Trade association SELECT looks forward to 2025 and plans a packed programme of events to celebrate its 125th anniversary year
Posted by: electime 9th January 2025
From Toolbox Talks to a Grand Anniversary Ball, the calendar is filling up for the world’s oldest electrical trade body
After another year of impressive achievement, SELECT is now looking forward to marking its 125th anniversary in style in 2025 as it celebrates its founding as the world’s oldest electrical trade association.
The country’s largest construction trade body is planning a packed calendar of events to mark its landmark year, reflecting the way it has represented the profession since 1900 when leading contractors got together in Glasgow to serve the “modern trades”.
Generously supported by sponsorship from Associate Members and wholesalers – including some of the industry’s biggest names – SELECT will celebrate the auspicious occasion with a varied programme, ranging from technical talks to a grand ball.
Alan Wilson, SELECT Managing Director, said: “The vision of the original founders of the association – that contractors should draw together and unite – is as relevant and as powerful a message today as it was 125 years ago.
“Our forefathers understood that rivalry between firms, although keen, ‘did not obscure mutual respect’, and the way that member firms have pulled together in recent years – especially during the COVID-19 pandemic – has been nothing short of remarkable.
“The events of this anniversary year will serve to highlight the comprehensive way that SELECT carries out its responsibility to further the aims and ambitions of a profession which is so vital to the future as we transition to a net zero society.”
Among the highlights of the year will be the association’s ever-popular Toolbox Talks, sponsored for the first time by Aico, which will once again visit 12 venues across Scotland in May and June, delivering essential technical updates.
Also on the calendar will be the President’s Cup golf contest in July, sponsored by Luceco Group, Branch Updates in March and October sponsored by Aico and Hispec and the Past Presidents’ Christmas Lunch in December, sponsored by Electrium.
SELECT will also play host to a delegation from EuropeOn, the voice of the continent’s electrical contracting industry, in Edinburgh in May, and host its fourth Professionals’ Day at the V&A Dundee in September.
The celebrations will culminate with a glittering 125th Anniversary Grand Ball, sponsored by Scolmore Group, at the Marriott Hotel in Glasgow on 14 November, where office bearers, members, staff and industry colleagues will toast SELECT’s ongoing success.
Other sponsors for the year’s events include, CEF, Edmundson Electrical, Holland House Electrical, Morton Fraser MacRoberts and Schneider Electric, with Daikin, Dimplex, Megger and National Ventilation also offering support.
Mr Wilson, added: “Our teams have been putting in the hours to make sure that the 125th anniversary year will be one to remember, and many more events are in the planning.
“In everything we do, we want to show how SELECT has been serving the electrical sector in Scotland through unprecedented changes in society, through times of need and times of prosperity, and will continue to represent the interests of everyone in our profession.”
