NICEIC Competent Persons Scheme

As part of our ongoing blog series about competent persons schemes, Options Skills take a look at the NICEIC and its role as an Electrical competent persons scheme.

The National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting, or NICEIC as it is widely known, operates competent person’s scheme for domestic and industrial electricians.

The NICEIC was set up in 1956 as a charity to provide protection for consumers against any unsafe electrical equipment and wiring. Since then the company has gone from strength to strength becoming a widely known competent person’s scheme in the UK becoming a subsidiary organisation as part of the Electrical Safety Council / Ascertiva.

The NICEIC now has more than 25,000 members who work in the UK providing both Part P and other electrical safety work.

There are a number of schemes that the NICEIC offer and is dependent on the type of industry you are in. The main purpose of joining the NICEIC is to allow you to complete any work that requires notification and checks to the local planning authority particularly Part P electrical work.

What Schemes do the NICEIC Offer?

Schemes offered by the company include:

• • Domestic Installer Scheme – this scheme can be either full scope (for electricians) or defined (for those that come into contact with electrics irregularly). This scheme means you can be registered to work on full rewires or “minor works” respectively.

• • Approved Contractor – this scheme means you will be added to the Roll of Approved Contractors and can show you are licensed to work to the national wiring standard, collated in the BS7671 Wiring Regulations.
  • Hazardous Area Scheme – this is an accreditation to show that you can competently work in areas where there may be “explosive atmospheres, these include gases, vapours and combustible dusts”.

For newly qualified electricians that want to join the NICEIC the suggested route is the domestic installer scheme.

Benefits of Joining the Competent Persons Scheme

As part of each scheme, you will be able to self-certify your own work avoiding costly building control inspection fees. The NICEIC also have an independent Complaints Procedure giving customers confidence that they can report any problems. This is a great benefit of many schemes as it shows that you are a trusted quality tradesman.

All work carried out is also covered by the NICEIC warranty scheme, this means that if any problems do arise the cost of repairs do not come out of your business and is a further foundation of confidence in the work to the customer.

Entry Requirements to the Scheme

In order to join the NICEIC a number of requirements must be met to qualify. These include:

• Have worked on electrical installations for a minimum of 12 months
• On-Site Assessments – Have two on-site assessments of completed electrical installations that adhere to the BS7671 Wiring regulations, Demonstrate competence in inspection and testing of electrical installation work.
• Appropriate certification is carried out – in order to self-assess you must demonstrate competence in completing an electrical installation certificate.
• Qualifications – You must have gained a relevant qualification which includes the C&G 2382 certificate which we offer.

Visit the NICEIC site to find out more.

If you would like to become an electrician we now offer a number of bespoke part-time and intensive courses take a look at our electrician training that we offer today or call us free on 0808 301 496 to find out more.