Myself and my colleague are both QS at a housing association with NICEIC we are only able to keep this status if we pass our annual assessment i think after 2 years without registration  i will no longer be qualified to be a QS .

Unknown said:

The IET define the EAS.

That is incorrect, the IET do NOT define the EAS. The EAS Management Committee defines the EAS, and the IET has agreed to host the published documents. This is discussed on the following web-page: https://electrical.theiet.org/bs-7671/building-regulations/electrotechnical-assessment-specification/

The organizations involved in production of the EAS specification are discussed in Sections 2.1 and 2.2 of the specification.

Unknown said:

EAS set out by IET

As above, set out by the cross-industry EAS Management Committee.

Unknown said:

there are contractors out there who have experience and older quals

Agreed, the Qualifications Guide provides further clarity in this regard. This also includes the following:

Very large hand in decisions with tue ESC included, also administrative responsibility (you have to got to the IET to access the document)

For many years, my company has employed contractors who are over 50 and have extensive industry experience. Despite having various qualifications and skills, we had to enrol in college in 2014 to complete NVQ level 3 and get Gold cards. This is the minimum requirement to be an ECS electrician. We did not complain and achieved our ECS registered electrician Gold Cards. Furthermore, we had to undergo the 3 day AM2 assessment, which was not easy or cheap for us.
I believe that the EAS should value and acknowledge the existing qualifications and experience of electricians, and create a category that exempts those who have demonstrated their competence in their specific sector.

I reckon there are moves afoot to direct the career route for a electrician towards degree level, just as they did with nursing, and look where that got us. It is now beneath a nurse to have to empty a bedpan, the task which now has to be carried out by what are perceived to be by nurses as being lowly 'ward carers'.

"Change a light bulb?" Sorry, it is beneath me, so go find a handyman instead".

I can’t see that happening. It’s a money generator for unneeded training. 
This approach does not happen in any other trade (who are paid as well)

The EAS is a joke. You will be better off being a plasterer in the long run.

whjohnson said:

I reckon there are moves afoot to direct the career route for a electrician towards degree level, just as they did with nursing, and look where that got us.

I am not sure about that.

When I went to university in the late 1970s, only about 15% of the population did so and the nation could afford to train its doctors, etc. free of charge. By the time that nursing became a degree subject, more like 50% of school-leavers went to university and they had to pay their own way.

Now apprenticeships seem to be on the way back. The pay is not great, but at least it is in the right direction

That doesn’t really address the problem with people 40+ who are being forced into unnecessary education via the EAS which is backed by the IET

People like you are few and far between.

I don’t think you should be allowed to pay for an NVQ, C&G qualification and the EAS declares it useless. I disagree with the the IET EAS. We jump through hopps at our own cost to do what. No other trade requires this level of retrospective education. 

It is wrong that we have to constantly update our education to comply with the evolving standards of the electrical industry. No other trade faces this kind of challenge and bias.