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Handyman courses

Specialising in general home repairs and domestic maintenance, a handyman is very much a 'Jack of all trades'. Covering everything from hanging picture frames to building flatpack furniture, a good handyman will be well-versed in the art of small jobs within the homestead – after all, why should Thor get to be the only hero with a hammer?

If you're a dab hand with a drill and a superstar with a spanner, you yourself could have the makings of a fine handyman (or handywoman). Do you have the skills to pay the bills? Become a doctor of DIY and take your domestic talents to the next level with a handyman course from Access Training

View DIY Carpentry Course >        View DIY Plastering Course >

 

Why take a handyman course?

Whether you want to set up your own handyman business or simply brush up on some essential domestic skills, a handyman course can be a great way to broaden your horizons and enhance your abilities. Here at Access Training, we offer a number of handyman courses that will help you gain the skills and knowledge to complete a number of jobs around the home. 

Completing a handyman course will allow you to easily overcome common home maintenance issues, save money on household repairs, and, best of all, provide you with the necessary knowledge and understanding to be independent within the home. Learning handyman skills can also be a great asset if you're looking to remodel or renovate your home.

Outside of that, handyman skills can be a great way to supplement your income by carrying out odd jobs for others. Better still, a relevant training course could even provide you with a solid base on which to build your very own business. You might find that after completing our DIY carpentry course, you get a taste of the trade and go on to become a qualified carpenter!

 

Which handyman course is right for me?

Often grouped together under the banners of 'property maintenance courses' or 'home maintenance courses', handyman courses offer a whole host of useful domestic skills to learn. From plumbing and bricklaying to painting and decorating, the list of handyman courses available across the UK is vast and wide-ranging. Finding the right one for you can depend largely on your specific needs and aspirations.

Here at Access Training, we offer handyman courses in carpentry and in plastering - two skills that can be really essential in the home! If you want to complete a trade course so that you can go beyond being a handyman in your own home and offer your services to others, then we'd recommend taking a look at our professional trade courses. We offer electrical courses, plumbing courses, gas courses, and more.

The right handyman course for you will be determined by what you want to do with it! To pick up a few skills to use in your own home, choose our DIY courses. To learn a trade and become a professional handyman, be sure to check out our Essential trade courses. 

 

Our DIY training courses

At Access Training, we offer two primary DIY courses, both of which are designed to help you become more independent in the home and give you the functional expertise to easily overcome typical household headaches.

The DIY courses currently available from Access Training are:

  • DIY Carpentry Course - From tool handling and basic cutting to hanging doors and fitting locks, our DIY Carpentry Course covers a wide variety of tasks in order to help you improve your practical carpentry skills around the home.
  • DIY Plastering Course - From mixing plaster to preparing surfaces and skimming walls, our DIY Plastering Course will help you create beautiful smooth walls to paint and decorate.

Become a professional handyman

In addition to the DIY courses outlined above, we also provide a number of other 'Essential' courses that are ideal for anyone looking to get to grips with a skill they've never tried before. These are great starting points if you'd like to become a professional handyman and share your new-found skills with the local community.

These include:

These entry-level courses may be considered a step up from the DIY level, providing a superb foundation if you're looking to turn professional in the near future.

Get in touch now to speak with a course advisor >

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: To help our learners stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now offering live online training sessions. This means that you can participate in virtual classroom sessions from the comfort of your own home and rewatch each tutorial as many times as you wish. Of course, there's no substitute for hands-on experience, so the practical portion of your training course will still be delivered in person at our fully-equipped training centre. Contact Access Training now to find out more about our unique training packages.

 
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The easing of lockdown has brought with it countless developments within the world of construction and beyond. Our outlook on the world, our personal freedoms, and many elements of our behaviour have changed perhaps permanently. 

As we go on to explain in this article, some of our attitudes towards DIY construction projects have seemed to change over the course of the pandemic, with an increase in the amount of homeowners, especially in the younger generation, who are willing to undertake certain minor tasks across a range of vocations, whether it’s electrical, plumbing or carpentry work. 

