cards are developed and agreed by industry. The ECS Steering Committee – comprising ECA and SELECT as employer associations, Unite the Union on behalf of workers, IET as a professional institution, Electrical Safety First as the industry safety charity, SSAIB on behalf of specalist sectors, and the Health and Safety Executive – review and agree the relevant sector proposals meet the necessary standard.

What is the necessary standard for an occupation? 

Any proposal submitted to the ECS Steering Committee needs to meet the requirements of CSCS and the Construction Leadership Council (CLC).

The CLC is the forum by which government and industry meet to decide the future direction in areas such as skills, training and apprenticeships. CSCS are bound by their decisions on card schemes, and therefore ECS need to meet the same standard as a partner of CSCS. 

This means that for every card which is produced, ECS needs to have evidence of a relevant qualification or assessment. This is why the requirements for some cards have changed in recent years to meet the CLC requirements of a fully qualified workforce. 

What work does the ECS Steering Committee do? 

This work, and that by the Technical Evaluation Group which report into the ECS Steering Committee, includes mapping across apprenticeships and vocational qualifications to the National Occupational Standards (as well as CSCS Partner Scheme and Construction Leadership Council requirements) and setting the necessary requirements for health and safety, CPD and competence assessments. 

However, this work can only be complete once the sub-sector has decided on the relevant standard for each occupation or role. Here are some examples of how those groups work to propose these standards...

The ECS Steering Committee ensure the strategic outlook for the scheme and volunteer their time and expertise to ensure not only that standards are being improved where applicable, but also that ECS is positioned well for the future, adopting the right technology and working collaboratively with industry for a safer built environment. 

Who is on the ECS Steering Committee? 

Phil Wilbraham - Chair 

Phil Wilbraham – BSc, CEng, MICE, MIHT, DMS -  a chartered civil engineer who has worked as a consultant, contractor and client. He spent 20 years working for Heathrow Airport, leading the Terminal 5, Terminal 2 and third runway programmes. He is a non executive director of Epsom and St Helier Hospital Trust, Keltbray and Wilson James, and he is chair of Trustees at BRE and the BAA Pension Scheme, and also co-chair of Constructing Excellence.
 

Richard Clarke - National Apprenticeships & Skills Officer, Unite the Union 

Richard served his apprenticeship in the electrical contracting industry, leading to becoming a JIB Approved Electrician and union representative, working on industrial, commercial and domestic contracts and projects across the public and private sectors. Richard sits on the JIB National Board, and is a Trustee of the industry apprenticeship training provider JTL, NET (National Electrotechnical Training) and TESP (The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership), as well as representing the union and advocating for its members in regard to apprenticeships, skills and competency across UK construction and the built environment

Andrew Eldred - Chief Operating Officer, ECA  

Before joining ECA in 2017, Andrew was Head of Employment Relations on Crossrail, responsible for overseeing contractor management of site industrial relations and fulfilment of the project’s ambitious supply chain skills and employment targets. Andrew’s principal areas of interest include apprenticeships, competence frameworks, CPD and upskilling, especially in low carbon and other ‘new technology’ areas. In addition to his roles with ECA, as a member of the JIB National Board and Management Committee, and ECS, he is a trustee-director of the national apprenticeship training charity JTL, a non-executive director of the Electrotechnical Skills Partnership (TESP), and a member of the Construction Leadership Council’s People and Skills Network.

Fiona Harper - Director of Employment and Skills, SELECT 

Fiona began her current role at SELECT in January 2019, having been the association’s Head of Employment Affairs since 2006. Before arriving at The Walled Garden, Fiona was Deputy Director of the National Joint Council for the Engineering Construction Industry (NJC). Fiona started her career as an industrial relations officer with Babcock Construction and also worked as Personnel Manager at Diamond Power Specialty in Dumbarton. Fiona was educated at John Neilson High School in Paisley and the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, where she graduated in Industrial Relations and Administration. She subsequently obtained a MSc in Economics and Industrial Relations from the London School of Economics. 

