Posted By Sam Rawcliffe NIGEL The Electricity at Work regulations state that: "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" The IEE Code of Practice states, those carrying out the inspection and testing must be competent to undertake the inspection and, where appropriate, testing of electrical equipment and appliances having due regard of their own safety and that of others. What should be considered is that the 'danger' to be prevented, includes not just the dangers which may arise during the testing procedure to the tester and others, but also the dangers which may arise at a later date as a result of using equipment which has not been effectively tested. The tester must have an understanding of the modes of electrical, mechanical or thermal damage to electrical equipment and appliances and their flexes which may be encountered in the environment they are to be utilised. There is no specific Regulation that says you must have a C&G, but the keywords here are competancy, technical knowledge and experience. Hope this helps Sam Rawcliffe.

Posted By Jack I would question whether it is necessary to simply visually check an appliance lead and plug and use a proprietary appliance tester. Yes, of course they need to be competent but it ain't rocket science!

Posted By Bob Baynes Some time ago, the organisation I work for decided to bring PAT testing in-house where possible to reduce costs. I was given the text book for the C&G qualification and entered for the exam. So I dutifully read the book, attended the course and sat the exam. It was open book, I finished at least an hour early, couldn't believe it, checked everything, waited a while then left. The course and the exam seemed to be more about the legal aspects of PAT testing than the methods of testing. I certainly did not feel competent to test any appliance as a result of this course. Yes, I did pass. No I have not tested and will not be testing any appliances. If this was the only qualification held I would not be happy that it alone demonstrated competence. I am not ignorant of electrical matters but I am not an electrician. Maybe I just had a bad experience with the course teaching but the the textbook and the exam too? I don't think so. Comes down to competence is more than just qualifications - a theme reiterated on this forum many times.