In the right, qualified hands gas work is completely safe. However, the problem is that not everybody providing Gas Engineering services are the right hands. In fact, 250,000 jobs a year are carried out by people who are not qualified and are not Gas Safe Registered. Here at Able Skills we have been teaching Gas courses helping people learn the trade for 20-years and promote gas safety.
This has been a problem in the industry for some time. The UK population wastes £100m a year to fix and rectify illegal gas work that has gone wrong. Save yourself the hassle and make sure that you do your research before hiring a Gas Engineer. Of course this is not always possible with a busy lifestyle, however, when hiring a Gas Engineer there are a few things you should look out for...
How can I avoid unqualified Gas fitters?
The Gas Safe Register are a fantastic registration body and do a good job of reducing the amount of fake engineers in the industry. They do this by creating a list of Gas Engineers operating in the UK. The legally work on Gas appliances you need to be registered with them. Meaning that those who are registered will be carrying a Gas Safe ID as you can see below.
Every registered engineer will have a licence number on the front of their ID. Do not be afraid to ask a trader for their card. If they are legit they will have no problem providing their ID. On the Gas Safe Register's website you can enter this license number and check their legitimacy.
Gas engineers will often have a range of qualifications that allow them to carry out specific types of gas work. It's important to check what work they are qualified to do before you use them. You can check this on the back of their card, there will be a list of domestic appliances they are legally allowed to work on.
Considering a career as a Gas Engineer?
If you yourself are thinking about a career in the trade, we offer completely comprehensive training options. Learning the trade of gas is not easy, however, we try and make the process as simple and straightforward as possible by presenting all of the relevant steps, exams and learning into packages. For example our New Entrant Gas Training Package 2 includes all of the relevant hands-on training, theory, qualifications and exams to get you in a position to register with Gas Safe!
This course option includes 7-weeks of hands-on training, portfolio completion and finally an ACS Assessment. The portfolio section of this course means that you will need to go out in the industry and work alongside an already registered engineer to collect evidence of different tasks.
The task that you complete, meaning the different appliances that you collect evidence for - Will determine the different assessments you will be eligible for when taking on the ACS Assessment. Therefore the tasks that will be listed on the back of you Gas Safe ID when registered. Meaning the appliances you can legally work on when you become a professional.
Contact Information:
If you would like some more information about our range of Gas training courses contact us over the phone on 01322 280 202. We are happy to answer any questions that you have and generally provide guidance on how the journey to becoming a Gas Engineer works. Alternatively, you can contact us via email on info@ableskills.co.uk or you are welcome to come and visit our office in person. We are open 7-days-a-week between the hours of 8:30 - 16:30!
Location:
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Our Gas courses result in industry recognised qualifications.