PV Training - MCS requirement?

[SolarCity]

Had a phone call from NICEIC today telling me that my MCS training is actually 6 months overdue. Had no idea what he was talking about but apparently I need to do a refresher course to be MCS compliant. Anyone else heard about this?

I'm not particularly keen on travelling to Chesterfield to sit in a room being lectured about things I'm already full aware of.

 

[whinmoor]

We had our MCS with NAPIT last week. We discussed this issue with the Assessor and he decided we looked pretty competent and didn't raise it as a Non-Conformance or advise refresher training.

It's a money-grabbing scam. Tell them you're considering reviewing your membership of NICEIC - that might keep them off your back!

 

[The Solar King]

Agree. This is a scam. If you have been in the scheme since before the introduction of the National Occupational Competency and Qualification Standards, you are are taken to be competent by virtue of your work based experience. If you are a new entrant you have to demonstrate how you meet them.

Refresher training no, specialist training in specialist areas, and product training yes. we aim for at least one week and possiblt two a year just to keep up.

 

[SRE]

We've been told by NICEIC that we must attend the training. Apart form anything else it's £500 and 3 days out of a working week we can't afford. Is it only NICEIC that are saying you must do this. Ours runs out next month we've been installing for 5 years.

 

[SolarCity]

Yeah, our call was from the NICEIC also. I didn't even get to the point that we talked money... £500?!

 

[SolarCity]

We were called out to a job earlier in the week where a system had stopped working. Turned out to be a loose connection in the AC isolator which had finally failed.

Looking at the system, there were three different arrays at different orientations all on a single MPPT with huge shading. The system seemed to be doing reasonably well considering.

Discussed with owner and it turned out that this job was the first carried out by the firm and it was the one they used for MCS assessment!!!

The MCS is an utter joke.

 

[The Solar King]

The more I think about this, the less sense it makes. Come September the new IET PV Code of Practice will be published which will replace all electrical aspects of the current ECA/MCS guide. This will also be adopted by MCS. A new document covering the non electrical aspects of the current guide will be published in due course

BUT the IET COP is not yet published. When it is there may be a genuine need for half day training sessions on the changes. This would not be refresher training. So refresher training offered at this point in time is about what exactly?

 

[The Solar King]

Discussed with owner and it turned out that this job was the first carried out by the firm and it was the one they used for MCS assessment!!!

The MCS is an utter joke.

Would be interested to know who the original assessment body was, as would those on the relevant MCS working groups who are pushing really hard on reform to make the scheme robust.

Everyone knows it has had shortcomings that need to be addressed. I am reasonably confident that those driving the reform will make the scheme do what it says on the tin. Watch out for the audits coming your way soon.

 

[SolarCity]

Would be interested to know who the original assessment body was, as would those on the relevant MCS working groups who are pushing really hard on reform to make the scheme robust.

Everyone knows it has had shortcomings that need to be addressed. I am reasonably confident that those driving the reform will make the scheme do what it says on the tin. Watch out for the audits coming your way soon.

I'll find out. I had considered making a complaint about it.