SEC looks to make inroads in Wales

The Specialist Engineering Contractors’ (SEC) Group is looking to forge a greater presence in Wales to help tackle issues on procurement and retentions use by the government.

The decision follows a meeting last week involving SEC Group’s chief executive Rudi Klein, Kathryn Hopkins-Jones, operations manager for Summit Skills in Wales and the South West,
and Andrew Marchant, the Heating & Ventilating Contractors Association’s regional manager. 
It remains unclear if SEC Group is intending to set up its own organisation in Wales, similar to those in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. However, Klein said good work being achieved in other parts of the UK didn’t seem to be filtering into the region.

“There is a huge amount of public sector procurement in Wales, although there seems to be little progress with the Welsh Assembly using contractor qualification schemes or abandoning retentions use,” Klein said.

Marchant told CJ: “We have been carrying out Demonstration projects in the area to show there is no need for retentions, the savings of which could be used to tackle the skills crisis in Wales.”

Hopkins-Jones added: “There is a real issue in getting people to take up NVQ Level 3 courses in engineering. By making more of a presence in Wales, the SEC Group can create a greater lobbying arm.”