We know there is still insufficient data for business planning and risk assessment purposes but we need to establish what is missing. That is in part, the purpose of this exercise. Bearing in mind we live in a western democracy with a population of over 59 million and alleged open.gov, the information we have previously been offered is poor at best.

Four months and 22 days have elapsed since the August 1 2003 ACS changes kicked in and we have finally managed to extract some details of the Work Experience requirements. It appeared for the first time in public at the Corgi website on 22.12.2003. But for Gas-News lobbying the Minister of State for Work, it would probably never have appeared at all. It seems clear to us the authorities like to release minimum information. As we have said before, information is power. Deliberately withholding information puts them in complete control and amounts to corporate bullying, which is not acceptable in civilised society.

The HSE claim it was never intended that successful ACS applicants would automatically be granted Corgi registration. Whether or not, as far as we are aware that is what has always happened. The ACS II changes are intended to ensure that everyone who obtains Corgi registration has a minimum level of experience one way or another and arrives at the consumer’s address reasonably qualified in theory and practice.

We agree in principle and understand that no formula can guarantee perfect results. We believe however that no person should be denied the opportunity to engage with gas work, providing they have the ability and commitment necessary. That must include part-time applicants, many of whom are highly motivated people trying to hold down a job and sustain a family at the same time.

Applicants for ACS II assessment are categorised according to qualifications and experience. It is now incumbent upon ACS assessors to ensure candidates for assessment are suitably experienced. That has been introduced to relieve Training Providers of the temptation to promote inexperienced people.

Complete novices, whether school leavers or adult career change people, still appear to have viable routes to ACS II, without taking S/NVQ with an employer.

Three categories of applicant are recognised. The following table (ours) gives a thumbnail overview for UK applicants:

Those in Category 2 will by definition have considerable construction industry insight. They will not however have any recognised experience. We say recognised because whilst some may have considerable experience, the type of experience or supporting evidence of experience may be considered inadequate. We have to be mindful of the possibility (our opinion) that some people may otherwise attempt to provide false information if not verifiable.

To meet the needs of Category 2 applicants and Category 3 applicants, prescribed Work Experience (in other words on and off site training) is required. We now have good information (but not yet enough) on how this may be achieved. Category 3 applicants (complete novices) require approximately double the Work Experience of Category 2 applicants. This is because Category 2 applicants will have proof of a recognised qualification which is deemed to include some relevant experience.

We need to know the nature of Work Experience that will be prescribed, in order to ensure beforehand that we can provide it ? Accordingly we make no apologies for insisting full details are ultimately made available and that will be the subject of our next letter to Her Majesty’s Government, which has already been drafted.

Remember that ACS is only about gas safety. Important yes but it does not teach the remainder (majority information) and that is where Registered Gas Installers have an important role. If we are to have a major role then we must and will have a major stake in any decisions taken.

That said, the following table gives the basic data supplied to us but please read further before jumping to any conclusions:

This appears to be saying (our view) that if the quality of On the Job training is suitable then by negotiation, the set hours can be adjusted accordingly. We could ask for more information on this but we’ll take them at their word and cross that bridge when we arrive. It would not be easy to write a definitive treatise on this anyway.

Another important (and useful) bit of information concerns applicants who undertake more than one activity. Here we are told “Where the training programme includes more than one appliance the total duration is not the sum of the combined appliances … “. It adds “The combined duration will reflect that CCN1 is common to more than one appliance”.

This appears to us to be saying some activity durations may be overlapped or run concurrently rather than consecutively. For example pipe sizing and installation undertaken for a new boiler could equally serve a cooker therefore no need perhaps to repeat the same on a cooker installation. Here again we will take them at their word and cross that bridge when we arrive.

Some jobs are fiddly and some are not. The last two paragraphs appear to recognise this. An applicant may chance upon a couple of weeks work where there is enhanced opportunity to participate in higher quality (more appropriate) work and this can be taken into account. All considered therefore the situation is perhaps not as daunting as first appears. At least now we have some understanding and that helps acceptance. After all, 100 days is still much less than one third of a year.

If a Corgi Registered Business (which by the way includes Sole Proprietors who are in the majority) are refurbishing a house, a whole range of relevant activities may be encountered within a relatively short space of time. All this will need to be explored and further information sought.

As existing Registered Gas Installers will know, the above tabled activities relate to domestic elements of work but not all domestic elements. We have no knowledge of others including, Leisure equipment and Laundry appliances.

We assume Pipework is deemed to be included and Water heaters may arrive with Central Heating ? This deserves explanation but perhaps we can expect to see a categories change on the back of the Corgi ID card next year ?

Now we have looked at training durations, we can look at the training content as supplied to us:

For the benefit of prospective industry new entrants, we would point out that the ‘genuine examples of ACS applicants applying for ACS’ listed via the ‘details’ link at the top of the page, are clearly hand picked. You should not feel intimidated by their qualifications. Experience shows that people with practical experience will do best, regardless of academic achievement. If you’re willing to put in the work then go for it.

Any other business ?

Yes there is - We now know a lot more than we did but still not enough. Having carefully studied the new information I am hopeful that progress can now be made in favour of my own prospective new entrant. I (wrongly) assumed he would be obliged to take S/NVQ (NVQ in his case) but I now know that is not the case.

I know he has tried all Colleges offering NVQ in a huge radius without success. The option of an Independent Training Provider (ACS only) now seems to be viable. I would rather he did plumbing as well but he can progress with that also at a later date.

I have (just) decided to explore the option of an Independent Training Provider. If any want to contact me on or off the record then I am ready and willing to talk. What I am saying is that had I not received the new information, no progress would have been made by me and I wonder how many more people are similarly bogged down in apparent bureaucracy ?

We have to wonder whether the drought of information was intentional so that the bigger players might benefit more from the situation. Bigger players may have more insight or privileged information. It is the role of Gas-News, however humble, to try to level the playing field and thwart discrimination, which has many variants, like all diseases.