On the subject of romance, I have attached the list that you all love more than anything else, that being the electricians available list. This week has, at the last minute, become a very a hectic one, BF Keane has taken four electricians for school shut downs in Hampshire with MSE and AES also taking men on a short term basis. This is an indication, if you  needed reminding, that short term projects are a lot easier to source labour for than they perhaps once were, so don’t be afraid to pick up the phone or send an email. Even if you only have work for a week or so, I can normally respond positively.

So, enjoy reading the list and enjoy Valentines day, this year I have gone for the old home made card trick, I shall be handing it over this evening. If you receive an email update next week, you will know it has been a relative success. If you don’t, could you kindly call the Hampshire constabulary and ask them if they would care to start digging up patios on Broughton High Street near Stockbridge.

Click on the link below

Electricians Availability For Work List

Regards

Bob

Attached is the latest list that is growing faster than Pinocchio’s nose, February really does seem to be a grim month across the industry with my phone only being called by people searching work. It is always easy to tell when things are getting really desperate because that is when I get calls from all the half-wits who have let us down in years gone by. For your comfort, without knowing it, all these people appear in my database with a red circle and a varied array of expletives next to their names. Because I am not mentally sound, I almost enjoy it when they call in hoping I have forgotten the hideous embarrassment they have caused me in the past.

So if anyone gets any work, there is some good labour around and at good rates too, it is still very much a buyers market. As usual, whether you need someone for a day, a week, a month a year or a decade, I will endeavor to give you the service you require.

Here is the list

Electricians Availability For Work List

Apart from that, attached to this post is the normal list of available electricians in London and the South. Just to remind you, this is not the list of everyone who calls in to CBS, but a list of people who are are actually capable of getting to work whilst avoiding the obligatory car and diarrhea  mishaps that go hand in hand with staff from a recruitment agency.

Here are some of my favorite excuses from over the years……….

• Tree fell on car
• Grandmother died at dinner table
• Cat Flu
• Girlfriend mugged
• Daughter arrested for criminal damage
• Frost bite
• Snapped penis ( my personal favorite)

Have a good week, the list can be viewed here

Electricians Availability For Work List

That is why it is more important for you all to take the time to spend extra attention to the “electricians available list” as this week we have some good tradesmen who look like they are going to becoming available in the coming week or two. The early rush of January has subsided, especially with the completion of  Wokingham Cricket Club, so if any of you do have anything coming up in either the Thames Valley , London, Kent, Surrey or Hants, there are likely to be some decent chaps around by the end of the week.

As usual, as the week passes things may change, but at the moment the ones I am trying my best to keep busy next week are as follows; John Wood (Kent/South London) Barry Houghton (Hant & Berks) and Chris Bridges (Reading/Thames Valley). All of these men are reliable and are working for us currently on jobs that, as far as I am aware, finish this week. Of course, if they are new to anyone as a client, I can provide a reference from the existing contractor. I can be contacted at any time on my mobile: 07956 537076. Click the link view the Electricians Availability For Work List

That’s enough now……where’s those toffees.

There are quite few movers and shakers on the list this week, the project at Wokingham CC is finishing for us on Friday, but fortunately, I have placed the men from this job to a new project at a Hospital in the Thames Valley, possibly until March. However, because of changes by the end client, this job is not going to approach the size that was originally thought, meaning I now have the prospect of leaving 2-3 men in the lurch after my client wasted his time and money organising their CRB and asbestos awareness tests. So if anyone needs a spark and a mate who have just passed CRB and asbestos awareness checks, I’m your man.

I am also frantically looking for work from the 23rd of January for John Wood and Daniel Vinay, both are based in SE London and are available for work in central/south east London or Kent/East Sussex. They have both worked for CBS for several different clients, so it would be great to try to keep them working somewhere if I can. If anyone has anything for a week or more from the 23rd, happy days all round. I think that just about sums up the labour listings for now, but of course, they are changing all the time, so as usual, as I try to treat you all the same, it is a case of first come first serve.

I await with great anticipation an afternoon of  jammed phone lines.

