17th Edition Courses Set For Update

Electricians should be aware that there are to be several amendments to 17th electrical courses in the near future.

Keith Wilson reported in Electrical Times that the IEE Wiring Regulations will be replaced by the new IET Wiring Regulations as part of a major overhaul of the regulation system.

The new set of regulations will be introduced on January 1st 2012 to address electrical issues which were not explored by the original IEE Wiring Regulations.

These issues include dealing with electrics in medical locations, looking at measures against electromagnetic influence and devices for protection against overvoltage, which is otherwise known as surge protection.

A number of small revisions will also be addressed throughout the regulations and there is to be a new section that will cover the operation and maintenance of gangways.

Section 710 will deal with medical locations such as hospitals and healthcare facilities of all types, like doctors' and dentists' surgeries.

The new regulations will look at the reliability of supply in these medical locations and how to reduce the risk of electric shock.

Medical IT distribution systems will be included with special isolating transformers, supplementary equipotential bonding and "safety service" power sources that will ensure continuity of supply.

Section 444 of the revised regulations will incorporate electromagnetic influence and is designed to aid compliance with the requirements of the EU EMC Directive, which is already covered in British legislation by SI 3148.

Advice on the installation of mains power cables and common bonding of multiple power sources will be updated in a bid to achieve the best EMC performance.

Section 534 will cover surge protection devices, which are designed to minimise the effects of lightning and electrical shocks.

The first electrical course for potential electricians is the City & Guilds NVQ 2330 level 2.

These electrical courses provide the teaching of required theoretical and practical skills to be assessed for advancing to the next learning level.

Recent research by City & Guilds revealed that electrical courses were their most popular vocational qualification course with 97,411 certified learners.

Chief executive Chris Jones said that vocational qualifications were a great way to stand out from the crowd in a competitive jobs market.

He added: "Growing numbers of people are recognising the value of work-related learning and equipping themselves with the right skills and training they need to succeed and lead in today's fast-paced economy."

The 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations was published on January 1st 2008 and the new revision is set to be ready in time for June 2011.