Dealings with NEICIC..?

[DPG]

So we're saying the exam and qualification isn't fit for purpose? Why do we have to do it then?

I suspect you are just looking for an argument. It's not Monty Python so I'm out.

 

[rewireIT]

The point of that course is to teach you how to use the regulations book to find the information you require.

The point of the exam is, and i quote City and Guilds; 'This qualification ensures that you are up-to-date with the latest industry regulation on wiring and the safe use and operation of electrical equipment and systems.'

In reality the exam is an exercise in searching the book but the qualification comes with a credential saying it means you know the regs.

So is it fit for purpose?

 

[rewireIT]

I suspect you are just looking for an argument.

Nah.

It's a very reasonable question - if 18th is supposed to mean you have a good grasp of the regs, but even with it we still need to pay to be tested by a scheme once per year to prove we know them, then is the 18th qualification fit for purpose? Or is it that they're simply money grabbing?

 

[nicebutdim]

Nah.

It's a very reasonable question - if 18th is supposed to mean you have a good grasp of the regs, but even with it we still need to pay to be tested by a scheme once per year to prove we know them, then is the 18th qualification fit for purpose? Or is it that they're simply money grabbing?

Do you really believe that a one hour, multiple choice exam could provide a good grasp of regulations that extend to some 600 pages?

 

[Dustydazzler]

Perhaps the 18th exam should be incorporated in with your Scam registration as an online Exam and come Free when you pay your Scam fee ?

 

[mainline]

Some have been in the game for 40 or more years and are still not up on the regs and have been having assessments for the last 15yrs or so.

 

[rewireIT]

Some have been in the game for 40 or more years and are still not up on the regs and have been having assessments for the last 15yrs or so.

When a scheme is full of people who did a 4 week course you know it's bobbins.

 

[timhoward]

if 18th is supposed to mean you have a good grasp of the regs, but even with it we still need to pay to be tested by a scheme once per year to prove we know them

I'm not particularly speaking in defence of the scams but the annual assessment checks you have insurance in place, have calibrated test equipment, have done some CPD, and checks your test results on at least one job from the last 12 months. There are sometimes some a couple of BS7671 questions too.
I don't agree with part P but it would be a lot worse if those in the schemes weren't checked at all in any way shape or form.

In any case there is a big difference between knowing what the regs require and routinely carrying out work to the standards required in them.
(I wouldn't ever say that I "know the regs", it's not as if I've done every kind of special location work, installed IT systems etc.)

When a scheme is full of people who did a 4 week course you know it's bobbins.

I don't take much notice of people's previous training, I've met entirely useless NVQ 3 sparks in equal measure. What matters is whether they go on learning and expanding their knowledge.

 

[westward10]

@timhoward took the words from my mouth. We all carry out our work and rarely consult BS7671 because we know the requirements for the tasks we routinely carry out but there are areas of it we just don't need to be concerned with, they don't play a part in our daily working lives. We do the 18th Ed and there will be questions applicable to these sections we just never consult, will I become conversant in them by getting a couple of questions correct, no.

 

[nicebutdim]

I don't take much notice of people's previous training, I've met entirely useless NVQ 3 sparks in equal measure. What matters is whether they go on learning and expanding their knowledge.

While I'm not particularly enamoured with the idea of a 6 week course that allows someone to call themselves a 'domestic installer', I can't help thinking of one particular member whose knowledge is vast and it is clear they simply used that course as a means of gaining a foothold in the industry.

I wish she had more time to post here.

 

[Dustydazzler]

Some have been in the game for 40 or more years and are still not up on the regs and have been having assessments for the last 15yrs or so.

Indeed...

I have worked with sparks of 35-40 years in the Trade who haven't got a Scooby Doo about the latest Regs and / Or how to test an Install or Use a MFT. Some of whom were Scam registered and I don't mean part Pee domestic Scam I mean I mean full Scam members and had been for decades. How they passed a yearly Scam assesment beggers belief