Tears in my Big Blue eyes

mamba · Dec 4, 2012

After working for many years as a subby I have decided to get out of that stressful,have all your tester gear and tools nicked, bad management – bad planning anddrawings and working with guys who don’t give a %&+? rat race, as I am getting to old for that, andwas getting a lot of interest, enquiries and calls to do private work. So havetaken the plunge to the other side.
I qualified in 1978 have 2391 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and am CompeXqualified to level 6 [Dusts]. I have recently applied to the NICEIC forregistration as an Approved Electrician.
Now I kindly ask how do I get and do work as a competent person,waiting for his NICEIC registration and who cannot sign off his work as I am asyet not able to self certify as registration pending? As an example I have been asked by a client todo a big new kitchen extension – replace CU - and put a supply to an outside workshop and1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] fix said workshop. Nice little earner & keenly priced intoday’s market. The problem is now this project is notifiable and has to signedoff as I understand by a] A self Certified Skilled registered person or B] Theplanning control office themselves. Both at a cost that the both the client andmyself cannot afford to do. From A] The clients point with the added cost ofgetting it signed off by a Part P registered person Cost £220.00 quoted or thecouncil cost £280.00 + Vat puts it out his budget range or B] Itake the cost and make hardly any margin on the job – may as well go work inTesco and not have the stress. Also I will at some point in the near futurehave to show the NICEIC work I have undertaken, how does one do this if I cannotdo the work in the first place????
Spoke to NICEIC about this they were not exactly sympatheticor willing to offer advice, they must come across this daily??? They havealready got my £500 non refundable deposit for application. So I ask with tearsin my big blue eyes how one gets over this hurdle? As on the one hand I amturning away good trade as I cannot sign off the work or pricing myself out thegame and seeing mostly really bad [ Somereally excellent as well but few and far between] work done by Part P who Iwould not trust to wire a plug in my worst enemy house – ex plaster board fitters doing 1 night aweek for 12 weeks at night school who now masquerade as fully qualified electriciansand who can test and sign off my work. How does that work?????

monkeyelectric · Dec 5, 2012

You can use the job for your niceic assessment, if they've already taken payment they should have given you an assessment date already. Those plasterers can't sign off your work only work they've done themselves

Octopus · Dec 5, 2012

Mate, it sounds like you have the attitude and skills and tools to become a SE sparky.

Setting up is always going to be painful so if you can get the kitchen extension etc, and want to go down the NICEIC route then pay LABC (yes it hurts) - and do the work and use it for your assessment. Nost work will come from word of mouth so you have to start somewhere and the first couple of years will be very tough in the current climate.

Bit late now BUT if you'd chosen Elecsa, they allow you to notify after your assessment

Keep smiling.

londonlec · Dec 5, 2012

I am registered with NIC, I showed the assessor my jobs which had hand written certificates (downloaded from internet), and he didn't mention the part p.

amlu · Dec 5, 2012

do the job, sign it off on a downloaded certificate or kewtech pads, show that job on your assement. elecsa is happy with one job.

Tidy Max · Dec 5, 2012

When i spoke to NICEIC about this very topic, they said that prior to going ahead with the works, contact LABC and explain that you will be using it as an assessment job and there should be no charge off LABC however they will make a note of it.

So its probably worth a phone call to LABC, i would ask first without giving the address of the property. Only because i'm sure this is one of those things that comes down to who you get on the other end of the phone and it could end up saving you some money.

Guest55 · Dec 5, 2012

its very easy to get round this.

A. show them non-notifiable jobs.
B. show them notifiable jobs conducted in your own home.
;-D

SparkyJoe · Dec 5, 2012

If your house is wired in the new colours, just say you have just done it

mamba · Dec 5, 2012

The LABC when approving my clients planning permission have stipulated that Test Certs signed by Reg Person have to be produced before LABC will sign off the whole project. As I do not know when my assessment is both client and LABC are not willing to accomodate this, have already discussed it with both parties. £280.00+ vat looks like going tp LABC

mamba · Dec 5, 2012

Thanks Murdoch. Yep never for one second expected it to be easy. Went NIC route as as I have been approached by a large M&E group to do all their Testing and QA as after recent experiance they do not want the muppets installing to test and sign off there own work, applaud!!! but I can only get this work if NIC approved so its a big incentive.
I am confident it will come out in the wash be it my already thin wallet will take a battering.But we learn and move on.
Yes lets keep smiling

Octopus · Dec 6, 2012

mamba said:
Thanks Murdoch. Yep never for one second expected it to be easy. Went NIC route as as I have been approached by a large M&E group to do all their Testing and QA as after recent experiance they do not want the muppets installing to test and sign off there own work, applaud!!! but I can only get this work if NIC approved so its a big incentive.
I am confident it will come out in the wash be it my already thin wallet will take a battering.But we learn and move on.
Yes lets keep smiling

I hope you don't mean you expect to be signing off other peoples installations as that's not allowed under Part Pee!

Dave 85 · Dec 9, 2012

I dunno how NIC do it but generally the whole idea is that you do the job, use it as your assessment THEN register it once you have passed. Surely this is self explanatory. If the NIC won't allow you to do this then they really are a joke of an organistation.

SparkyJoe · Dec 15, 2012

Murdoch said:
I hope you don't mean you expect to be signing off other peoples installations as that's not allowed under Part Pee!

Its not part P tho, Its testing an inspecting for a firm

grantr37 · Dec 16, 2012

mamba said:
After working for many years as a subby I have decided to get out of that stressful,have all your tester gear and tools nicked, bad management – bad planning anddrawings and working with guys who don’t give a %&+? rat race, as I am getting to old for that, andwas getting a lot of interest, enquiries and calls to do private work. So havetaken the plunge to the other side.
I qualified in 1978 have 2391 17[SUP]th[/SUP] and am CompeXqualified to level 6 [Dusts]. I have recently applied to the NICEIC forregistration as an Approved Electrician.
Now I kindly ask how do I get and do work as a competent person,waiting for his NICEIC registration and who cannot sign off his work as I am asyet not able to self certify as registration pending? As an example I have been asked by a client todo a big new kitchen extension – replace CU - and put a supply to an outside workshop and1[SUP]st[/SUP] and 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] fix said workshop. Nice little earner & keenly priced intoday’s market. The problem is now this project is notifiable and has to signedoff as I understand by a] A self Certified Skilled registered person or B] Theplanning control office themselves. Both at a cost that the both the client andmyself cannot afford to do. From A] The clients point with the added cost ofgetting it signed off by a Part P registered person Cost £220.00 quoted or thecouncil cost £280.00 + Vat puts it out his budget range or B] Itake the cost and make hardly any margin on the job – may as well go work inTesco and not have the stress. Also I will at some point in the near futurehave to show the NICEIC work I have undertaken, how does one do this if I cannotdo the work in the first place????
Spoke to NICEIC about this they were not exactly sympatheticor willing to offer advice, they must come across this daily??? They havealready got my £500 non refundable deposit for application. So I ask with tearsin my big blue eyes how one gets over this hurdle? As on the one hand I amturning away good trade as I cannot sign off the work or pricing myself out thegame and seeing mostly really bad [ Somereally excellent as well but few and far between] work done by Part P who Iwould not trust to wire a plug in my worst enemy house – ex plaster board fitters doing 1 night aweek for 12 weeks at night school who now masquerade as fully qualified electriciansand who can test and sign off my work. How does that work?????