[quote author=dingbat link=1109092777/0#12 date=1109191127]but just as you are not allowed to install gas appliances without some form of approval [/quote]Actually you are..
Quote:How would you do it?
For anybody who earns a living from activities involving electrical work, compulsory qualifications, e.g. 2381, 2391, something to demonstrate practical skills etc, but with modifications to make them more appropriate to the environment in which the person works, e.g. a kitchen fitter should be fully conversant with the how/why/when of testing in relation to what he does, but should not be expected to acquire and prove knowledge of things that he doesn't deal with. For example, in this bit of a 2391 paper:
I'd say that he should be able to answer 1,3,4,5&6, but doesn't need to be able to do #2.
So something along those lines - I'm not claiming that it's a fully thought-out plan, but the fundamental point is that people should have relevant and formal qualifications, administered by C&G or BTEC etc.
For people who are 100% electricians, expected to work in a wide range of environments, the present and widely accepted set of qualifications should be maintained.
There would need to be a low-cost low-impact register of qualified people. I don't think it needs to be free, but the costs of running it could be covered by a fairly small fee. It should not be compulsory to join any trade organisation.
PLI should be compulsory, as it should for anybody providing services - gardeners, painters, TV aerial installers, hairdressers, manicurists, chefs, window-cleaners....
For householders why not a similar regime? Make them take training, concentrating on the basics, the safety, the proper selections of cables & protective devices etc, the importance of proper testing. Make them pass an exam to show that they understand it, including a 2381-equivalent which covers only the regs that apply to domestic houses, and a 2391-equivalent which does ditto for inspection & testing.
For both groups, access to testing equipment for hire would need to be provided. The requirements for test instruments should be modified to make data logging and a tamperproof clock compulsory, so that nobody could spoof test results.