A recent study conducted by the Plastic Sheets Shop showed that 40% of UK homeowners attempted their own DIY home improvement projects over lockdown, and that 35% are more confident in this area as a result. 

This enthusiasm and increased level of interest in being able to tackle DIY projects is very encouraging in terms of reaching our goal of supplying the construction industry with the next generation of tradespeople. If there’s a desire and enjoyment in being able to complete home improvements yourself, then why not make that your job?

DIY disasters

Some things, however, never change, and this includes our ultimate dependency on tradespeople to complete minor and major DIY work to a high and safe standard. One most notable development in the easing of lockdown has been the upsurge in the number of tradespeople who continue to be called out to people’s homes to complete a huge range of services. 

While these numbers remained consistent throughout previous lockdowns, with tradespeople in high demand and being able to safely carry out work despite restrictions, the recent surge is extremely promising, and shows that we need trained skilled tradespeople if we want serious work carried out to a high standard. 

The same study also revealed that, fortunately, the vast majority of people are still much more likely to call in a tradesperson to carry out the required work themselves. This is great news for those working in the trade – it demonstrates the consistent high demand and high rates that have been promised over the last year, and offers a bright light at the end of the tunnel for thousands of those working in the industry. 

 

Generating trust in your customers is crucial to forming a steady client base, and the figures revealed by this study suggest that the general public do have a very high level of confidence in tradespeople and the quality of work that they carry out. For example, 80.2% of those 45+, and 43.4% of those 18-45, would always bring in a tradesperson to complete work at home. 

 

Plumbing was the most in-demand trade for those who answered the survey, as it was seen as being more complex and requiring a high level of expertise. 70% of people surveyed answered that they would always call in a professional for any plumbing work. 34% answered that they would not know where to begin while performing the most minor of plumbing tasks, such as fixing leaky taps or unblocking drains, while 53% said that they would not be confident enough to attempt more major work themselves, especially complex tasks like installing plumbing fixtures such as toilets, sinks, or dishwashers.

The most revealing statistic, however, was that 40% of respondents actually regretted attempting the work themselves instead of hiring a professional! This is not a particularly good indicator of the quality of the work performed, and it goes without saying that hiring a professional – or becoming a qualified professional yourself – is only going to give you a better, and in the long term, more cost effective, outcome. 

Some trade work can be more forgiving to the DIY amateur – putting up a wonky shelf or changing a bulb isn’t going to result in disastrous consequences. But if there’s one thing the pandemic has shown, it’s that despite increased DIY efforts, people are still devoted to the services of the tradesperson, and that there truly is no adequate replacement for high-skilled, disciplined, professional work. 

Over the course of the pandemic, thousands of people have made the leap from their struggling professions to become skilled tradespeople, often after realising that they can save – and eventually make – money doing the work themselves. The opportunities for work are abundant, as is widely reported – wherever you look, there are indications that a career in the construction industry is well paid and in high demand. The trade industry has been and always will be a highly respected and essential industry with opportunities for everyone who wants to contribute their skills. 

Access Training is the place to develop and nurture these skills, and turn them into a viable and fulfilling career. It only takes one call, and we can take it from there.


Learn your trade. Get qualified. Make it happen.

How many jobs do you feel capable of doing around your home? Can you bleed a radiator? Do you know how to hang a door?

Well, if you're a young adult and your answer to these questions is yes then you are part of the minority! A third of young people (37%) said they could confidently change a shower head, and even fewer (31%) said they knew how to bleed a radiator. When the same questions were asked of over 55 year olds, 65% said they could change a shower head, and a staggering 79% knew how to bleed a radiator!

So the question is, does experience come with age, or are we living with a generation of young people who aren't confident in picking up their tools and giving DIY a go?

Part of the problem is that young people, more often than not, live in rented properties rather than their own homes. This means they rely heavily on their landlords to pay for and solve any problems that may occur in the home. More often than not, young people are left for days, if not weeks, with an unfixed problem in their home while waiting for their landlords to organise a solution. 