FASTEN YOUR SEAT BELTS AND VIEW YOUR UPDATE LIST BY CLICKING THE LINK BELOW

Electricians Availability For Work List

Regards

Bob

Of course, when an economy is edging out of recession it is a great time to be an employer or a specialist agency as the supply of  labour is often high in quality, easy to come by and competitive (let’s not use the word cheap!). A company can tender for work safe in the knowledge they can resource the labour required with relative ease just as long as a sudden surge in demand doesn’t start playing havoc with rate increases, that is when fingers get burnt. However, it must be a relatively safe bet that rates wont increase dramatically this year, if at all.

So all in all, a positive start for CBS and our clients, with demise of so many electrical contractors and agencies perhaps the survivors will reap the rewards for patience and frugality!

On the work front it appears reasonably busy for a few weeks ahead, though by the end of January it looks a little grim, so hopefully, someone among you all will pick up work somewhere in London or the Thames valley to keep us ticking over, the decent labour is out there if you get lucky enough to get some projects coming in. As you are all aware I will gratefully assist you all with your requirements, whether you are seeking to fill temporary or permanent positions with tradesmen or technical staff. Where rates end up this year is any one’s guess, they flat lined along with the economy in 2011 and my uneducated estimate is that they will do so again as demand is unlikely increase dramatically.

Finally, I would like to show my appreciation to those of you who, without prompting, paid up all your accounts in the week leading up to Christmas, during Christmas week and today. As a small company, the cash flow is hard and I know that Christmas is a time that small to medium sized companies often get held up by the “Blue Chip” payers or should I say non payers. I will choose not to to dwell on the super duper “Red Bull Future Top 50″ company who sent me an email confirming payment on the 20th December then didn’t pay it and still haven’t. You can gain all the plaudits in the press by not paying your suppliers it seems, serves me right for not going with the feeling in my gut!

So, onwards and upwards, I hope you all have a happy and prosperous new year, especially if I am involved somewhere down the line.

Best regards

Bob Lethaby

This leads me nicely on to the subject of agency labour and the comparable costs. Most of our electricians are currently paid at a rate of £130-£135 a day with a 10% charge for fortnightly payment and in rare cases where our credit facility allows, 15% for monthly terms. This means our charge rates are between £16.00-£16.50 on our normal 10% terms making us 50p less than the lowest PAYE figure listed above, with the added bonus of a week to week notice period for clients who are finding work sporadic or even worse. Many electrical clients can simply not contemplate taking on permanent staff at the moment.

However, most contractors dislike or even detest agencies and history shows they have every right to do so, such is the standard of the quality of labour in this sector. In many cases recruitment consultants are not from a building services background and are more concerned about getting numbers on the board in a bid to avoid the sack. Sadly, the quality of labour is not of paramount importance when the monthly figures are produced, no matter what it says on the glossy brochure. The pressure on consultants is more or less relentless and in my opinion, that dramatically swings the pendulum towards quantity not quality.

Without trying to sound like some sort trumpet blowing prodigal son of electrical recruitment, I feel that CBS have just about got the right with regards to a good standard of service. Don’t get me wrong here, I don’t get it right all the time, as recently as August this year I received a metaphorical custard pie in the face after supplying an electrician who had been “highly reccomended” by another contractor. He was so good that he didn’t even need to turn up to a site in Stoke Poges, letting down one of my longest standing customers. However, these mishaps are rare, as with just a laptop, a mobile phone an un-glamorous car and two hungry teenagers as overheads, I am in position to hit on quality above quantity.

The small pool of electricians I have are of a good standard and adaptable to travelling to most places in London, Thames Valley and the south. Many of them have worked for me now for several years, so I have, with feedback from you all, gathered a good knowledge of strengths and weaknesses. Hopefully, one day, I am going to stop saying the words “in the current environment” but it is a fact that these chaps are having to be more adaptable than ever before, working harder for less.

So with the costs mentioned above, if you do get week to week additional work but you are not in a position to employ direct, please contact me on 07956 537076 for your requirements. It would be daft and possibly arrogant to say that CBS are unrivalled in the field of electrical recruitment, but I will say that there is a genuine intention to gain repeat business with an honest and knowledgeable service, rather than just working for numbers on the board.

After all, I can only sack myself!