Yes -Domestic Electricians who have qualified via the Domestic Electrician apprenticeship or Experienced Worker Assessment will soon have a new training route to broaden their skillset and become recognised as an Installation/Maintenance Electrician.
TESP is currently working with awarding organisations and NET on a process that will involve Domestic Electricians completing a series of bridging units covering knowledge and practical assessments, involving robust workplace experience to develop occupational competence across the full scope of installation and maintenance activity, before undertaking a NET end assessment of competence.
It will not be a shortcut to becoming an industry-recognised Installation/Maintenance Electrician, either in time, scope of work or quality, and it will be fully mapped to ensure parity of standards and content. TESP will oversee the process to ensure eligibility checks, and rigour at all stages.
Access to this upskilling route will only be available to those who have qualified to the industry standard through the Domestic Electrician apprenticeship in England, or the Domestic Electrician Experienced Worker Assessment.
Yes, EWA candidates can take these qualifications because they are experienced workers undertaking a structured assessment programme to prove occupational competence.
The notice from the awarding organisations on periodic inspection and testing qualifications does not impact apprentices or learners registered on EWA routes.
Learners registered on Installation/Maintenance EWA can take the Initial Verification unit or the combined Initial Verification/Periodic Inspection qualification. Learners registered on Domestic EWA will require a qualification covering both Initial Verification and Periodic Inspection
There are five Level 3 Performance Units to be assessed before you can gain the Domestic Electrician Experienced Worker qualification (EAL Level 3 Electrotechnical in Dwellings Experienced Worker Qualification 610/2859/9):
- Apply Design and Installation Practices including Termination and Connection of Conductors in Dwellings
- Plan and Oversee Electrical Work Activities in Dwellings
- Apply Health, Safety and Environmental Considerations in Dwellings
- Apply Fault Diagnosis and Rectification in Dwellings
- Inspect, Test, Report and Commission Electrical Systems in Dwellings
To pass these units, you must provide evidence from one or more sites where you are working to demonstrate you can fully meet the performance requirements of each unit.
Only performance evidence after you have registered on EWA can be counted towards the performance requirement. Previous work evidence can help demonstrate your eligibility for EWA but cannot be used as evidence towards the performance unit assessments.
You’ll be assessed via a range of methods and an assessor will need to observe you at work on at least one occasion during the evidence gathering process. At least one assessment must be carried out live and in person, with both the candidate and assessor physically present in the same location.
You will also need to complete awards in BS 7671:2018 and full Inspection and Testing covering Initial Verification and Periodic Inspection if you don’t already have these qualifications.
You cannot take the Experienced Worker qualification without the AM2ED in order to join a Competent Persons Scheme.
The EWA is a process which encompasses both the qualification, the additional requirements and the end assessment.
Once you are registered on the Domestic Electrician EWA programme you can apply for an ECS Experienced Worker card which is valid for 18 months.
The best way to apply for the ECS EWA card is to ask your training provider to apply for the card on your behalf. Alternatively, you can apply directly to the JIB yourself by making an application with your training documentation and existing underpinning knowledge certificates.
Once you successfully complete the AM2ED assessment, you can apply for an ECS Domestic Electrician Gold Card. You will still also need to hold a valid ECS Health, Safety & Environmental test as part of the application process. For more information please visit the ECS website.
Level 3 initial verification & periodic inspection and testing qualifications must be held in order to be awarded the Domestic Electrician Experienced Worker Qualification (EWQ), and to complete the Domestic EWA.
If you already hold these, currently held qualifications are accepted and do not need to be repeated.
If you do not already hold these, the Level 3 initial verification & periodic inspection and testing qualifications do not have to be held in order to enrol onto the EWQ, and can be undertaken in conjunction with the EWQ.
There are no exemptions for the EWA, so you will still have to provide initial verification and periodic inspection & testing evidence, from your on-site work, as part of the Level 3 EWQ assessment criteria.
The Inspection & Testing qualification is there because the EWA has been designed in parity with the Domestic Electrician apprenticeship, so those on either route are both qualifying to the same industry standard. If the apprenticeship content changes, the EWA will be updated in line with this.
The core principle of any EWA is that it mirrors the performance units of the related apprenticeship standard. This ensures parity of occupational competence for apprentices and experienced workers.
Metal containment is part of the Domestic Electrician apprenticeship standard. Therefore it must be included within the EWA, and competence will be verified at the End Point Assessment. The employer group responsible for developing the apprenticeship standard asked for metal containment to be part of the apprenticeship due to the rapidly increasing prevalence of equipment such as inverters that require containment to support the cable installation. It was widely supported as a key skill of a Domestic Electrician in the apprenticeship consultations.
It is important that all performance evidence is genuine work and not de facto simulation. If potential candidates do not have sufficient experience and proficiency with metal containment this should be identified on the Skills Scan. Candidates should not be registered until they have addressed any experience / training gaps on the Skills Scan.
