HPM
Studies are always being carried out to find out more about public behavior and the results never fall short to shock us. The latest study regarding Gas Safe Registered Engineers tells us that a third of UK adults simply don't bother checking if the gas man they've hired is legally able to do so.
This is an increasingly popular topic in recent times and rightly so as people are simply unaware of the repercussions until sadly they become victim of faulty gas work.
Let's Talk More About The Findings
At some point in our lives, whether we're a home owner or not, we can all recall having a gas engineer in our homes to maybe check up on our boiler or other gas related work. They were probably in uniform and looked the part so we assumed they were a fully Qualified Gas Engineer who has undergone all relevant training.
Well according to these new findings, there's a very high chance that they weren't! A third (33%) of UK adults admit they’ve not checked if the engineer working on their home’s gas appliances is doing so legally by being on the Gas Safe Register. Such findings have been presented by the Government’s official gas registration body and we bet it's something you didn't already know!
Jonathan Samuel, CEO of Gas Safe Register, said:
“Anyone working on gas appliances who is not on the Gas Safe Register is doing so illegally. Gas appliances can be dangerous if they’re not looked after, so it’s important to ensure they are serviced or fixed by someone who is legally registered and qualified to do so. You can look up your gas engineer’s registration number on the Gas Safe Register website, or call our helpline.”
Gas Courses at Able Skills
What Sparked Such Investigation?
After completing 2,000 illegal gas work investigations in just 3 years, a shocking 69% of them were found to be unsafe. This means the people living within the property as well as those nearby were placed in danger that they didn't know about.
Going back to what we said towards the start of this article, the report also states that those who hired the gas engineer thought they had undergone relevant Gas Courses and Training after only seeing a Gas Safe Register Logo on their shirt.
Little did they know the engineer's status can be confirmed online, on the Gas Safe Register's website. It literally take 2 minutes and in this day and age, with the amount of news regarding rogue traders, there shouldn't be any excuses as to why we don't check the register.
28% of respondents of the study represent the amount of people admitting they only check for a Gas Safe Logo, with another 13% taking the so called engineer's word for it and another 28% who DO check the Gas Safe Register.
What Else Did They Find?
If you're reading this and thinking how could you have forget to check, don't be too hard on yourself as the study also found that 40% of people assume that all gas engineers are registered with a further 29% saying they didn't realise they had to check.
Further into the study, The Gas Safe Register also found that 15% of people were in too much of a rush to ask, 18% forgot and finally and probably the most interesting face, 'British politeness' stopped 14% of people from checking if their Gas Engineer was Gas Safe Registered.
Able Skills Gas Courses are Bpec Accredited
Checking for the correct qualifications and finding out if your Gas man has undergone the essential Gas Courses is one thing, but the same principle should be applied to all tradesmen. If they say they're a Plumber, then ask about the City & Guilds Plumbing Courses they've been on, if they're a qualified Electrician, then ask about the Electrical Courses and Electrician Training they've been on!
Although overlooked, it's very simple and massively important! If you want a checklist of Gas Courses so you can check with your Gas Engineer or are interested in learning the trade yourself, please click here.