Technicians on electrical courses may agree with the thoughts of one construction industry source, who is calling for the refurbishment of existing housing stock in the UK to be cheaper for businesses.

David Ireland, chief executive of campaign group Empty Homes, suggested VAT for bringing an existing house back into use should be the same as the levy for building a new property at zero per cent.

In his view, this would definitely create jobs - with engineers taking electrical course qualifications potentially benefiting from such new opportunities.

"This would have an ongoing benefit - making sure that the existing building stock is maintained and managed properly is something which will pay dividends long into the future," said Mr Ireland.

His comments follow a statement by the Federation of Master Builders, which indicated the UK's empty housing stock could be brought back into use if the government cuts the VAT on domestic repair and maintenance activity.

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