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| Up date information on changes made to the ACS requirements document |
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| Date:
22/12/03 |
Author:
Eric Holland |
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The following information is designed to provide guidance to operatives seeking to take ACS Assessments and to clarify which Category of Application is appropriate to their gas fitting qualifications and/or gas safety certificates and gas work experience.
Category 1, 2 and 3 Application Conditions
Category 1
Applicants in this category are regarded as experienced gas fitting operatives; they will need to provide evidence to the Assessment Centre prior to taking ACS assessments that they possess a gas fitting qualification or certificate(s) of gas safety competence issued either within or outside of the UK. The date of issue of their qualification/gas safety certificate may be greater than the normal five year validity period.
Applicants in this category who only hold limited scope certificates of gas safety competence which do not require connection to a live gas supply i.e. ICAE 1LS or ICPN 1LS, or who are not required to enter a property e.g. CMA 2LS with MET 3LS or ACoP 15 External Pipework, will if they intend to extend their range of gas work, present evidence of that additional gas work experience to the Assessment Centre prior to taking assessment. See evidence requirements detailed in Category 2.
Category 2
Applicants in this category are regarded as holding a nationally recognised qualification e.g. NVQ or City & Guilds craft certificate in a trade associated with gas work, e.g. plumbing. Application conditions for this category requires that the applicant provides to the Assessment Centre evidence of their qualification and written evidence confirming that they have undertaken ‘On the Job’ gas installation and/or maintenance training and have experience of gas work that has been carried out under the direct supervision of a competent operative(s) employed by a CORGI registered business. The Assessment Centre will need to be satisfied that the applicant has a sufficiency and range of gas work experience relating to the application, in accordance with the requirements below.
The Assessment Centre should ensure that a competent member of staff evaluates all evidence presented by the candidate and makes a professional judgement on its content and suitability against the registration number of the business(s) providing the training.
·The start and end dates of the Off the Job training programme.
·The start and end dates of the On the Job training programme.
·The types and sufficiency of gas work undertaken (not plumbing or other related work activities).
·The name(s) of the competent operative(s) of the business that has provided the On the Job training.
Assessment Centres if they doubt the authenticity of the information presented by the applicant must decline access to ACS assessment.
Category 3
Applicants in this category are regarded as new to the gas industry, which are not holding any national qualifications nor have any gas work experience. Application conditions for this category require that the Category 3 applicant may as an alternative to achieving a Gas Services N/SVQ either;
·Obtain employment with a CORGI registered business which is willing to provide an auditable extended ‘in house’ gas training programme incorporating both On and Off the Job components with organisational support prior to the applicant taking ACS assessment.
·Undertakes a training programme which is planned, managed and organised by a training provider. This training programme will incorporate both On and Off the Job training and experience with organisational support prior to the applicant taking ACS assessment. The On the Job training component will be carried out by a CORGI registered business in accordance with a training plan and programme designed by the training provider.
Evidence of the contents of the programme detailing the Off the Job training and On the Job experience must be presented to the Assessment Centre as described in Category 2 previously.
GUIDANCE TO TYPICAL TRAINING DURATIONS FOR APPLIANCE TRAINING AND ON THE JOB EXPERIENCE
The following is intended to provide further guidance to Assessment Centres on the typical training and experience durations expected to have been undertaken by Category 2 and 3 applicants.
The training duation times given are for catogories 2 and 3 and for combined off and on the job training.
CCN 1-COOKERS. Category 2: 8 weeks 40 days. Category 3 :16 weeks 80 days
CCN 1-**CENTRAL HEATING. Category 2:14 weeks 70 days.Category 3: 28 weeks 140 days
CCN 1-SPACE HEATING. Category 2:10 weeks 50 days. Category 3: 20 weeks 100 days
CCN 1-METERS up to U6. Category 2: 6 weeks 30 days. Category 3:12 weeks 60 days
CCN 1-**WARM AIR (stub duct). Category 2: 10 weeks 50 days. Category 3: 20 weeks 100 days
** The durations of these training programmes includes work activities other than just gas work
The durations take into account the inefficiencies of carrying out the right type of On the job training. These periods are likely to be reduced where the right type of work is readily available.
