14
AUGUST 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO NEWS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
Electricians’
group publishes
reviewed skills and
competence guidance
A collaborative group representing electricians has published new
Guidance outlining the skills and
competences required for individuals
to carry out electrical installation
work within dwellings in England and
Wales.
‘new peer-reviewed Guidance
for Building control Bodies’
The Skills Alliance for Electricians (SA4E)
comprises representatives of the Institution
of Engineering and Technology (IET), the
Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Con-
tracting Industry, the Electrical Contractors’
Association, Unite the union, SummitSkills,
the Engineering Council and more recently the Highways Electrical Association.
Working together with the Building Control
Alliance, the group has produced the new
peer-reviewed Guidance for Building Control Bodies.
IET Director of Membership and Professional Development, Michelle Richmond,
said: “The main purpose of this new
Guidance is to enhance standards and the
competence recognition of electricians so
that home owners can be confident that
the work being carried out in their homes
meets all the safety requirements.”
Since 2005, all electrical work in dwellings
in England and Wales, whether carried
out professionally or as DIY, must meet
the requirements of Part P of the Building
Regulations. In April 2013 the requirements
for England were amended. Compliance
with Part P is a serious matter and intended
to keep the public as safe as possible from
electrical hazards. Local authorities have
the power to make homeowners or landlords remove or alter any work that does
not meet the requirements of the Building
Regulations.
The Guidance incorporates a qualification
and competence risk indicator which can be
used by Building Control Bodies to assess
the level of confidence they can place in the
individual to undertake the work compe-
tently and safely and as a result the degree
of supervision and inspection they should
exercise.
‘competently and safely’
SA4E was formed from a previous Technical Advisory Panel and Steering Group
(TAPS) which published findings from a
large research study that focused on electrician technician registration (May 2013).
The Highway Electrical Association joined
the SA4E in May 2014.
Qualified and experienced electricians are
eligible to apply for the Engineering Technician (EngTech) professional registration.
Solar Firms Entitled Synseal Acquires Systems Glass
to Compensation
Synseal has acquired the business
and assets of Prospect Inc. Ltd,
For Unlawful Cut
trading as Systems Glass.
to Support
The High Court ruled last month
that solar firms are entitled to
compensation following an
unlawful Government decision in
2011 to introduce policy changes
to solar feed-in tariff payments.
Reacting to the news,
Andrew Pendleton,
Head of Campaigns at
Friends of the Earth,
which was one of the
organisations t