ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade Non-US Electrical Systems & Trades Ireland/England

Wow djk. Thanks for your reply. You obviously put alot of effort into it. For that I thank you and thank you for your great insight.
I actually called a guy at AECI and he sort of talked me out of moving to Ireland to do electrical work. He said there were alot of "cowboys" doing the work these days. What do you think of this comment?

I'd agree with the "cowboy" comment 100%. The present economic climate in Ireland and it's associated building boom has created a serious shortage of tradespeople, including electricians. The result has been that householders have extreme difficulty getting the appropriately qualified people for small jobs. So, you've suddenly got a situation where householders are either attempting DIY electrical work themselves or getting a "handyman" to do it.

There have also been plenty of cases of people passing themselves off as electrical contractors without any qualifications. There's nothing really to stop them doing that as the only protection that a customer has is to ensure that the person who claims to be a contractor is registered with one of the groups like RECI. Unlike the USA, there's currently no direct state regulation of the contractors.

Working without qualifications isn't recomended though as the consequences should something go wrong are pretty huge i.e. massive civil action / criminal actions. House insurance companies etc etc will often require completion certificates from a recognised body should there be an insurance claim caused by an electrical fire / fault. If you can't produce them you could find that your policy's null and void.

All that being said, I wouldn't say that there's a huge problem with "cowboys"... (although it could be increasing) I'd be far more concerned about your weekend DIY jobs carried out by homeowners themselves. The DIY stores here are now quite happy to sell pretty much anything to anyone. I've seen little old grannies picking up MCBs and RCDs and contemplating adding final circuits....

There's likely to be some changes in the way the trades, particularly electrical contractors, are regulated in the near future though as there have been some concerns raised by the like of the HSA (Health and Safety Authority) and the Electrotechnical Council of Ireland, ESB (Electricty Supply Board), insurers and various consumer groups etc etc that the current regime is no longer appropriate when the supply of sparkies is vastly outstripped by demand.


[This message has been edited by djk (edited 09-28-2005).]

Great post Dave.
That explained a lot!.

No problem, it didn't take too long. I'm very used to typing long reports etc..

If you are serious about moving over here and want to start working as an electrical contractor I would strongly advise taking the necessary steps (education-wise) to become RECI or AECI registered. RECI is generally the larger and more widely recognised organisation. (www.reci.ie)

Also, if you visit www.etci.ie you can purchase ET101, for 63.50

National Rules for Electrical Installations (3rd Edition) ET101:2002. Incorporating Amendment No. 1 2001
Also, you'll need ET101A2
Amendment No.2 to the National Rules for Electrical Installations (3rd Edition 2004)


You can browse the full catalogue : http://www.etci.ie/publications/listpubseuro.htm

Those ETCI rules are enforced by legislation.

You might also consider looking at www.cit.ie (Cork Institute of Technology)
Look at the department of electrical engineering. It would be worth dropping them a line and asking a few questions etc.

There's an IT of that nature in each of the major cities / towns.. including the amusingly titled "Talaght Institute of Technology" in West Dublin

It's possible that an IT may be able to enroll you and give you a heap of exemptions for basic courses to allow you to "convert".

[This message has been edited by djk (edited 09-30-2005).]

Thanks again djk. You have been most helpful. Especially about attending TIT. That would me a laugh!

I'm not sure I'd be able to move to Ireland and just start out as a contractor. I think that would be a bit too ambitious for me. I would surely need to acclimate my self to some extent for awhile.

Are there alot of companies doing Fiber or Computer wiring (Cat 5, etc...) in Ireland? I was thinking of breaking into that field.

Thanks again,
Galway

There's a pretty huge computer industry over here and rapid expansion in telecoms etc lots of new players entering the market and rolling out networks so it might be quite a booming industry. I honestly don't know which companies are involved in doing that kind of structured cabling / fiber optics etc.. but perhaps it might be worth checking out.

Also, with data/ networks / telecoms cabling you'd be able to start out without any major problems as you're not dealing with anything particularly dangerous i.e. it's mostly just signalling stuff.

It's also likely to be better paid and less physically difficult as you'd be working in offices / IT facilities rather than trying to bury cables in concrete walls

There is a definite demand for people who can work with telecommunications grade fiber stuff. Many ex-Telecom Eireann engineers (our defunked equivilant of Ma Bell) went into fiber optic specialist contracting and are making a fortune working for various telcos, cable cos, IT companies etc..



[This message has been edited by djk (edited 10-01-2005).]

Thanks yet again djk. You're more helpful than my own family!!! I must agree about the concrete walls. That's a major turn off to me about working in Ireland. Over here it's all sheetrock, etc... You never really have to "chop" a wall all the time.

As far as data wiring I didn't know that they do well financially over there. I hate to be a pain in the bollicks but do you have any recommendations on where one might find employment in that particular field in Ireland? Companies? Employment agency? Things of that nature.

Thanks again. If you ever go to Galway I will allow you to buy me a pint! But just 5! Well I think I might have to buy you the pint!