Domestic Installer or Approved Contractor

[tomsw18]

I'd appreciate some advice please...

I'm in the process of starting an Electrical Contracting business from scratch. 

I've worked in this industry as a Project Manager for 15+ years, and most of the last 5 years in senior management and business development so I'm confident about getting everything up & running.... but I am not an electrician.

I started my career manufacturing & wiring control panels and I've done a lot of site installation on industrial automation sites.

I have done a BTEC ONC in Electrical & Electronic Engineering, I've done my 16th & 18th Edition and Part P and currently studying my 2391-52 for Inspection & Testing.

... So I'd like to think I've got a fair bit of general knowledge and enough to cherry pick some work while I'm getting things setup.

I have very little domestic experience myself, but once up & running I will be employing people that do have that experience, but I suspect that domestic work is the easiest market to get started in. 

Ultimately I'm looking to register the business as an Approved Contrator with NICEIC (as this is still a requirement for many Clients I've worked with and NAPIT isn't accepted).

I believe I can now qualify to register as a Domestic Installer as I have everything in place and I've done a couple of small jobs that will hopefully pass my assessment.

I wouldn't be able to qualify under the Approved Contractor scheme yet.

I'm trying to minimise my start-up costs by not employing anyone until after registration hence doing it myself.

Am I right in thinking that non-residential works can still be carried out without being an Approved Contractor if the building owner accepts that? 

In other words, should I go ahead with my Domestic installer registration so I can start doing notifiable work and then look at doing some Commercial work and using that to upgrade to Approved Contractor later? It sounds like from application it will still be a few months before NICEIC will be able to come and do an assessment.

Can anyone provide any advice as to why I should or shouldn't go for Domestic Installer now and then upgrade fo Approved Contractor at end of year renewal?

Thanks in advance.

 

[boltonsparky]

No need to be a part of a scam for industrial or commercial as far as I'm aware. Only benefit is some customers require it or their insurance does and as you say NICEIC is the most known one even though NAPIT are the same. 

Go for DI now and that will cover you for notifiable domestic works and see how much commercial/industrial you get or rather how much you get turned down on because you're not AC and base it on that, if you're losing  a load of work from it get it asap, if it doesn't affect it then it isn't worth the extra money to have it.

 

[tomsw18]

No need to be a part of a scam for industrial or commercial as far as I'm aware. Only benefit is some customers require it or their insurance does and as you say NICEIC is the most known one even though NAPIT are the same. 

Go for DI now and that will cover you for notifiable domestic works and see how much commercial/industrial you get or rather how much you get turned down on because you're not AC and base it on that, if you're losing  a load of work from it get it asap, if it doesn't affect it then it isn't worth the extra money to have it.

Thanks - basically confirmed what I was thinking.

 

[Evans Electric]

I'd second that  ,   the only criteria comes from a customer's insurance company  .   I did / do   industrial & commercial work as Evans Electric  for nearly 30 yrs  .  No one ever required  NICEIC  other than the insurers of a printer I still look after  who required them to have an  EICR  carried out .   

A firm I worked for were favoured by one of the major banks ,  the firm folded  and I was approached to  continue the relationship in my new self employed form  .    The stipulation ,  to cover them was becoming  NICEIC  approved.    I had a mass of work on via  an industrial  breakdown  guy I knew ... joining NIC was money I didn't have  ,  no one else stipulated it .        I regret not going for that TBH  as they were a good customer  and we were a trusted supplier .  We did their refurbs and  were on their list for branches to call us in direct  for lighting maintenance etc  .     C'est a vie !       

 

[binky]

in my experience only large companies require AC and councils - and I wouldn't bother with councils as they are skint! 

I used to hold AC, I wetr for it after many years of being DI and it didn't require showing commercial work oddly enough, more an in depth knowledge of the regs. They prefer to see an industrial job, but f you havn't got one to show didn't seem too bothered.