We want to inspire young people to give DIY tasks a go, but one thing to be wary of is that there are some jobs you can do with the help of a YouTube video... but there are some jobs that should not be attempted without proper training (that's where we come in).

Improving Your DIY Skills

Besides offering some excellent Electrical, Gas and Plumbing Courses, we also offer a range of construction courses such as:

These courses will teach you skills that will prove very useful if you want to try your hand at DIY tasks around your home. Better still, you could use your trade to help complete jobs for friends, family or even start your own business and make a profit on your new DIY skills!

If you want to enquire about one of our courses, don't hesitate to get in touch - you can call us on 0800 345 7492 or click the button below to fill in an enquiry form today!

Enquire Now >

A recent study by Which? has revealed that dodgy DIY is a primary cause for plumber call-outs across the UK.

In a survey that covered over 3800 Brits, the variety of home maintenance jobs tackled by the untrained, unequipped and unqualified ranged from unblocking a toilet to fitting an entire bathroom suite.

Somewhat predictably, these DIY plumbing jobs often end in a damp squib, leaving many homeowners in hot water.

As a result, this translates to a lot of extra work for UK plumbers.

 

diy disasters,diy plumbing courses

 

The Numbers

The results of the study highlighted some interesting trends, particularly when it comes to the common DIY tasks we attempt at home.

According to the Which? study, 53% of those that took part had attempted to replace a set of taps themselves.

Theoretically, assuming this survey is indicative of the nation as a whole, that means over half of Britain has dabbled in home plumbing in pursuit of saving a few quid.

Meanwhile, a further 41% had attempted to plumb in an appliance themselves and 35% have attempted to fix a leak.

 

DI-Why?

On the flip side of these figures, traders are commonly hired to help solve these issues created by over-enthusiastic DIYers.

In fact, over 60% of the traders surveyed had been called in to finish the aforementioned tasks, proving that there really is no substitute for first-hand knowledge and professional experience.

Worse still, these DIY disasters often lead to even worse problems occurring, from small leaks developing into larger issues to poor installation completely ruining kitchens.

 

DIY Plumbing Courses

One thing that’s abundantly clear from the study is that DIY plumbing jobs are a sure-fire way to get yourself in deep water – quite literally at times!

That being said, here at Access Training UK, we have a variety of entry-level plumbing courses available, designed to help you not only become a DIY VIP but also a veritable plumbing pro in no time at all.

Ideal for anyone looking to learn a new skill, perfect their DIY skills or change their career path entirely, these plumbing related courses have the ability to change your life as well as your home.

 

Essential Plumbing Course

Designed for absolute beginners, this course provides you with a firm understanding of the basics and sets you up for a potential new career in the trade.

 

Professional Plumbing Course

This all-level course provides a variety of useful qualifications, designed to equip you with the knowledge to confidently enter the world of professional plumbing.

 

Advanced Plumbing Course

Ideal for beginners or those looking to update their existing skills, this course allows you to learn the ins and outs of plumbing and gas fitting.

 

Bathroom Installation Course

Specifically designed for those that want to design and install bathroom suites to a professional standard, this course is open to all skill levels.

 

For more information on our plumbing courses, call now on 0800 345 7492 or hit the button below to get in touch online.

Contact Us

Handyman courses

Specialising in general home repairs and domestic maintenance, a handyman is very much a 'Jack of all trades'. Covering everything from hanging picture frames to building flatpack furniture, a good handyman will be well-versed in the art of small jobs within the homestead – after all, why should Thor get to be the only hero with a hammer?

If you're a dab hand with a drill and a superstar with a spanner, you yourself could have the makings of a fine handyman (or handywoman). Do you have the skills to pay the bills? Become a doctor of DIY and take your domestic talents to the next level with a handyman course from Access Training

View DIY Carpentry Course >        View DIY Plastering Course >

 

Why take a handyman course?

Whether you want to set up your own handyman business or simply brush up on some essential domestic skills, a handyman course can be a great way to broaden your horizons and enhance your abilities. Here at Access Training, we offer a number of handyman courses that will help you gain the skills and knowledge to complete a number of jobs around the home. 

