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Do CPS schemes like NICEIC and NAPIT have a duty of care to get their members over the line?

Sergio Fernandez

Do CPS (Competent Person Schemes)like NICEIC and NAPIT have a duty of care to get their members over the line?


Qualifications Guide (June 2025) for EAS Appendix 4 - Mandatory Technical Competence Requirements by Work Category
Produced by The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership
on behalf of the EAS Management Committee

Should the CPS be helping their members meet the requirements for EAS in the correct way?
Do the CPS even know the statistics for which of their members meet the requirements?
What about Non-CPS members, will they by default lose their title of electrician even if they have been doing the job for twenty or so years?

The UK electrical industry as a whole needs to increase its numbers but it seems there are many people who will fall foul of the system which means they will have to take complex routes to maintain their status as an electrician.  There are many electricians out there in the UK who do not own/possess a gold card or the requirements for a gold card.  

In my opinion I think that the CPS and industry as a whole have duty of care to work on a system that helps get the people that are 3/4 or less qualified to the qualifies status without it being a massive financial burden on the electrician itself.  As an example there are several well know YouTube electricians who don't have an NVQ but they have many hours of video showing their work, thus industry lead body or representative should asses their skill and convert the hours of YouTube videos (other social media platforms are available) into the NVQ and get them one stage close to Gold Card status.  

If the industry and the CPS do not help it members then there will be a very accelerated natural attrition of the UK electrician because when they go and renew the next membership or BS7671 19th edition they will no longer meet the requirements for entry of that course or membership. 


I do understand the reason for having the EAS showing the requirements for title/role but whole construction and engineer industry needs to help.  I recently heard of a plasterer who was teaching and working but was refused a a certification card for their trade.  

I wonder how many Electrical tutors there are in FE colleges in the UK?  Of those how many are fully qualified as an Electrician according to the EAS so that they are qualified to teach the courses?  I suspect it is highly possible that some tutors may need to sit there AM2 and/or produce a NVQ portfolio.




As always please be polite and respectful in this purely academic debate.





Come on everybody let’s help inspire the future.

Parents

  • To be honest I have never bothered with any of this nonsense.I did my 16th ed and my 2391 when I went self employed back in 2003 and have left it at that.

    Moving forward I just bought the various 'guide to' when the regs changed. Many others have followed suit and are shunning the courses and assessments which conrpise of 75% on the likes of how to put on a hi viz vest and how to use a ladder the right way round, with the other 25% (if you're lucky) comprising of actual electrical content. The whole thing has become a sham. We had none of this nonsense back in the 70s when I did my G&Gs - it was taken as read that each uneducated candidate possessed the requisite amount of common sense from day 1.

    Two guys I formerly worked with when we all worked for the same company and subseqeuntly left after I did, went for NIC Approved contractor status and that was it. They stuck it for around 10 years and jacked the NIC in altogther. No one gives a monkeys about the scams because they see them for what they truly are. NIC, CIS, all of these mysterious acronyms and the likes of gold card lanyard holdesr are just a load of tosh.

    It need only bother someone is they go to work on a over-regualted building site. For the self employed like me who doesn't do housing estates, the whole thing has become a complete nonsense and is best left ignored. I work on domestic, industrial and commercila and have never been asked for anything.

  • in reply to whjohnson
    whjohnson said:
    It need only bother someone is they go to work on a over-regualted building site. For the self employed like me who doesn't do housing estates, the whole thing has become a complete nonsense and is best left ignored. I work on domestic, industrial and commercila and have never been asked for anything.

    Exactly.

    In answer to Sergio's question, no. That is not their purpose.

  • in reply to Chris Pearson
    Chris Pearson said:
    In answer to Sergio's question, no. That is not their purpose.

    Agreed but my experience with NICEIC is that they do offer a very helpful hand for approved contractors trying negotiate the quick sands. Sometimes the approach is altruistic, sometimes a tad more Shylock-like. 

    They have to provide evidence to UKAS that these MTCs are being properly implemented along with ensuring that contractors are providing adequate technical supervision for the range of work undertaken. It is therefore in their best interest to extend that helpful hand as an adverse consequence might be that some contractors drop out of third party assessments altogether. As demand in the renewable sectors increases, that might be a temptation too much for some. It is already evident in the domestic side with respect to EV and PV installations where such work is undertaken at the cheapest rates without any concern for any technical or regulatory consideration.

  • in reply to lyledunn
    lyledunn said:
    Agreed but my experience with NICEIC is that they do offer a very helpful hand for approved contractors trying negotiate the quick sands.

    Good. There is no reason at all why the Schemes should not provide training.

  • in reply to whjohnson

    Would that I were as brave as you WH,

    Being the god-fearing little soul that I am, with  CP scheme requirements as one of my gods to be feared, I try to venture out with the whole toolbox of memberships and certifications.  But it is becoming increasingly difficult and I agree that there will be those who simply throw in the towel because of it.  I have just today heard that my membership will be reduced to domestic only unless I can show my assessor a commercial installation.  I have never been asked for that before, so this is new, and a bit late in the year to get it done in time.  Hey ho. 

    As it happens, I only carry out I&T and consultancy in the commercial sector.  So now I have to consider how best to deal with that.  The question of whether I can carry out I&T without the commercial aspects went unanswered.  I think I can, but I know that my clients would prefer to see the All Systems note on my membership. We'll see.  (And of course, Zs is looking for a tiny commercial DB to change if you have one coming up please).

    How do you cope with not notifying works?  When the client moves home, they're going to be needing evidence of that.

    Zs  

Reply
  • in reply to whjohnson

    Would that I were as brave as you WH,

    Being the god-fearing little soul that I am, with  CP scheme requirements as one of my gods to be feared, I try to venture out with the whole toolbox of memberships and certifications.  But it is becoming increasingly difficult and I agree that there will be those who simply throw in the towel because of it.  I have just today heard that my membership will be reduced to domestic only unless I can show my assessor a commercial installation.  I have never been asked for that before, so this is new, and a bit late in the year to get it done in time.  Hey ho. 

    As it happens, I only carry out I&T and consultancy in the commercial sector.  So now I have to consider how best to deal with that.  The question of whether I can carry out I&T without the commercial aspects went unanswered.  I think I can, but I know that my clients would prefer to see the All Systems note on my membership. We'll see.  (And of course, Zs is looking for a tiny commercial DB to change if you have one coming up please).

    How do you cope with not notifying works?  When the client moves home, they're going to be needing evidence of that.

    Zs  

Children
  • in reply to Zs

    Plenty of domestic works are not notifiable at all, or at least can be done in a way that isn't, and/or the cost can be swept in as part of also notifying other building works etc. if it is a bigger job. That latter depends on the local authority who may or may not accept installation certs from non-scheme members with some credible qualification. 

    Then come house move the box about 'no notifiable work outstanding ' can be honestly ticked.  Or where that is not really true, then an EICR at sale time seems to satisfy most solicitors. 

    Mike

  • in reply to Zs

    As far as I understand it, there is no requirement to be a scheme member to conduct either commercial or industrial work, so nothing to concern yourself with there. As for domestic, usually 'addition to existing circuit, covers it. No one is really interested in bothering to notify anything any more - pressures due to the shortages of skilled labour means that a Nelsonian blind eye is is turned more often than not. Things are reaching the point whereby the scam providers are terrified of losing revenue as membership drops off, hence the sudden interest in 'diversifying' by offering courses of dubious quality in an effort to boost the numbers passing assessments.

    It seems to be a case of either taxing or licencing everything these days, and the quality aspect can go hang.

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