SELECT launches SQA course in electrical safety

3rd April 2017

SELECT

Enaie Azambuja

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SELECT will introduce a customised course in electrical safety which will relate to the most current aspects of safety awareness in the sector. The Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) course is in development at the moment and is likely to be launched as a pilot in the third quarter of this year before full introduction. With safety a key concern in the industry, it will be aimed primarily at contractors, as well as managers and personnel within these firms who have a responsibility for ensuring safe operations.

To be called the SELECT SQA Customised Award in Electrical Safety, the course will run over two and a half days and will initially be held at SELECT's HQ at the Walled Garden outside Edinburgh, though thereafter it will be rolled out across Scotland.

Dave Forrester, Head of Technical Services at SELECT who runs the organisation's training department, said: "Those involved in safety management want to stay in front of regulation and technical developments.”

"This new course will be part of our ongoing development programme for courses which is aimed at continually improving our training offering by looking at demand and responding proactively to what is new in the industry."

Mr Forrester said that obtaining SQA accreditation was a rigorous process involving strict audits of all the course material, all assessments and all methods of assessment.

Before implementation, the course will also have to achieve a credit rating from the Scottish Credits and Qualifications Framework, the national body which both audits and benchmarks new courses. It is hoped the accreditation processes can be run concurrently.

The first day of the course will concentrate on Construction, Design and Management Regulations and Risk Assessment; day two will deal with Safe Isolation of electrical systems; with day three covering the laws relating to Environment and Waste Management.

Mr Forrester said: "As well as using some of our existing material, we have employed expert consultants to create entirely new course work. The inspiration for the course has been the work of former HSE principal electrical inspector John Madden, who wrote Electrical Safety and the Law, the 'industry bible' on electrical safety."

The SQA course in electrical safety is the latest initiative from SELECT. The organisation's courses have gained a strong reputation within the construction sector in Scotland, because they are relevant, practical and based on the experience of some of the foremost experts in the field.