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Readers’ letters
Intouch Please send your letters, which may be edited, to editorial@registeredgasengineer.co.uk.
Competent one day, incompetent the next
I’m writing probably on behalf of a lot of other engineers who find themselves out of work due to their ACS running out and, because of catch-up due to Covid, are struggling to get places to renew it.
I’ve been in the trade for 42 years and I find it laughable that one day I’m competent and, the next, my ACS has run out and I’m deemed incompetent. Surely this problem could be sorted out with proof that you’re registered to renew your ACS.
I’ve got domestic, commercial and catering in natural gas and LPG but none of it is relevant until the CCN1 has been completed. Surely this could be looked at by the relevant governing bodies. P R Edwards
Gas Safe Register replies: We appreciate the difficulties that all businesses have experienced over the past couple of years due to the impact of Covid. As restrictions have been lifted, it is the responsibility of registered businesses/engineers to ensure that engineers hold current certificates of gas safety competence.
It is important to remember when/if you take changeover assessments that these are only valid when a suitable core qualification is in place. If your core qualification expires so do all other qualifications linked to it.
We’d also like to take the opportunity to remind you that you can take your qualifications up to in six months in advance and not lose any time, similar to the vehicle MOT scheme. For example, if your CCN1 qualification expires on 22 October 2022, you could take it on 1 May 2022 (five months early) and the new qualification’s expiry date would be 22 October 2027.
When you take your ACS qualifications, they have to be externally verified by the relevant UKAS-accredited certification body before the information is downloaded to Gas Safe Register. Certificates of gas safety competence are only recognised by Gas Safe Register at this point, so please remember this when planning to take your assessments.
The requirement for periodic recertification of ACS is set by industry through the Standards Setting Function, operated by Energy & Utility Skills, and is administered under the requirements of the scheme accreditation, not by Gas Safe Register.
A list of ACS centres and the assessments they offer can be found in the December 2021 issue of Registered Gas Engineer at:
www.registeredgasengineer. co.uk/latest-issue
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