Part P courses

Navbloke · Post by **Navbloke** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 1:52 pm

Have been looking for an answer to this but haven't managed to find one yet.

Do you have to be a fully qualified electrician to take a Part P course at college. I contacted my local college thinking I might be able to do it as I have Part 1 City & Guilds Installation but they told me only fully qualified electricians can do it. Later I got talking to my old boss (fully qualified spark) and he told me his friend, who is a kitchen fitter, went on a course and passed even though he had needed a lot of help from the instructor because his knowledge of electrics was very limited.

Post by **ultimatehandyman** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 6:48 pm

I think that there are different types of part p course.

I'm sure i have seen partp inspection courses at the local college and it never said that you had to be an electrician to go on the course.

Hinton Heating · Post by **Hinton Heating** » Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:15 pm

Do you mean the C&G 3581? (i think thats teh number) ... The testing & certification course?

You need the IEE regs course 1st (3591), and preferably the installers course.

ban-all-sheds · Post by **ban-all-sheds** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 8:55 am

There is no such thing as a Part P course, any more than there is a Part A course, or a Part B course, or...

Part P is one of the parts of the Building Regulations, not a qualification.

If you wish to register with one of the Competent Person schemes in order to be able to self-certify electrical installation work classed as notifiable by the Building Regulations you will need qualifications.

In no particular order, these are the requirements of the various schemes:

http://www.napit.org.uk/qualsElec.asp

http://www.eca.co.uk/IndustryGuidance/B ... ements.asp

http://www.niceic.org.uk/partp/partprequire.html

http://www.bsi-global.com/ElectricalIns ... nSheet.pdf

http://www.elecsa.org.uk/Reqs_Costs.asp

and you'll not find anything called "Part P".

This is not pedantry - I would be very worried about the fundamental attitude and competence of any training company that was peddling courses called "Part P"....

Navbloke · Post by **Navbloke** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:13 am

Thanks for the answers. When I called the college I did just ask about 'the Part P course' and they were happy to chat. Looking at the website they have changed the course description from when I last looked. It is headed Part P Building Regulations and states the qualification is unit one of the VRQ Level 2 Certificate for Domestic Installers.

So from what I have read so far (still reading) if you are competent, or have a lot of experience with electrics but not all the qualifications, there is no way to just take a test and work on your own house, you need to join schemes etc?

ban-all-sheds · Post by **ban-all-sheds** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:31 am

You could be André Ampère, Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Michael Faraday, Luigi Galvani, Guglielmo Marconi, Georg Ohm, Nikola Tesla, Alessandro Volta and the entire IEE Wiring Regulations committee rolled into one, and you would not be allowed to carry out notifiable work in your own home without notifying your local council.

If you're not a member of one of the schemes that notification has to be given in advance, accompanied by a hefty fee. If you are a member, the notification takes place after the event, via your scheme organiser, and costs a few quid.

Registration, indeed qualifications themselves, are not mandatory - DIY work is still perfectly legal, in fact doing it for a living in other peoples houses with no qualifications is perfectly legal, per se. The only status that affects whether you notify in advance, or self-certify Building Regulations compliance and notify afterwards is membership of one of the schemes.

Navbloke · Post by **Navbloke** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:06 am

Cheers. I wonder how much housebashing Alexander Graham Bell did?

Jaeger_S2k · Post by **Jaeger_S2k** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 12:54 pm

Nabbloke you have PM!