Steve Mason - HM Principal Specialist Inspector (Electrical Engineering), HSE 

Steve is an experienced electrical engineer, having worked for over 25 years in electrical engineering consultancy in a range of technical, commercial and management roles. Steve currently works for the Health and Safety Executive and provides the ECS Steering Committee with advice on matters relating to health and safety legislation and safety of electricity. 

Mike Smith - Technical Director, ECA 

Mike Smith became ECA’s Technical Director in 2019, he also currently holds positions of Secretary of the Fire and Security Association, NET Board member and Trustee, Observer on SSAIB Board, Member of BAFE Council, Electronic Call Handling Operations Ltd Board Member, NPCC Security Systems Group FSA representative and is a member of various BSi Standards Committees. Mike previously held a variety of technical and commercial roles at SES Engineering Services over a 25 year period, including as the firm’s estimating and sector director. Mike is the son of an architect who worked for construction firm Taylor Woodrow. Mike followed in his father’s footsteps, joining the construction industry as an electrical apprentice straight from school. Mike’s JIB electrical apprenticeship was with R & I Harrison in Leeds, which resulted in him gaining Approved Electrician then Technician status. Mike was previously ECA President 2017/18 and has held numerous other roles with the ECA including membership of the Labour Relations Committee since becoming directly involved back in 1999.

Trevor Jenks - Training Manager, SSAIB

The training manager for SSAIB, Trevor Jenks joined the organisation back when the SSA was forming in 1991 – after working his way up from a family security company. After serving a security engineering apprenticeship himself back in 1969, he has been a main player in security and fire training since 1986. As well as being a Member of the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (MCIPD), Trevor represents SSAIB on the national Trailblazer body and various sub committees – in addition to working as a systems auditor.

Rob Miguel - National Health and Safety Adviser, Unite the Union 

Working within the Trade union movement for more than forty years, Rob has undertaken various full-time roles: National Education Officer, National Health and Safety Officer, Regional and National Industrial Officer. He has experience of negotiating and advising on health, safety, and employment matters and representing the union and workers on many Government and Industry national and international advisory committees. Within the construction and related sectors this includes CONIAC, the ICC (Industry Competence Committee to the new building regulator), National Rail Advisory Committee, Electrotechnical JIB National Board, engineering construction NJC, HPC nuclear new build project board, CCNSG steering committee, NWR National Council. Internationally with BWI and EFBWW he has worked to influence occupational safety and health on major overseas projects and negotiated international construction guidance at the ILO.

Jason Poulter - National Officer, Unite the Union 

Jason was appointed Unite National Officer for the Mechanical & Electrical business stream within the construction sector in 2022. He is responsible for National Agreements for the Electrical, Mechanical and Engineering Construction industries. He also holds national responsibilities for the membership at projects including Hinkley Point C, Sizewell C and HS2, and for members under the Construction Industry Joint Council (CIJC) and Building and Allied Trades Joint Industrial Council (BATJIC). He is a time-served electrician and represented members as Shop Steward, Safety Representative, Convenor and Branch Secretary before joining Unite as Lead Organiser in 2019. As well as the ECS Steering Committee he is a member of numerous boards including the JIB National Board, JTL Board, NJC & NJC Executive and NECC. 

Mussa Awaleh - Senior Policy Advisor, Buildings Safety Regulator, Health and Safety Executive 

Mussa Awaleh is Senior Policy Advisor at the Buildings Safety Regulator, within the Health and Safety Executive. He joined the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) in January 2019 and is the policy lead overseeing Government authorised self-certification competent person schemes. These schemes allow registered installers (i.e. members of the schemes) who have been assessed as competent to self-certify that their work complies with the requirements of the Building Regulations. Mussa has more than 15 years' experience in working with standards in the construction sector, having previously been employed at the British Standards Institution (BSI) working with industry in the development of construction product standards and the Construction Industry Council (CIC) and the Construction Skills Sector Skills Council to develop occupational standards for a range of professions and trades in the built environment sector.