Graham Manly, business development director at m&e contractor Gratte Brothers, has been inaugurated as the CIBSE president for 2004-05.
In his presidential address he highlighted the current skills shortfall in building services. Entitled ‘The tools for the job’, his address identified factors that have contributed to the increase in the skills gap over the past 20 years.

He called for an end to unnecessary qualification requirements. He welcomed new developments, including the formation of SummitSkills and the renewed emphasis on work-based learning and vocational qualifications.

Manly said: “The all-round professional used to have all the skills relevant to his trade. Now the range of specialist skills is too great for most individuals to have competence in all. How do we fairly acknowledge the relative abilities of such diversity of specialists?

“We must be up to the task, for this will be the nature of the future of our industry and our institution.”

Source

Electrical and Mechanical Contractor