See below the definition of On the Job, which sets out an example of the right type of gas work to be undertaken.
Where the training programme includes more than one appliance the total duration is not the sum of the combined appliances e.g. Category 2 CCN 1 and Cookers (8 weeks) plus CCN 1 and Space Heaters (10 weeks) 18 weeks in total. The combined duration will reflect that CCN 1 is common to both appliances.
The duration of the training programme should be balanced between the On and Off the Job.
Definitions
Off the Job – Training carried out in an appropriate Training Centre within theory areas and practical workshops which simulate realistic work situations. The Off the Job training programme should be balanced between theory and practical work.
On the Job – Training carried out in customer’s premises, under the direct supervision of a competent operative(s) employed by a CORGI registered business. With the business ensuring that a sufficiency of the right type of gas work is completed and a record kept of that work. (Right type of gas work means for example CCN 1 and CEN 1 installing and or exchanging a range of different appliance types, installation of gas pipework, testing and purging same, servicing, repairing and fault diagnosis of central heating boilers, calculating ventilation requirements, identification of unsafe situations etc).
The following are genuine examples of applicants applying for ACS assessment. They have been provided by an approved Assessment Centre.
Applicant 1
Experience: Former British Gas Service Engineer, CORGI Inspector, Calor Gas Technical Officer, Incident investigation and Expert Witness.
Qualifications: City and Guilds Gas Service Engineer, Degree – Building Services – MSc Gas Engineering, ACoP 1 – 15 expired 2 years ago.
No ‘hands on‘ practical work carried out for several years.
This applicant meets the requirements for Category 1 providing evidence of gas fitting qualifications are presented to the Assessment Centre prior to taking assessment.
Applicant 2
Experience: Calor Engineering – Senior Test House Laboratory Manager, Writing technical standards for Calor and the LPGA, Incident investigation and Expert Witness.
Qualifications: PHD (Engineering discipline), No previous ACoP certification.
This applicant from the information provided has no apparent gas work experience or national qualifications. Therefore should be regarded as a Category 3 applicant.
Applicant 3
Experience: British Gas Service Engineer (23 years), New Zealand Gas Company (8 years), returned to UK in May 2003, applied for ACS September 2003.
Qualifications: City and Guilds Gas Service Engineer, no previous ACoP certification.
31 years practical gas work experience – no witness testimony.
This applicant meets the requirements for Category 1 providing evidence of gas fitting qualification is presented to the Assessment Centre prior to taking assessment.
Applicant 4
Experience: Cavity wall insulation operative – 11 months experience.
Qualifications: Current ACoP 1 – 3 obtained by attending a 1 day Gas Safety Course for cavity wall operatives.
Only hands on practical work comprises of carrying out several spillage/flue flow tests.
This applicant, from the information provided has no gas work qualifications or experience. Therefore should be regarded as a Category 3 applicant.
Applicant 5
Experience: Local Council Clerk of Works.
Qualifications: Current ACoP 1 – 1 day course on Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations.
No hands on practical work in gas fitting.
This applicant from the information provided has no apparent gas work qualifications or experience. Therefore should be regarded as a Category 3 applicant.
Applicant 6
Experience: 10 years non domestic installation of mechanical heating and ventilation equipment.
Qualifications: None.
Has helped gas installers with some (unspecified) gas work. Evidence of that gas work is not available as the installation businesses are no longer trading.
This applicant from the information provided has no recorded gas work qualifications or experience. Therefore should be regarded as a Category 3 applicant.
Applicant 7
Experience: 10 years non domestic installation of mechanical heating and ventilation equipment including gas work.
Qualifications: City and Guilds Heating and Ventilation (H&V) qualification.
Has worked with gas installers on a range of gas work associated with H and V work.
This applicant meets the requirements for Category 2 providing evidence of gas work experience is presented to the Assessment Centre and an appropriate training programme is undertaken prior to taking assessment.
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