Re: Foreign Workers

After 44 years as an Electrician im well aware of the quality of the British workforce, and ive seen the standards applied by the likes of the poles, and spent time putting right their work.

Ive worked at every level from domestic to major projects, serving a proper apprenticeship, going through college and continual training through my career. Learning new skills from testing and inspection, to mobile elevated platforms. Also i had to regularly sit exams to achive my Electrotechnical Certificate which involved not only knowing my own work, but also a knowledge of other trades as well as tool box talks involving all aspects of health and safety.

All my fellow workers had to do the same, result high standards of quality and safety all around, much higher than any i found from Europe.

Suggest to those that are denigrating British workmen next time your out and about take a look at what has been built around you by British workmen.

However apprenticeships died under Thatchers reign, and since then not that many trained to do the work, add in the fact that business loves to undercut costs for more profit, and various governments doing the same true craftsmen are getting hard to come by in the UK

Im backing the British workforce every time.

Re: Foreign Workers

And you shouldn't make accusations without foundation, which I've politely asked you to prove, which you obviously can't.

Re: Foreign Workers

You've got that right. I'm a sparky of 45 years standing and when I started we were on the 14th Edition Regs. They were superseded in 1981 to be replaced by 16th Edition in 1991. In 2008, they were replaced again by the 17th Edition which has since been altered three times (Amendments). At each change we are expected to take courses on the updates, buy a complete set of new Regs and their accompanying books such as On Site Guide and Guidance Notes and Testing and Inspection. This costs us a lot of money. In addition, we have to work to `Schedule P` of the building regulations in domestic dwellings and be registered with a governing body to be able to carry out certain aspects of Schedule P - the same type of work I've been doing for the last 45 years. Yet more expense. Legitimate tradespeople are being hampered by increased costs to pay for all this extra burden while foreign nationals/amateurs do not. They have no concept of electrical safety.

[/Rant]

Re: Foreign Workers

Don't think this is just about the quality of the workmanship, self employed, and one man bands, have always had to be self motivated, but, highly trained folk who worked under the umbrella of large organisations, in some cases, seemed oblivious to any sense of urgency, that's where an immigrant could Capitalize.