Understanding the products you sell is crucial to delivering great customer service. That’s why the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) has invested in the development of a brand new set of 12 distance-learning product knowledge modules to be launched exclusively to members in 2018.
Developing the 12 EDA Product Knowledge Modules, which have achieved City & Guilds Accredited Programme status, has been a two-year collaborative process between manufacturers, wholesalers and independent lead authors each an expert in their field. The EDA commissioned the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) to help manage the production of the modules.
Margaret Fitzsimons, CEO at the EDA, explains why the time was right for the Association to develop its own training programme:
“We’re in the fortunate position of having ready access, through our diverse membership, to an unparalleled breadth and depth of the latest product expertise. The response from our wholesalers and manufacturers has been fantastic: they volunteered their time to support the creation of this new training programme. Their contribution has really boosted the rigour and quality of the professional training the EDA offers to the UK’s electro-technical supply chain.“
“Our members benefited hugely from the EDA’s partnership with our former provider MOL. The EDA has worked with MOL for many years and during that time around 16,000 modules have been studied, but when it came time to refresh the content it made absolute sense to take on the project ourselves.”
Created for anyone working in the electro-technical supply chain, the modules are suitable for both new entrants and anyone who wants to improve their product skills. Each module delivers professional training on an electro-technical subject or product area, with businesses free to choose the number and combination of modules that best suits their team.
The 12-subject programme covers both the established product areas such as lighting and cables, but also extends to offer training on renewables, IT and data infrastructure, and fire safety and security. And the distance-learning model means employees can manage their study around their work and home life.
The first two EDA Product Knowledge Modules - Introduction to the Principles of Electricity and Wiring Devices and Controls - will be available from Spring 2018, with the remaining modules launching throughout 2018.
Notes to Editors
For further information please contact Anne Vessey, Head of Marketing & Communications, EDA, 020 3141 7354 or 07885 10 35 27.
The full set of modules:
Introduction to the Principles of Electricity
Lighting (Introduction)
Lighting (Systems and Controls)
Cables and Cable Management
Wiring Devices and Controls
Distribution, Switchgear and Protection
Fire Safety and Security Systems
Heating and Ventilation
Renewables
IT and Data Infrastructure
Industrial Controls
Customer Services
About the Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA)
Serving and representing the UK’s electrical wholesale sector for over 100 years
The Electrical Distributors’ Association (EDA) is a membership organisation, representing the interests of the UK’s electrical wholesale sector. Launched in 1914 as the Electrical Wholesalers’ Federation (EWF), the Association refocused and rebranded in 1998 as the EDA. Membership is available to wholesalers, whilst manufacturers can join as affiliated members.
As well as providing a voice for the sector amongst policy makers and trade bodies, including the European Union of Electrical Wholesalers (EUEW) of which the EDA has been a member since 1960, membership benefits include:
Networking Events
Education and Training
Business Advice and Information
Initiatives, Campaigns and Projects
Recognition, Visibility and Exposure
The EDA’s Education & Training Programme is twofold: apprenticeships and distance learning product modules. In 2011 the EDA partnered with EDA Apprenticeships Plus, an Apprenticeship Training Agency, to offer a full and flexible apprenticeship service for members and affiliated members.
The EDA currently has 238 wholesaler members and 74 affiliated members, who are suppliers of products or services to members. Membership includes the leading national wholesalers Edmundson Electrical Ltd, Rexel UK and City Electrical Factors (CEF) as well as hundreds of independent electrical wholesales businesses of all sizes, most of whom are members of the UK’s largest buying groups ANEW, AWEBB, Fegime UK and the IBA. The EDA represents an estimated 75-80% of the UK electrical wholesale industry.
Margaret Fitzsimons has led the EDA since April 2014.
About The Institution of Engineering and Technology
The IET is one of the world’s largest engineering institutions with over 168,000 members in 150 countries. It is also the most interdisciplinary to reflect the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. Energy, transport, manufacturing, information and communications, and the built environment: the IET covers them all.
The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing our members, engineers and technicians, and all those who are touched by, or touch, the work of engineers.
A Registered Charity in England & Wales, and Scotland, we channel the expertise of our members for the advancement of engineering, and the benefit of society. Gathering intelligence from engineers across the profession, we inspire technology innovation, develop best practice, provide robust, impartial information to key stakeholders, and influence government policy.
The IET wants to build the profile of engineering and change outdated perceptions about engineering in order to tackle the skills gap. This includes encouraging more women to become engineers and growing the number of engineering apprentices.
For more information, visit www.theiet.org
About City & Guilds
City & Guilds believes in a world where people and organisations have the capabilities to prosper, today and in the future. As workplaces evolve, so does City & Guilds. That is why it has been setting the standard for skills that transform lives, industries and economies since 1878.
City & Guilds is a global leader in skills development. Over one million people earn a City & Guilds qualification every year, providing them with the skills they need to thrive in the workplace.
In the global economy, the ability to compete depends on building a skilled, competent and confident workforce. City & Guilds understands the value of portable skills and globally recognised standards that enable people and organisations to succeed. It partners with Governments, employers and educators in over 50 countries, across five continents, to advise them on developing high-quality skills training that meets the needs of the global workforce, without compromising on local demands.