Electrician fined for EICR.

The courts are overwhelmed at the moment. Why did this relatively minor issue end up in the Crown Court? Could resolution not have been sought through the Trade Body, STROMA?  It sounds to me that there is something more to this case than the scant newspaper report  would suggest.

Competent Person Scheme update - Transfer of Installers from Stroma Installer Certification to NAPIT.
Since 2019, Stroma Installer Certification has been a subsidiary of NAPIT. From the beginning of August 2021 all remaining Stroma registered installers will transfer over into NAPIT.
There will be no significant effect on the competent person scheme notifications system, the data will simply indicate that it is from NAPIT and there will be no more data in the name of Stroma. Please be aware that this is planned and isn’t a data error.

He was NAPIT registered but not approved by them to carry out EICRs. Buried cables came in with 17th and there’s plenty of split views on coding. 

Newspaper reports state he was registered with STROMA at the time the work was carried out in November 2018, so it was nothing to do with NAPIT at that time they did not get involved until later when they took over running the STROMA Competent Person Electrical Scheme and you don’t need to be registered with anyone to do EICRs.

Yep I saw that later it was Stroma. My point was NAPIT and NICEIC like to approve you to carry out EICRs and it’s not covered by their basic membership. 

The biggest problem with issuing any electrical certificate is you have absolutely no idea who the final recipient will be.

Oh, very definitely getting worse! Covid has produced a fresh crop of career changers, some of whom will be fine out in the field. Others, however (and it tends to be the younger ones) have no curiosity or desire to learn; they just want to get the gold card.

I think the qualification has followed, rather then led, standards. Competition from outfits like EAL, the obsession with qualifications, rather than actual competence, the increasing intrusion of the insurance industry. The 2391 is now obtained before most have any experience of testing at all.

This guy presumably left himself wide open issuing inadequate paperwork with no  way of anticipating what the outcome would be.   

There’s thousands of electricians doing this, but I doubt they will be taken to court as he was.  

Steve Briggs: 
 

I think the qualification has followed, rather then led, standards. Competition from outfits like EAL, the obsession with qualifications, rather than actual competence, the increasing intrusion of the insurance industry. The 2391 is now obtained before most have any experience of testing at all.

To address the “obsession with qualifications” part - and perhaps it doesn't belong in this thread at all…….

These commonly seen CVs that float around…………..wow…..the qualifications are pages and pages long

I know just about every young maintenance spark spends their time getting every qualification under the sun, mostly because the company will pay for it. I've been a commercial maintenance spark, for a time,  and it in no way prepares you for installation of very much let alone projects for example, or installation of BMS or automation. If you're vigilant it may prepare you for EICRs and it'll probably give you an opinion on everyone's work practices. Maintenance is definitely, though, a skill all on its own and very valuable; I'm not knocking the maintenance spark, I promise you. 

I know of a class of 12 odd students, where (most?) of the class hadn't yet finished their basic apprenticeship; and were still going to college for 1 day a week,  This course was at night. (A few of the people in class were pretty good sparks for sure.)

I believe they had all done the 2391 and were doing their 2396 (design course). I thought it was fairly obvious that SOME the levels of experience were really low, in sort of one sector of the electrical world, mainly houses, but by the time they got their gold card they'd be certified installers, inspectors and testers and designers. Unlimited scope really. 

On paper, the main QS of any electrical company in any sector of our electrical world. 

Is this qualifications bonanza, a good thing? In many ways, I think so, and in some major ways - maybe not……………I'm impressed, certainly, by the academic knowledge of these - I'm hesitant to say- beginners? What an impressive beginning though. I think many good university candidates have chosen not to go into university and instead chosen a trade, but those chaps with loads of brains completely overshadow the traditional hands on, practical, electrician. 

They certainly know the 18th edition, and are widely versed in the DEFINITE answer for every topic…………. Never worked in swimming pools, or seen a pool plant room in action, let alone installed one, but will give you the book answer for everything to do with swimming pools, never carried out the electrical element of demolitions, or worked on a construction site or  in a medical location………Answers for everything. 

I've (sort of?) been the same - perhaps - so perhaps this a natural progression? 

By the time I got more sure of my answers though, I'd worked for 15 years on the job and experience had met theory………..

Perhaps the job market these days means that if you don't have a plethora of qualifications you get overlooked for even the most basic jobs?

Kind Regards

Tatty