What makes an electrician?
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (EAWR) – Regulation 16 states that…
“No person shall be engaged in any work activity where technical knowledge or experience is necessary to prevent danger or where appropriate injury, unless he/she possesses such knowledge or experience, or is under such a degree of supervision as may be appropriate having regard to the nature of the work.”
In other words you should not be doing any electrical work unless you know how to do it safely. If you don’t know how to do it safely then you should be supervised by someone who does.
BS 7671 gives guidance on how to comply with the Electricity at Work Regulations and helps with Regulation 16 by providing the following three definitions…
Skilled Person (electrically): Person who possesses, as appropriate to the nature of the electrical work to be undertaken, adequate education, training and practical skills, and who is able to perceive risks and to avoid hazards which electricity can create.
Instructed Person (electrically): Person adequately advised or supervised by a “skilled person” to enable that person to perceive risks and to avoid hazards which electricity can create.
Ordinary Person: Person who is neither a skilled person or an instructed person.
As you can see from the definition of a skilled person that experience alone is not proof of competency. Experience needs to be combined with the appropriate qualification(s) as evidence of having the technical knowledge and the practical skills required in order to recognise the risks and avoid the hazards involved when working with electricity.
For example, a domestic electrician may not have sufficient experience to work safely in a heavy industrial environment as an industrial electrician, and vice a versa but they may have the same qualifications ie C&G 2357/2365 17th Edition and Inspection and Testing (Initial and Periodic) etc.
“Electrician is a vague term for a person who complies through the guidance of good old BS 7671 with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 and has the qualifications and experience to demonstrate that they are a ‘Skilled Person’.”
NOTE: The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 is a statutory document (ie the Law) and you can be prosecuted, leading to fines or even imprisonment for non compliance.