Completing a handyman course will allow you to easily overcome common home maintenance issues, save money on household repairs, and, best of all, provide you with the necessary knowledge and understanding to be independent within the home. Learning handyman skills can also be a great asset if you're looking to remodel or renovate your home.

Outside of that, handyman skills can be a great way to supplement your income by carrying out odd jobs for others. Better still, a relevant training course could even provide you with a solid base on which to build your very own business. You might find that after completing our DIY carpentry course, you get a taste of the trade and go on to become a qualified carpenter!

 

Which handyman course is right for me?

Often grouped together under the banners of 'property maintenance courses' or 'home maintenance courses', handyman courses offer a whole host of useful domestic skills to learn. From plumbing and bricklaying to painting and decorating, the list of handyman courses available across the UK is vast and wide-ranging. Finding the right one for you can depend largely on your specific needs and aspirations.

Here at Access Training, we offer handyman courses in carpentry and in plastering - two skills that can be really essential in the home! If you want to complete a trade course so that you can go beyond being a handyman in your own home and offer your services to others, then we'd recommend taking a look at our professional trade courses. We offer electrical courses, plumbing courses, gas courses, and more.

The right handyman course for you will be determined by what you want to do with it! To pick up a few skills to use in your own home, choose our DIY courses. To learn a trade and become a professional handyman, be sure to check out our Essential trade courses. 

 

Our DIY training courses

At Access Training, we offer two primary DIY courses, both of which are designed to help you become more independent in the home and give you the functional expertise to easily overcome typical household headaches.

The DIY courses currently available from Access Training are:

  • DIY Carpentry Course - From tool handling and basic cutting to hanging doors and fitting locks, our DIY Carpentry Course covers a wide variety of tasks in order to help you improve your practical carpentry skills around the home.
  • DIY Plastering Course - From mixing plaster to preparing surfaces and skimming walls, our DIY Plastering Course will help you create beautiful smooth walls to paint and decorate.

Become a professional handyman

In addition to the DIY courses outlined above, we also provide a number of other 'Essential' courses that are ideal for anyone looking to get to grips with a skill they've never tried before. These are great starting points if you'd like to become a professional handyman and share your new-found skills with the local community.

These include:

These entry-level courses may be considered a step up from the DIY level, providing a superb foundation if you're looking to turn professional in the near future.

Get in touch now to speak with a course advisor >

CORONAVIRUS UPDATE: To help our learners stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now offering live online training sessions. This means that you can participate in virtual classroom sessions from the comfort of your own home and rewatch each tutorial as many times as you wish. Of course, there's no substitute for hands-on experience, so the practical portion of your training course will still be delivered in person at our fully-equipped training centre. Contact Access Training now to find out more about our unique training packages.

 

The term “DIY” can mean many different things to many different people, depending on the words that follow it. From DIY fancy dress to DIY wedding decorations, the universal initialism of “Do It Yourself” can be applied to pretty much anything and everything… provided you don’t mind getting stuck in.

That being said, as a standalone term, DIY typically relates to handiwork around the house and can be a great way to save money on home improvement projects. If you don’t mind getting your hands dirty, DIY could be for you! With that in mind let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work, as we peel off the lid on the essentials of DIY.

 

how to do diy

 

How to DIY

When it comes to DIY in the home, the variety of tasks can be extremely vast and wide-ranging, including everything from re-wiring a plug to fixing a leaky tap. As such, a universal guide to all these tasks is non-existent; however, there are a few common themes that each job will share.

To help get you started on your DIY quest, here are a few simple rules to follow when taking on a task that’s outside of your comfort zone.

 

Do your homework

Before beginning any DIY task, it’s important to know what lies ahead.

While ploughing through your dining room wall with a sledgehammer may seem like a great way to expand your living room (and relieve some stress), the consequences could leave you picking up the pieces for a long while afterwards.

