Advice For Electrician Who Qualified Overseas

Mechka · Aug 28, 2016

I qualified as a full electrician in Algeria in 1997 and worked there until recently when I moved to the UK. I would love to continue working as an electrician but am finding many conflicting answers in exactly what I need in order to start work. NARIC have listed my existing qualifications as equivalent to NVQ 2/3 but I don't even know if that's relevant as they were done in Algeria. I am low on funds so my idea is to get the domestic qualifications now and upgrade them later as I earn.
Could anyone advise me on the minimum qualifications required to be a domestic installer- do I just need 17th edition-3 and Part P? Also if anyone knows of courses or work in the Oxfordshire area that would be great!

Wilko · Aug 28, 2016

Hi Mechka - welcome to UK ! I also qualified overseas (a million years ago) and know what you mean. In short you will need to join a Competant Person Scheme to do domestic work. The schemes all follow a set of rules given to them by UKAS (I recall) but each has a slightly different view of what they mean. There is a list of schemes on the RHS of the page. A web search will reveal what they need for membership. Full electrican status is usually agreed if you are qualified for a JIB electrician card (whole different thing). I recommend the 17th regs C&G2382 and Blg regs 2393 as helpful refreshers as you are new to UK. The cheapest way to achieve these is with private study and attending a centre for the exam one day (I did this). All the best, David.