Over the last 6-12 months the electrical training industry has been awaiting the arrival of a new Domestic Installers NVQ Qualification which will simplify the qualifications required to act as a qualified supervisor and register on a competent persons scheme.
Simply put this means soon there will be 1 complete qualification that you will need to take before you can work for yourself as a domestic installer.
We were expecting this qualification to be launched in January, however it’s launch has now been delayed until July 2012.
We were also expecting the requirements for registering on a competent persons scheme to also change as the New Year arrived. However this change has now been delayed until April 2013.
This means there is now a period of overlap between the new qualification being launched and the requirements for registering on a competent persons scheme changing, which now allows time for the new NVQ to bed in before it becomes the single route to becoming a domestic installer.
Once the requirements to register on a competent persons scheme change it may be harder for new entrants into the industry and those without the correct certifications to work unsupervised or on a self employed basis. In fact it may also mean for some experienced installers who don’t have the right qualifications they may need to take a six week NVQ despite already holding much knowledge.
If you are currently experienced in electrics and simply need to gain your Part P & 17th Edition to get qualified it makes sense to do this as soon as possible so as to avoid what may be a rush to get qualified before the changes come into effect in 2013. This is because after this date it is likely the cost of getting qualified will increase as will the amount of time required.
The same will apply to new entrants to the industry. The current qualification route will save time and money. The new qualification is likely to take around 6 weeks and there will also be NVQ elements to complete. Currently the training classes take around 4 weeks with no NVQ’s to complete although you do still need to complete a major and minor job in order to register for a Part P Competent Persons Scheme.
Later this year the new qualification will be launched. Although it is likely to be more expensive and slightly longer it will essentially wrap together a number of qualifications into one and will be the first and most up to date dedicated domestic installers qualification.
If you are looking to up skill or retrain then you really need to think about your goals, your financial situation and which route you feel you will benefit from. From July onwards there will be 2 routes to becoming a registered domestic installer but it is important to be aware that as we approach the end of the year course places may fill up fast for the older course route.
The simple advice for now is don’t miss out, get moving if you do wish to qualify under the existing electrical course route.