L3 YR1 Unit 301 session 1 Know the trade bodies and organisation

​A trade organisation, also known as a trade association, is a group of businesses or individuals in the same industry that work together to promote their industry and represent their members' interests.

​There are thousands of trade organisations covering most industries in the UK.

We will look at some that impact us as Plumbers.

​For almost every trade, and most material suppliers, there is a trade organisation. These organisations are available to promote the trades and products, and to protect the trades/suppliers and customers alike.

​A trade association, also known as an industry trade group or industry body, is an organisation founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry.

 An industry trade association participates in public relations activities such as advertising, education, publishing, lobbying, and political donations, but its focus is collaboration between companies.

​ Associations may offer other services, such as producing conferences, holding networking or charitable events, or offering classes or educational materials.

 Many associations are non-profit organizations governed by bylaws and directed by officers who are also members.

​One example is ‘The Federation of Master Builders’


The FMB is the largest trade association in the UK construction industry, representing the interests of small to medium-sized building companies.

​In construction there are many trade bodies and organisations. We need to take a look some relevant to our trade.

Use the internet to research the following organisations.

​Whilst researching the organisations you may have come across the term,

 ‘Competent person scheme’

if you work in the building trade as an installer you can normally join a competent person scheme. This may allow you to self-certify certain types of building work, this is instead of getting building regulations approval.

This means:

·         You don’t have to get a local council or private approved building inspector to check your work

·         Your customers benefit from lower prices as there are no building control fees

​As well as trade organisations you may also be interested in joining a Trade union.

A trade union is an organisation with members who are usually workers or employees. It looks after their interests at work by doing things like:

·         negotiating agreements with employers on pay and conditions

·         discussing big changes like large scale redundancy

·         discussing members’ concerns with employers

·         going with members to disciplinary and grievance meetings

​Unite the Union, commonly known as Unite, is a British and Irish trade union which was formed on 1 May 2007 by the merger of Amicus and the Transport and General Workers' Union (TGWU). Unite is the second largest trade union in the UK

​BESA - THE BUILDING ENGINEERING SERVICES ASSOCIATION

Established in 1904, BESA has a proud heritage and has been known by several names throughout its history, most notably as the Heating and Ventilating Contractors’ Association (HVCA).

 Now trading as BESA, our primary focus is to support and serve our members active in the design, installation, commissioning, maintenance, control and management of engineering systems and services in buildings.