Lessons from the EuropeOn General Assembly

EuropeOn, previously known as AIE, is an alliance of several national electrical trade associations. Membership includes associations covering France, Germany, Switzerland, Benelux and all the Scandinavian countries, as well as ECA and SELECT. 

Martin Bailey, ECA Chairperson, is EuropeOn’s current President and took the chair for a General Assembly meeting held last week in Paris. I also attended the General Assembly, representing ECA.

Europe On gives member-associations a chance to discuss common issues and share good practice. This aspect has become even more important since the UK’s departure from the European Union.  ECA staff are active participants and contributors to several EuropeOn working groups, including those on supply chain, technical and skills topics. 

A prime example of the value of exchanges with other electrotechnical trade associations is EuropeOn’s Skills 4 Climate campaign. This emphasises the importance of competent, qualified electricians for the successful roll-out of net-zero technologies, such as solar PV, battery storage and EV charging. 

Both Luke Osborne, ECA’s Energy & Emerging Technologies Solutions Advisor, and I have learned a lot from the insights and experiences of EuropeOn colleagues involved with this workstream, especially those from countries where the transition to net zero is further advanced than in the UK. 

This collaboration has not only helped us develop a deeper understanding of the issues affecting installers, but also the main drivers and messaging needed to influence Government and other stakeholders on the promotion and adoption of low-carbon technologies. 

These exchanges within EuropeOn have then helped inform our own approach at home, including the decision to run what turned out to be an influential survey in 2020, also called Skills 4 Climate. We have also been able to deploy arguments and statistics developed alongside EuropeOn colleagues in our own discussions with UK-based authorities such as the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and the Microgeneration Certification Scheme (MCS).

The main business of last week’s General Assembly was to approve the move of EuropeOn’s headquarters from Paris to Brussels. Given its membership, EU affairs and lobbying Brussels institutions inevitably represent an important part of EuropeOn’s work. Far from excluding the UK, learning about EU legislative and policy developments can give ECA some valuable insights into new directions that UK Government policy might eventually take too. It also offers a potentially effective reference point when arguing for or against a particular policy direction. 

This time around, EuropeOn scheduled the General Assembly to coincide with a joint summit with members of the United States’ National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA), 25 of whom had flown over to Paris for the purpose. 

Face-to-face meetings during the summit deepened my understanding of the strengths demonstrated by different countries. These discussions included off-site fabrication, adoption of which seems more advanced in the United States than in most of Europe, and net zero technologies, where Europe is clearly streets ahead of the United States.

Among the EuropeOn members who attended, I was especially interested myself in conversations about differences between the vocational education systems of various European nations. These provoked ideas in my mind which could prove directly relevant and helpful in current debates about the future direction of apprenticeships and college-based education in the UK. 

I found these exchanges of ideas at the General Assembly a valuable experience and a good example of how ECA’s engagement at an international level can then help to enhance our policy and representational work on behalf of our Members and the wider industry, closer to home.