Hi all, just become self employed and was wanted some unbiased (if thats possible) advice on who to sign up with. pros and cons etc. At the moment its between niceic and elecsa but anybodys input would be welcome. Mostly domestic work, bit intimidated by nic for some reason? Should i be? Also how should i go about signing off work before i join? do u have to get the building inspector out everytime? How much does this cost? thanks guys.
scheme providers
- Thread starter gordy71
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well i looked into this as much as possible and ended up with NICEIC, was nervous as i am with all types of assessments etc, however if you know your stuff your be fine. the chap i had was nice and i dont think there out to trip you up, just purely to make sure you can do the work competently
If its just for Part P go with Napitt or ELECSA . I think NIC are more stringent , two jobs to inspect ,I believe . May get shot down for saying this but if the job is under Local Building Control you will have to pay them to pass it off , approx.
From what I can see , the LABC are not interested , if every spark notified every job they would never cope . The whole thing is madness. But we are stuck with it . I was told a couple of years back that Birmingham just deleted all the stuff coming in from the Part P ers .
Just do it , make a good job and do the testing properly . Not notified like the 1000s of jobs done every week !!
Just do it , make a good job and do the testing properly . Not notified like the 1000s of jobs done every week !!
PaulSC
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Gordy,
I've been with Elecsa for 12 months (due for my next surveillance visit in 2 weeks). The assessors are frendly, tech support guys very helpful as are the admin people. The web site is spot on with notification of jobs taking literally seconds. Like most scheme providers, they generally run by sparks for sparks and are not looking to trip you up. They simply want to test your knowledge and skills.
From friends I have in the industry, Elecsa don't seem to be as 'stuffy' as NIC, though this doesn't imply there standards are any lower - after all we all work to BS7671!
Just make sure you have all of the Bullshyte paperwork ready (Health & Safety, complaints procedures, BRB, OSG etc etc - it's all in the welcome pack). My assessor was more interested in this than the Consumer Unit change and circuit additions I spent an age on making perfect!
Hope this helps.
I've been with Elecsa for 12 months (due for my next surveillance visit in 2 weeks). The assessors are frendly, tech support guys very helpful as are the admin people. The web site is spot on with notification of jobs taking literally seconds. Like most scheme providers, they generally run by sparks for sparks and are not looking to trip you up. They simply want to test your knowledge and skills.
From friends I have in the industry, Elecsa don't seem to be as 'stuffy' as NIC, though this doesn't imply there standards are any lower - after all we all work to BS7671!
Just make sure you have all of the Bullshyte paperwork ready (Health & Safety, complaints procedures, BRB, OSG etc etc - it's all in the welcome pack). My assessor was more interested in this than the Consumer Unit change and circuit additions I spent an age on making perfect!
Hope this helps.
In this case your not interested in the LABC. Its your future scheme provider that will want to see notifications for the sample jobs to prove you do things legal & correct.
Before Part P, I worked with a NICEIC sparky when authorities etc needed there logo on every bit of paper. I first registered with Elecsa when Part P was introduced but got so disillusioned with them and fed up telling letting agents, housing associations etc that Elecsa was the same i jumped ship and fully enrolled with the NICEIC. It certainly opened doors for me. Interestingly you don't automatically get Part P registered when going full, but have to apply after ( with no additional charges)
Theorysparky
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my take on it
if you intend to get involved working for Local Authorities then NIC is your route
if you just want to work for yourself Elecsa or Napit is the choice
little tip (dont tell anyone !!!!!)
go to
http://www.elecsa.org.uk/
http://www.napit.org.uk/defaultConsumer.asp
http://niceic.com/ (Not alphabetical ha ha)
put your postcode in 'find a contractor' and see where your competition is.
if its all NIC then go with another and viki verki
i hold my head in shame there is an Elecsa guy over the road from me !!!! a can throw a stone and hit his front door !!!!!!
if you intend to get involved working for Local Authorities then NIC is your route
if you just want to work for yourself Elecsa or Napit is the choice
little tip (dont tell anyone !!!!!)
go to
http://www.elecsa.org.uk/
http://www.napit.org.uk/defaultConsumer.asp
http://niceic.com/ (Not alphabetical ha ha)
put your postcode in 'find a contractor' and see where your competition is.
if its all NIC then go with another and viki verki
i hold my head in shame there is an Elecsa guy over the road from me !!!! a can throw a stone and hit his front door !!!!!!
Same here ! I am not worried though as since he moved in 11 months ago the only time his van moves is to take his wife and kid to school in the morning. I have asked neighbours as well and no one has seen his van gone apart from then. I am waiting for him to approach me about work.
jackfrosty
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what do you mean by
"Interestingly you don't automatically get Part P registered when going full, but have to apply after ( with no additional charges)"
"Interestingly you don't automatically get Part P registered when going full, but have to apply after ( with no additional charges)"
HHHHmmm not many in my postcode area , I know quite a few . More NICers than anything.
Many companies that apply for full enrollment with the NICEIC may never carry out domestic work. Because of this, unless you show several domestic jobs as part of your annual assessment and have the correct insurances and publications for this you do not get DI status. You have to retro apply (this can be done on the assessment day)
TBH if you are doing Commercial and industrial go with NIC Full approval or whatever they call it . If its just domestic Part P nonsense any of the others will do . As you say you can't go on forever paying them to pass your jobs off.
I like ELECSA .
I like ELECSA .
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Elecsa are very easy to get along with. Very helpful and I can't really fault them. Run by contractors for contractors.
PaulSC
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Gordy,
I had the same problem when I first joined Elecsa. To put you at ease, they understand this is a chicken and egg situation and effective ignore the fact you are not yet part of a scheme provider.
I also got around the problem by doing the work which was to be assessed on my own home (New CU, circuits, SWA). Don't write the job up until just before the assessment which will then allow you to notify it within 30 days (I think) once you have been accepted.
I had the same problem when I first joined Elecsa. To put you at ease, they understand this is a chicken and egg situation and effective ignore the fact you are not yet part of a scheme provider.
I also got around the problem by doing the work which was to be assessed on my own home (New CU, circuits, SWA). Don't write the job up until just before the assessment which will then allow you to notify it within 30 days (I think) once you have been accepted.
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