Doing your homework on a DIY task can help you adequately prepare, while also providing knowledge and knowhow on how to do the task properly. Luckily, Google can be your best friend in situations like this and step-by-step instructions can be found on a multitude of tasks in mere seconds.

Meanwhile, to make things completely idiot-proof (in theory), YouTube is also loaded with hundreds of thousands of instructional videos, designed to help you expand your mind, broaden your horizons and reach the DIY promised land in one piece.

 

Tools of the trade

They say a bad worker always blames his tools… so if you don’t have any tools, you’ll have no-one to blame if it all goes catastrophically pear-shaped!

Joking aside, a well-stocked toolbox can be a useful addition to any home. Items like a hammer, spanner, pliers and a set of screwdrivers can come in handy surprisingly frequently, whether it’s to tighten a loose screw or knock in a protruding nail.

You may also find that certain jobs require more than just your standard toolbox essentials. Electrical items and power tools like a circular saw or electric drill can also be useful to have, depending on the task at hand.

While other tasks may require more specialist items – such as a tile cutter or a floor sander – it may be worth considering how much use you are likely to get out of a job-specific item. If it’s a one-off job that won’t require revisiting, it could be more cost-effective to rent rather than buy your tools outright.

Specialist tools can be hired at a variety of outlets nationwide and could be a good way to keep your outgoings to a minimum.

 

Know your limits

DIY can be a fantastic way to save some money on a small job or menial repair task. However, if you’re dealing with something that’s totally outside of your knowledge and expertise, with a range of complexities attached, it may be worth reassessing the situation and, more importantly, your capabilities of completing the task successfully.

There’s no shame in admitting you’re out of your depth and knowing when you don’t know can be the difference between a job well done and job that needs redoing. What’s more, blindly sailing into the DIY abyss without a clear view of where you going can be extremely dangerous, particularly if you dealing with elements like gas and electricity.

 

Safety first

Following on from our last point, safety should always be top of the list when it comes to DIY. In fact, it should be the title of the list, written in bold and underlined… twice!

DIY in the home can involve a multitude of dangers, particularly if you’re new to home improvements. Even a simple task like hammering a nail can quite easily lead to a broken finger, so caution should be exercised at all times.

Sensible risk assessment is also hugely important. If you’re painting the ceiling while teetering out-stretched on a rickety ladder, all while your cat sleeps underneath on the glass coffee table, chances are you may want to reconsider your approach.

Whenever you’re attempting DIY, you should also bear in mind the clothes you wear too. This doesn’t just extend to overalls and old threads that you don’t mind getting ripped, dirty or ruined – it also extends to safety gear. Protective gloves can come in handy if you’re dealing with sharp objects that fragment – like glass, bricks and tiles – while safety goggles can quite literally save your vision if a rogue shard or shaving goes airborne.

 

When it comes to real DIY expertise, there’s no substitute for professional knowledge. If you want to expand your home improvement knowhow, why not consider a course with Access Training? Our vocational courses can help you achieve first-hand knowledge in a wide variety of skills – including electrical, gas and plumbing courses – making even the most daunting of DIY duties a doddle.

Get in touch today!

Home Improvement Courses

Did you make any New Year's resolutions back at the beginning of January? Lots of people do it, and while resolutions differ greatly from each person, we can probably all agree that deciding to learn a beneficial new skill is a good resolution to make!

If you want to learn a new skill or to make some changes to your household this year, we have a number of home improvement courses that are sure to suit you. These DIY training packages are a great way to learn valuable new skills and take your home improvements back into your own hands.

When something goes wrong around the house - or when you just want to make some simple home improvements - it can be expensive to hire someone to do it for you. Being able to carry out certain tasks by yourself will give you far more freedom over your project, allowing you to save a lot of money in the process.

Although many of our training courses are designed to help students kick-start their careers in a chosen trade industry, we also cater to those who are simply interested in learning some essential DIY skills. Our home improvement courses will help you to be far handier around the house, and they'll also give you the satisfaction of gaining a useful new skill.

