Under going electrician training is a great career move as the industry continues to excel. We previously spoke to about how great it would be for those who are qualified electricians to gain some sort of professional recognition.
What can this mean for us?
There are many electricians out there who sometimes rely on recommendations via word of mouth, but can introducing formal protection of title mean an end to our trust issues when hiring an electrician?
A move which has been pushed forward by Scottish Conservative and Unionist MSP, has taken a step further into becoming a reality as both employee and employer representatives have come together in Scotland to press the government into what could boost their economy by £58m.
Professional Electrician reports that Unite the Union has written to Keith Brown, the Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, to express its full support for the long-running campaign for recognition by respected industry bodies.
Is it really needed?
Well the argument remains that people aren't easily able to tell whether a not someone is actually qualified in what they say they are. The amount of sub standard work we here about must come to an end at some point and many industry experts believe this could be an initial step solving such problem.
Ask yourself...
Can you recognise the skills, knowledge, training, experience and qualifications of an electrician yourself? The answer is most likely to be no as we're only looking to hire someone ourselves as not everyone has undertaken electrician training.
Pat Rafferty, the Unite Scottish Secretary, said: “Our members have expressed their frustration that people in such a safety-critical occupation are able to use the title of electrician when they have not met the established national and industry standards.”
SELECT (Trade Association for the electro-technical industry in Scotland) carried out research with an unbelievable figure! They came to the conclusion that a system that can help eradicate sub standard work could save Scotland a whopping £58m a year!
It's safe to say that with that amount of money at stake, it's hard to ignore the argument for such professional recognition amongst electricians.
Newell McGuiness (SELECT'S Managing Director) commented:
“We do not want to leave people behind if they want to operate as competent and safe electricians and we have taken steps to ensure that there are a variety of ‘routes to qualification’ to make the profession as inclusive as possible.
But we have to act as soon as possible to end the impact of poor and unsafe work and to give consumers confidence that the electricians they commission will be properly qualified.”
Such movement in Scotland makes us at Able Skills think how much this could save the rest of the UK. Is it perhaps time to introduce some form of professional recognition for electricians too?
When asking Electrician Training Instructor Clive, he said...
''I think it's a good idea as it informs clients of the qualifications Electricians say they hold.
With that said, one key area that comes to mind is how would they regulate it? Ensuring it's enforced in a way the public are made aware is a very difficult task''.
Clive makes a good point as it's a good idea to launch such campaign but ensuring a system that stays in place that the public and go by is where the task really lays.
Electrician Training is something Clive offers on a daily basis and he has great faith the Electrical Industry in the UK will only become stronger. Discussing topics like these remain a regular occurrence on the electrician courses he teaches and it's a good thing he informs students of industry news too!
If you would like more info on the courses you would find Clive on, please click here.
