PAT Testing Courses:
Options For Training Staff

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About PAT Testing

PAT Testing Equipment

Pat Testing Courses

You have no choice about whether the equipment in your workplace needs to be PAT Tested, but you do have a choice about whether to have the electrical PAT Testing done by an external contractor or to put some of your own staff through PAT Testing Training and do the work in-house.

There are plenty of organisations that offer PAT Testing courses. The courses are normally only a single day, so the initial time commitment is not too onerous, and the courses can often be run on your own premises if that is more convenient.

The other thing to bear in mind if you choose to undertake the electrical PAT Testing in-house is that you need to purchase or hire the PAT Testing equipment. It is perfectly possible to pick up testing equipment second hand to save on the cost.

Pat Testing Courses - Who Should You Send?

You don't need to have any electrical knowledge to do a PAT Testing Course, but it would clearly be advantageous to train people who do have a little experience in that area. There is no formal qualification you need to have in order to undertake electrical PAT testing, though many offer a certificate of completion, and some PAT testing courses do offer the City and Guilds 2377 qualification. Most courses are just aimed at giving the delegates the knowledge to be classed as a 'Competent Person' who is trained in how to carry out electrical PAT testing.

If you opt to send someone off on a formal course, you should consider things such as whether the course involves some hands-on work as well as theory, and how many delegates there are to each PAT Testing machine available.

Pat Testing Courses - Training DVDs and Online PAT Testing Exams

There are a number of online and DVD based PAT testing courses, some of them with online examinations. You can train as many staff as you wish with one DVD, but if you opt for exam based courses, each DVD will only have one exam, so you need a new DVD each time you run an exam.

Qualifications from PAT Testing Training do not have an expiry date, though it is recommended that refresher training be considered if it is some time since the PAT tester did the course, particularly if they do not carry out electrical PAT Testing work very regularly.

One of the most cost effective options for training your staff to carry out PAT Testing are the online/DVD courses offered by Electacourse. Compared to the costs of sending people on an external course (£150 - £300), these online courses are an excellent value option. They start from about £28 and you can download them instantly. If you are on a tight budget or are responsible for a relatively straightforward premises these courses are well worth checking out. You can find out more about Electacourse's PAT testing course here.

Putting your staff through PAT Testing Training to be Competent Persons is certainly worth considering, especially if you need to carry out a lot of electrical PAT testing every year.

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