Interview

CERTIFYING BUSINESSES ACROSS THE SECTOR

Carly Wills talks to Paul Collins, Head of Technical Services for NICEIC, about his role within the organisation and the work that the NICEIC does.

CW: Tell us about yourself and how you got into the sector

PC: I started life as an electrical apprentice in 1990, worked in various sectors, including domestic, commercial, industrial and marine. I have also picked up additional experience and qualifications, including gas, plumbing and renewables.

I worked for various NICEIC Approved Contractors over the years and joined CORGI in 2005 when Part P was launched. In 2009 I joined the NICEIC, working with the technical helpline team.

CW: For those who may not know, can you give us an overview of the work that NICEIC does?

PC: NICEIC is a certification body offering certification to businesses across the building services sector, which includes gas, renewables, and the like. However, NICEIC is most well-known for its electrical schemes, with the Approved Contractor Scheme being started in 1956!

NICEIC also offers various value-added services to certified businesses to help support them, for example, training courses, technical publications, Connections magazine and much more. CW: Tell us about your current role - what are you responsible for, and what does the typical working day consist of?

PC: I think my current role is the best job in the business. I currently manage a great team of people that includes:

• The technical helpline, which answers over 70,000 calls a year • The NICEIConline system that allows our customers to notify their work • NICEIC Certification covering gas and related certificates of competence • Technical publishing which produces our books and technical articles • Training development which produces content for our training course • Our regulatory compliance team, who, among other things, manage our

UKAS accreditation

Every day is different, there is no such thing as a typical day, and it is definitely not a nine-to-five office job. One day I will be working with government departments and other scheme providers and the next, I will be dealing with Trading Standards, solicitors, or supporting the Technical Services Team.

CW: What are the best things about your role? What are the most challenging?

PC: This will sound corny, but the best thing is the people I work with and our customers. There is such a shared passion for technical excellence and improving standards within the team and the industry. It is very motivating.

The most challenging will vary, but overall, it would have to be a lack of pace. Some parts of our industry can be slow to adapt, which can at times be difficult.

CW: How has COVID-19 affected the industry?

PC: It has definitely affected the industry. There are some positive and some not so positive outcomes.

For example, we saw a massive step-change in the usage of technology, which in many cases has improved our work-life balance.

However, it was hard for businesses to overcome the challenge of lockdown when there was minimal work going on.

Looking at the volume of work and job adverts, I see I think things are back to a new ‘normal’, as we begin to adapt to living alongside COVID-19. CW: Aside from COVID-19, what have been the biggest changes across the industry in recent times? What will be the biggest changes in the future?

PC: This is an interesting one. For me I think one of the biggest changes I have seen is perception. A career in the electrical industry is just not considered ‘sexy’, meaning it is difficult to attract and train enough competent people to undertake the work needed.

As for future changes, I think the generation and storage of energy will become very prominent. Energy price rises and the potential of not being able to rely on gas will drive a shift in consumer awareness around the green agenda and electrification for heat, therefore we need to prepare for this across the industry to develop the skills to support the green agenda.

CW: What’s next for you and for NICEIC?

PC: Personally – I hope to continue to do what I do at NICEIC. I am passionate about what we do to ensure the industry has a competent workforce that continues to develop and improve to meet the demands of consumers now and in the future.

For NICEIC – watch this space!

CW: What do you think are the most exciting products or technologies coming to the market?

PC: There are so many exciting things coming to the market now. I am a big fan of technology, but it needs to be a useful technology.

Looking at what BS 7671 now requires in certain installations, for example, SPD and AFDD’s etc., I don’t think we are far away from integrated protective devices that are more ‘solid state’ with monitoring devices that measure load, faults and are programmable dependent on the circuit and attached equipment installed.

This could give real-time monitoring and identify a potential fault before it becomes a problem.

CW: What are your interests away from work?

PC: I like to travel when I can and go to the cinema and the gym. I also like to keep updated with technology news – nothing too exciting.