Here are some of the home improvement courses we offer:

Our courses are incredibly flexible, so you can learn at your own pace and around your work / family commitments. We are more than happy to talk you through each course and find the best way for you to study - please contact us today for advice!

Last month the DCLG (Department for Communities and Local Government) announced amendments to the current Building Regulations, introducing a previously proposed third party inspection scheme to allow DIY enthusiasts/those not registered with a Competent Persons Scheme to have their work checked and certified. However NICEIC and ELECSA have announced that they will be opting out of these changes, arguing that the changes could "undermine registered electricians" and cause more harm than good.

In a statement from Emma Clancy, CEO of Cetsure (which operates the two brands), it was said they "do not wish to see DIY'ers carry out potentially dangerous electrical work" and believe it needs to be left to competent electricians who will able to comply with the wiring regulations. She went on to point out that the third party inspector scheme is not UKAS accredited, meaning that there is to be no external verification ensuring that the scheme operators are doing their job to the correct standard.

"It makes a mockery of competent persons’ schemes and the tens of thousands of registered electricians already in the marketplace. There are glaring holes in the scheme, such as the amount of time an installation can be live before it is checked, potentially endangering the householder," she continued.

Other electrical contractors have also expressed concerns over the scheme, especially toward a lack of clarity as to where the responsibility lies. Is it with the inspectors even though they didn't install it? The question has also been raised as to why DIY installers do the work themselves (and get it checked) in the first place, when as it stands they'd actually be saving money by hiring a competent electrician to do the work.

Finally, Certsure have released a video where NICEIC/ELECSA representatives Tony Cable and Darren Stanniforth discuss the brands' position on third party certification. You can view it here at this link.

Here at Access Training, we fully agree that DIYers shouldn't be attempting any form of electrical installation without the proper knowledge, training and qualifications to ensure that their work isn't a hazard to themselves or anybody else. However we also understand some of you will want to have a go at it yoursepves, which is why our range of electrical training courses is suitable for trainee electricans and DIY enthusiasts alike! At our Cardiff training centre, you'll be able to earn your 17th Edition Wiring and Part P qualifications, proving you skilled enough to join a Competent Person Scheme and tackle all sorts of domestic electrical work yourself.

To find out more, just give us a call on 0800 345 7492.

While an electrician who's undergone a proper electrical training course and earned their qualifications would never make these kind of mistakes, unfortunately the industry is rife with unqualified individuals looking to make an easy bit of cash without any regard for their customer's safety (or even life). These cowboy builders commonly do poor electrical installation jobs, resulting in customers having to call out proper professionals to fix things.

New research from Trade Skills 4 U has found the most common jobs electricians are called out to do after a cowboy builder or naive DIY enthusiast has done a poor job of it. Many of these shouldn't be taken lightly, as they can easily cause electric shocks that could result in death. Potentially fatal mistakes including drilling through wiring, repairing electrical appliances while they are still switched on and even cutting through power leads.

With the most common jobs involving either light fittings (41%) and lighting circuits (29%), its no surprise that many naively believe they have the skills to complete such tasks without having done an electrical course. In fact, one fifth of the people sampled said that they will confidently attempt to install new lighting in their homes without any electrical training. One tenth said they'd do the same installing new wiring.

These might be simple jobs for an electrician to carry out, but for someone without the proper training they can be very dangerous. At the very minimum anyone attempting these sort of jobs should have the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations and Part P qualifications, both of which we offer courses for here at Access Training Academies. Shoddy electrical work could cost someone their life and it might not be yours - it could be your friends' or family members'. Ask yourself, is it really worth it?

To find out more about the electrician courses we offer at Access Training, give our advice team a call on 0800 345 7492.

Via DIY Week

A warning to homeowners of the risks involved in do-it-yourself electrical installations.

Napoleon once referred to Britain as 'a nation of shopkeepers'. Probably not true in modern society, but we still certainly a nation of something - do-it-yourselfers.

