Applications for ECS gold cards from the Electrotechnical Certification Scheme increased by 36% in 2017, signalling a boost in the number of electricians looking to formally certify their skills.
In total the scheme in England, Wales and Northern Ireland now has around 128,000 cardholders, ranging from apprentices to electricians and managers. In addition to core electrical occupations, the ECS also covers other electrotechnical disciplines such as fire, security and datacomms systems.
Following investment in IT systems in recent years, customer service has also improved, with card processing turnaround times being significantly reduced from typically four to five weeks to, on average, 10 working days or less.
To date, around 6,000 electricians have opted to recognise their skills since the ECS Registered Electrician scheme launched late last year.
“The increase in gold card holders is good news for the industry, as it reflects a significant rise in the number of electricians looking to recognise their skills at the industry-recognised Level 3 standard,” said David Thomas, ECS strategic development manager.
“The initial interest shown in becoming an ECS Registered Electrician is also encouraging and we hope that as more electricians sign up to this new status, it will help to raise standards across the industry even further.”
