2011: JIB. Extracts . What is an Electrician
Qualification & Assessment procedures that have been developed by the Industry
THERE IS OFTEN confusion over what anelectrician is and what qualifications someone working on electrical systems shouldhave. However, the electrical industry has recognised formal qualificationsthat provide a clear qualification route for an electrician. Standards forelectrotechnical qualifications have been defined through industry consultationby government agencies for many years.
The industry expects alloperatives that are working unsupervised in the electrotechnical sector to bequalified to the industry-recognised NVQ level 3 qualification. The JointIndustry Board (JIB) recognises these standards in the ElectrotechnicalCertification Scheme
(ECS). To qualify for theECS card as an electrician, a relevant industry level 3 qualification (orrecognised equivalent for pre-NVQ) is required which includes the necessaryunderpinning knowledge and competency assessment. For all new entrants tobecome recognised as an electrician the Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Installing Electrotechnicalsystems and equipment (building structures and the environment) is required. Alternatively,it may be possible to meet the ECS card requirements with the level 3 NVQ inElectrotechnical Services ( ElectricalInstallation – Buildings & Structures ) with the necessary underpinningknowledge qualification ( or technical certificate ) at level 3 and the AM2assessment. Individuals who have some previous experience need an interviewwith an assessor to develop an individual assessment plan without the need togo back to college to train in the classroom.
This is in line with thenormal industry qualification requirements, and only focuses on the requiredpart of the assessment. The value of this is that the competence the individualhas already achieved is credited toward achieving the full industryqualification.
Qualifications such as the standalone17th Edition of the IET Wiring Regulations, the Certificate in Fundamental Inspectionand the Certificate in the Certification of Electrical Installations ( inspection, testing and certification of electricalinstallations ) are designed as professional development for qualified electricians,and, as such, are unsuitable for unqualified personnel or new entrants into theindustry. On their own they do not demonstrate the industry-required qualificationand competence needed to be recognised as an electrician.
Any reference to Part P ofthe building regulations is for a company to comply with the legislativerequirement ( within Englandand Wales) and is not a general requirement for individually qualified electriciansemployed within the industry. Short ‘ PartP ’ training programmes are only for individuals who have been working withinthe industry for at least two years and wish to be registered as a QualifiedSupervisor for their company. These courses do not qualify individuals aselectricians because the training is focused on the requirements of theBuilding Regulations.
Operatives who are alreadyformally qualified to the NVQ Level 3 do not need to re-qualify if they are theproposed Qualified Supervisor for their company, but will need to demonstrate theirknowledge of the Building Regulations during their company’s Part - Passessment visit by the relevant
Competent Persons Schemeprovider. The future training requirements of the industry remain much the sameas they were when the electrical apprenticeship was first introduced.
Electricians still need agood grounding in electrical theory, which will provide the basis ofintegrating new and emerging technologies into electrical installations.
Electricians also continueto need a full working knowledge of the wiring regulations in order to ensurethat their work meets the required British Standards and is safe in itsoperation.
The JIB has supportedapprentice training from its inception in 1968 and some 160,000 installationelectricians have been trained under JIB Apprentice Training Schemes. Thisrepresents a tremendous achievement by the JIB and the electrical industry interms of the people who were trained, the companies who employed them and UK plcin terms of their real contribution to the economy over the years.
The best way to train newentrants into the electrical industry is through a formal industryapprenticeship, but formal industry apprenticeship, but there are alsoopportunities for people to prove their competence through site assessment.
The JIB has a long historyof accrediting the formal qualifications held by professional electricians throughthe ECS card. Anyone who holds an ECS can easily demonstrate that he or she has met the requirements to truly becalled an electrician
