ECA says under-qualified workforce putting people at risk
The Electrical Contractors Association has said that under-qualified workers could be putting lives at risk if a proposed new framework doesn’t tighten up on requirements – and reinforcement – of experience-based qualifications.
The comments are in response to government’s Building A Safer Future consultation. The Association broadly agrees with the proposal for an ‘overarching competence framework’ for those who work on and in higher risk buildings.
However, the Association also said this new framework must reinforce and extend experienced-based qualifications. Without doing so, the ECA argues that electrical and other installations in higher risk residential buildings could pose an unacceptable risk of electrocution and fire.
The ECA underlined that for a competence-based qualification system to ensure safety and quality in the higher risk premises, all workers should undertake a suitable apprenticeship as a minimum. Alternative, comparable qualification routes should also be provided for existing, experienced workers.
ECA Technical Director Mike Smith says: “ECA fully supports moves to ensure that those who work in higher risk premises are suitably competent to do so, notably in the electrical and wider engineering services workforce.
“However, regulated competence-based qualifications, including apprenticeships, are fundamental to ensuring that installation and maintenance work delivers fire and electrical safety. Without this essential foundation, the residents of high-rise buildings and hospitals will remain at risk.”
The ECA has also warned against the current reliance, notably in the domestic consumer market, on short, classroom-based, courses which are being marketed as offering a fast track into competence.
Smith comments: “These short courses seriously undermine the take up of apprenticeships in the industry. Furthermore, their continued existence undermines calls from Dame Judith Hackitt and the Government to ensure that the public is properly protected from fire risks in high rise buildings.”
