John Noble gets Lifetime Achievement Award for 50 years in electrical industry

A business owner who has been devoted to the electrical industry for more than five decades has been recognised for his remarkable contribution with the Lifetime Achievement Award by SELECT, Scotland’s largest construction trade association.

John Noble was honoured by the campaigning body at its annual President’s Lunch, sponsored by Electrium, at the voco® Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow (Friday, September 27).

John has run his own business, John Noble Electrical Contractors, in Bonnyrigg, Midlothian, for the past 45 years after starting out as an apprentice in the early 1970s.

John Noble with son Alasdair, left, and SELECT President Mike Stark, right

Along the way he has encouraged a whole new generation of electricians into the industry by helping to train more than 50 apprentices – many of whom have gone on to set up their own businesses.

Announcing the award, SELECT President Mike Stark said: “John Noble has devoted a large part of his life to the electrical industry in Scotland and has made a major contribution to the current healthy state of the sector.

“He set up his business in the seventies, in the middle of a skills shortage – that sounds rather familiar – and made it very much a family affair, with many close relatives having a role to play.

“In 1982, he employed his very first apprentice and, since then, has recruited at least one apprentice every year, training more than 50 apprentices in his time in business which is a remarkable achievement for a small electrical firm.

Winner John Noble with his son Alasdair, left, and SELECT President Mike Stark, right

“John has served the industry and its associated organisations selflessly and, as someone so accurately once said, if you cut him in half like a stick of rock, he would have the word ‘SELECT’ running through him.”

John accepted his award from Mike at the prestigious event, which was co-sponsored by Morton Fraser MacRoberts LLP and attended by around 80 senior industry figures, with construction innovation expert Professor Sean Smith as guest speaker.

Afterwards he said: “We operate in an industry which is constantly changing as we stay at the forefront of the transition to net zero, and it is a great honour for me to be recognised by my peers with this award.

“Everyone in my business has always been supportive of the role of apprentices in the sector, for the simple reason that proper training is essential to the future of the industry, and to the future of a society which will depend so heavily on the skills and experience of electricians.

“I would like to express my gratitude to my family for their ongoing support as I couldn’t have done anything without them. I would also like to thank everyone at SELECT for their guidance over the years and am still proud to be a member.”

John grew up on a sheep farm in the Pentland Hills, but was always more at home with the farm machinery than the livestock. He duly started as an apprentice electrician in 1972 and established his own firm later that decade.

He became Chair of SELECT’s Edinburgh and South East of Scotland Branch in his late twenties and subsequently served for two years as Vice-President, followed by three years as President from 2011 onwards.

A former board member of the Scottish Joint Industry Board (SJIB) and Trustee of the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT), John says he believes SELECT is vital in maintaining standards and assisting members through training, technical helplines, HR support and keeping them abreast of the latest industry news.

He also said the pace of technological change has been challenging, adding: “When I started out we would never have tackled a job like data cabling. Now we’re also doing integrated systems, CCTV, intruder alarms, fire alarms, Wi-Fi systems and so on.

“These days an electrician has to be competent in lots of disciplines which is why apprenticeships are so vital to the future of our industry. Without apprentices, there can be no electricians.”

The Lifetime Achievement is SELECT’s most prestigious award and reflects extraordinary contributions to the industry. Recent recipients include SELECT Past President Alick Smith and industry campaigner Len Bunton.

A full report on the President’s Lunch, including images, will appear in the upcoming edition of SELECT’s stakeholder magazine, cabletalk.