More and more people are willing to have a go at things they may have once thought impossible, taking regular visits to the local DIY shop to get parts for little jobs here and there or even working toward bigger projects such as renovating a room or building a conservatory. However, when it comes to plumbing, gas and electrical jobs, such concerns are better left to the professionals. Meaning those certified to carry out the work.

Jobs for an electrician

A homeowner can legally undertake basic electrical jobs themselves, such as installing an additional socket/light or connecting a cooker to an existing connection unit, but not much more than that. Anything more complicated like installing a new shower circuit or a new cooker circuit, legally requires a qualified electrician. If you have any DIY plans that require electrical work, it's always best to check what you are legally able to do before starting.

If you have any doubts on the legality or your capability to do the job safely in the first place, do NOT attempt it yourself and instead seek out the help of a qualified professional. Not only will you be ensuring that the job is done safely and properly, but you'll be saving yourself money in the long run. Hiring an electrician to fix a botched job usually ends up costing more than getting one out to do the job in the first place.

Building Regulations

District councils have responsibility for ensuring that any building works meet the national Building Regulations for efficiency, safety, design and disabled access. Building Regulations must be obtained from the local council before any structural alteration is made to a home. Such regulations are easier to obtain if the homeowner can prove they are going to be using a qualified electrician to undertake the work.

Part P qualified

A Part P qualified electrician is one who is able to sign off their own work in domestic properties. If they aren't qualified, then they'll have to approach the local authority building control to approve their work. This is something that all homeowners should bear in mind when they are looking to hire a qualified electrician.

Risks

It doesn't take much for electricity to kill. Forget numbers like 10,000 volts, the 230 volt domestic supply running through your home is more than enough. Our bodies use electrical signals to control our organs and any excess voltage will interfere with these, causing hearts and lungs to stop functioning and eventually death. Poorly installed electrics can very easily also start fires, resulting in home owners losing everything when their houses are burnt to the ground because of some faulty wiring. And if that work goes against building regulations, you may find the property is not insured and the insurance company is not legally obliged to reimburse them. On average, around 30 people die each year due to low voltage electrocutions and electrical burns. In addition, two and a half million people will receive a mains voltage electric shock every year, and 350,000 will receive a serious injury. Another 46 will die each year as an indirect result of faulty electrical wiring or the poor installation of electrical equipment.

Differing standards

The majority of contractors in the UK are reliable and are certified as such. To become a qualified electrician takes between three and five years of study. Some contractors may however pass themselves off as qualified, citing qualifications obtained in other EU countries. However, the standards in wiring differs across both the EU and the rest of the world, so what qualifies as a qualified electrician in one country is unlikely to be anywhere near the standard required in the UK.

Registers

To find an electrical contractor to undertake domestic tasks, the best place to start is often a register such as the Electrical Safety Register at www.electricalsafetyregister.com. Electricians who register with the Electrical Safety Register must meet a very high industry standard, which means that consumers who use an ESR registered contractor are guaranteed an exceptionally high standard of work. In addition, all work carried out by Electrical Safety Register contractors is guaranteed. Any deficiencies in the work carried out are resolved at no extra cost.

Kick out the Cowboys

Electricians with fake qualifications performing sub-standard work is a continuing problem in Britain. Despite their poor (and often dangerous) results, such workmen still expect to be paid for their work and can get heavy handed if refused, especially against the vulnerable. 
In an effort to show up shoddy workmanship, electrical wholesalers Gil-Lec has set up a Twitter campaign using the hashtag #KickOutCowboys. Anyone who provided poor electrical work can be named and shamed via the Twitter campaign. Twitter users are encouraged to post photographs of poor electrical work, coupled with the name of the individual or company who performed the work.

Via Electrical Contracting News

- Mark Jenkins

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Mark Jenkins is the Electrical Course Development Manager here at Access Training. If you would like to learn more about electrical work and maintenance, you might want to consider one of the many electrical training courses we offer. These are available for both DIY enthusiasts AND people looking to gain the vital qualifications needed to make the career change to become an electrician. To find out more give us a call on 0800 345 7492.

Get in touch to learn more about our training courses!

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