Achieving the best outcomes for members and customers

27 September, 2023

This has helped legislators to understand the effect on industry and has included tracking any changes in standards and legislation and advising business of the impact.

This is especially useful for our manufacturer members, who, on one hand are tasked with developing products that can meet the latest regulatory requirements, while on the other, ensuring they deliver best-in-class efficiency levels 

Part of BCAS – part of the solution

Throughout its 90 year-plus history, BCAS has played a crucial role in upholding standards and advising its members about changing legislation and standards, to ensure compliance and safety within the industry.

Alongside offering an independent source of technical advice to ensure that compressor equipment is energy efficient, compliant and safe, the Society acts as a reliable and reassuring voice in the wake of changing market requirements.

One of the areas of I am keen to promote to end-users is the importance of choosing a BCAS member to service and support their compressed air installation. By engaging with a BCAS member, customers are making an intelligent and a strategic choice – a conscious decision to make their compressed air system as efficient, safe and compliant as it can possibly be.

One such example of this in practice is our work in helping to plug the engineering skill shortage through our dedicated apprenticeship programme.

The UK has a missing generation of skilled engineers and, an ageing and decreasing pool of skilled personnel is driving up business costs. A major proportion of the current resource will retire before 2035. BCAS members report difficulties in filling all job vacancies and as many as 46% of employers are reported to be struggling to fill management positions according to the Institute of Leadership Management.

The re-introduction of engineering training products is now a major requirement for education establishments across the UK, especially as more engineering apprenticeship standards are approved for delivery. Our schools, colleges and universities must now look urgently at how they intend to provide the training facilities and personnel that will help deliver the skilled engineers the UK requires.

Our apprenticeship programme was first launched in 2021 in response to demand from BCAS members for a dedicated, industry-approved course to help develop the skills required for the compressed air and vacuum service sector. Compressed air is used extensively across multiple sectors, and while there were many general engineering and technical opportunities available, there was no dedicated course designed for the specific needs of the industry.

Working with its members and the Institute for Apprenticeships and Education (IfATE), the BCAS Training and Development Committee was instrumental in the development of the new apprenticeship. It recognises the vital importance of developing the specific engineering skills required in the compressed air and vacuum industry, helping to release funding to develop the engineers of the future.