Struggling to find an Electrician in rural Scotland - Courses for DIY?

[North80]

Hi everyone,

 

I'm having a real problem getting hold of an electrician where I live in rural Scotland. It seems to be universally difficult to find decent tradespeople here, but electricians are particularly hard to come by.

 

I suspect the growth of the renewables industry is a factor; salaried jobs working on wind turbines, for example, probably look a lot more appealing than the hassle of tackling messy jobs in older homes, potentially dealing with asbestos, and running your own business.

 

Given how difficult it is, I'm considering doing some courses so I can tackle some of the work myself. Can anyone recommend suitable courses for learning how to do home electrics safely and properly?

 

I know the traditional route is a time-served, three-year apprenticeship. My cousin actually tried to get one but found it impossible – nobody was willing to take him on. In rural areas, I imagine tradesmen are reluctant to train potential future competitors.

 

It also feels like the training standards across the UK vary quite a bit, and there are certainly tradesmen out there who seem to bodge jobs without much accountability. If someone did an apprenticeship with them, they might pick up bad habits rather than good practice.

 

So, I'd really appreciate any advice on the best way to do shorter courses that cover the essentials, particularly for things like working on consumer units.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

[Alan Ambrose]

I think you'll struggle to get qualified because of the apprentice / proof of work accomplished element. There is an episode, I think, of Artisan Electrics where one of their clients got qualified - so it's not impossible. As an ex-EE consultant, I would love to find a way too. You might be able to do a deal with a sparky where you do all the dumb and time consuming cable pulling & practical installation work and they do the 'intelligent' work - wiring up, testing etc.

[Thorfun]

won't you need Part P qualification to sign-off the new electrics?

[JohnMo]

1 hour ago, North80 said:

having a real problem getting hold of an electrician where I live in rural Scotland

Scotland is a big place - which bit of it?

[andyscotland]

3 hours ago, Thorfun said:

won't you need Part P qualification to sign-off the new electrics?

No such thing as Part P in Scotland.

 

The legal requirement is to be "competent" - however some (most?) councils seem to interpret that as "member of an industry body e.g. SELECT/NICEIC/ECA etc" and are firm on that view.

 

Unfortunately that's a challenge as a DIY person, IMO best you can hope for is someone who will agree to split the work with you and sign it off at the end.

[SteamyTea]

Another way to look at it is 'how much wiring can you do before you need a qualification'?

 

Can you, for instance, design the installation i.e. circuit loads, diversity, safe zone routing, installation types.

Could you physically run the cables, fit switches and outlets?

Do a house wiring diagram?

 

I feel that with my background, and having installed saunas, steam rooms, sunbeds and spa baths in the past, that none of the above would be particularly challenging with help from the wiring regs, onsite books and the occasional question on here.

 

Domestic wiring is not a case of reinventing the wheel, everything is off the shelf and well understood.

[ProDave]

I have sympathy with this situation.

 

When I moved up from England over 20 years ago I had no problem operating without being a member of a competent persons scheme.  About 15 years ago building control started to ask for an EIC for a new build, and that was no problem.  I did new builds in Highland, Moray and Invernessshire without issue.

 

Then a few years ago the rules for rental properties changed and landlords needed to be registered and have more checks done.  Then I hit the first bit of official stupidness.  Highland council started to require you to be e member of a competent persons scheme or self certify by showing your qualifications which must be no more than 5 years old.  Well sorry mine are more than 5 years old and so near to retirement I could not be bothered to go back to college.  So for the last few years I have been able to wire a new build and one part of the council would accept my EIC but if that very same property came up for rental the other part of the same council would not accept an EIC from me.

 

Anyway I am retired now and glad to be finished with that sort of nonsense.  But even when I was working and before this recent nonsense I was often asked to work 100 or more miles from home simply because the customer could not find anyone closer.  A day trip to the Isle of Sky for a simple job was a pleasant day out on a nice day but the customer had to pay all expenses so it was not cheap for them.

 

It is possible to do short courses which were aimed at Part P in England.  Most proper electricians frown on such schemes and call them 5 week wonders.

 

It seems to me the unexpected consequences syndrome.  The government seems to think they can demand higher and higher levels of qualifications and certification expecting that everyone will just stump up the extra time and cost involved in jumping through the extra hoops, and then act surprised when some of them can't be bothered and quit (or like me retire) and there are no longer enough tradesmen.