NAPIT Local Authority Training Boosts Awareness
NAPIT is set to continue to run professional development training courses for local authority teams to raise awareness of basic electrical safety principles following the overwhelmingly positive feedback received.
The courses include presentations on issues surrounding electrical safety, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) awareness session and showcasing some useful Visual Electrical Guidance documents. Since local authorities are representatives of their communities and are responsible for enforcing Part P of the Building Regulations and assessing housing conditions via the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, the training courses are designed to raise awareness of electrical safety hazards and of the action required to resolve any issues.
These courses include a free half-day Basic Electrical Safety Course, which is designed to provide a general overview of electrical safety issues encountered by members of the public. The course allows participants to find out about many aspects of electrical work, including earthing and bonding, consumer units, socket and radials, visual electrical checks, and much more. All the while, NAPIT presenters are on hand to provide answers to any questions asked by attendees. Other courses include an EICR awareness course which outlines the many factors that make an installation safe for continued use. Attendees on this course are also given an opportunity to enhance their ability to judge compliance, how to review a completed EICR and a practical exercise on visual coding faults.
Feedback from attendees on the training courses has been overwhelmingly positive. 100 per cent of attendees agreed that they had a better understanding about electrical installations after attending one of the courses, while 93 per cent said that they understood the requirements of legislation related to electrical installations and inspections in far greater detail. Attendees were also prepared to give vocal feedback on the courses with one saying "even the very complicated topics were explained fully. I learnt a lot from attending the course."
Mike Andrews, the NAPIT Group Chief Executive, commented: "The local authority training we’ve been offering has proven to be a very successful way of raising awareness on the issues surrounding electrical safety. Local authorities ultimately have the power in their communities to tackle unsafe work and play a large role in raising awareness of the dangers of poor electrical installations. We hope that more progress can be made to embolden local authorities and provide them with the knowledge required to protect homeowners and their families."
Moving forward, NAPIT is dedicated to building its relationship with local authorities further and providing even more opportunities to raise awareness of electrical safety in the future. For this reason, NAPIT has expanded its course offering and has begun to provide bespoke training, giving local authorities even more opportunities to learn about areas of their choice. By encouraging and supporting awareness amongst local authorities, there are real opportunities to improve electrical safety across the country and protect the livelihood of homeowners, and also emphasise the good work of registered competent electrical installers.
If you represent or work for a local authority and would be interested in learning more about the training NAPIT offers, please click here.
Alternatively, for further information on the courses, contact NAPIT on 01623 812957 or email [email protected].
Article Published:
14 October 2016
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