Ask the expert: Individual competence

Is it time electricians embraced the individual, competence-based route that our gas counterparts did years ago?

We recently saw the Electrotechnical Assessment Specification (EAS) change. These changes will require those that are registered with a scheme provider to prove they hold a qualification in the area they are working in, but is our sector ready to go further? For years, the electrical industry has debated whether it should mirror the gas sector’s model of individual, competence-based registration – the system used by Gas Safe, where every engineer is personally certified rather than simply working under a company’s umbrella approval.

A personal registration scheme could drive up professional standards and accountability. It would ensure that only genuinely competent individuals can undertake electrical work. This could help eliminate unskilled or out of date electricians operating under another firm’s registration, and offer consumers confidence that any person entering their home is fully qualified and monitored.

However, there are challenges. The electrical industry is far larger and more diverse than the gas sector, encompassing domestic, commercial, industrial and emerging technologies. Administering a universal individual licensing scheme would be complex and expensive. Current schemes already provide third-party certification for companies, with defined technical assessments. Proponents argue these arrangements, combined with Part P of the Building Regulations, already offer reasonable consumer protection when properly enforced.

Electricians have historically resisted full personal licensing because of fragmentation and overlap between schemes, and the absence of a single statutory authority like the HSE’s role in gas safety. Implementing one now would require political will, industry consensus and clear legal backing – none of which currently align.

So, is it needed? Many believe that tightening enforcement of the existing competency schemes, rather than rebuilding the system entirely, could achieve the same aim more efficiently. The recent changes to the EAS will move us closer than ever to an individual, competence-based system. I wonder how it would be received if a line in the sand was drawn making all of us prove competence with qualifications. I know lots of electricians that openly say they haven’t completed a regs course for years now. Surely this would need to change?

cef.co.uk

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This article appeared in Electrotechnical News November/December 2025 edition – read it here