Posted By JDB_FM
I would be grateful for any advice or information anyone could offer me, as I am feeling somewhat confused. Sorry it's quite a long one!

I have a caretaker on site who did an electrician apprenticeship as a young man. He then pursued an alternative career for around 40 years and now in his 60's has come to work for us.

He would like to carry out basic electrical works on site such as replacement of small switchgear, light fittings and sockets etc.

I have contacted the HSE to try to find out the legal requirements of carrying out electrical works before I let him loose on site and they have directed to the following information:

Persons to be competent to prevent danger and injury
16. No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger or, where appropriate, injury, unless he possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work.


How do I know if someone is competent to do electrical work?
A person can demonstrate competence to perform electrical work if he or she has successfully completed an assessed training course that has included the type of work being considered, run by an accredited training organisation, and has been able to demonstrate an ability to understand electrical theory and put this into practice.

A successfully completed electrical apprenticeship, with some post apprenticeship experience is a good way of demonstrating competence for general electrical work. More specialised work such as maintenance of high voltage switchgear or control system modification is almost certainly likely to require additional training and experience.

My question is what course would be suitable to send him on to ensure that he has, and can prove he has the competencies required? As we are a charity a reasonably low cost option would be preferred.

Many thanks

JDB