The term “Person in Charge in the field of electricity” in this context refers to a supervisor of electrical works as provided for in the Electrical Safety Act, who may be the electrical contractor’s supervisor of electrical works or the operation supervisor of an electrical installation. The supervisor of electrical works shall hold a certificate of qualification.
Training
Electrical training is the basic requirement for certification. Lengthy work experience in the respective field of electrical work may compensate for lack of training in obtaining a qualification certificate for the repair of electrical appliances only. Persons planning to pursue training should consider before entering training whether they might wish to act at Person in Charge in the field of electricity at some point in their career.
The training requirements are specified in the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry’s decision on electrical works. Incomplete studies are not recognised as training. Electrical training is provided at universities, universities of applied sciences, vocational schools and institutes of adult education, among others. Training may also be obtained under apprenticeship contract. The level of certification a person can obtain depends on the training received.
Work experience
In addition to training, experience in electrical work is also required for certification. The requirements in respect of work experience are specified in the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s decision on electrical works. Electrical work experience can be acquired in enterprises licensed for electrical contracting.
Electrical Safety Exam
In the Electrical Safety Exam it is possible to prove one’s knowledge of the statutes, regulations and instructions relating to safety issues in electrical works. The examination requirements are specified in Tukes Instruction Letter S 5. The examination is arranged at institutes of electrical training twice a year at times announced by Tukes. A list of the examining institutions inclusive of contact information is available on the Tukes website.
Certificate of qualification
The prerequisite for certification is that the person has been trained and/or has gained work experience in electrical work and has passed the Electrical Safety Exam. The certification requirements are specified in the Ministry’s decision on electrical works.The requirements for Electrical Competence 1 and for Limited Electrical Competence 1 are specified in section 12, the requirements for Electrical Competence 2 in section 13, and those for Electrical Competence 3 in section 14. SETI Oy, a company for personal and business evaluation, issues the qualification certificates after evaluating the applicants’ qualifications. More details on the principles for the evaluation of training and work experience can be found at www.seti.fi.
Right to work as Person in Charge
A certificate of qualification authorises its holder, subject to the limitations specified in the certificate, to act as the contractor’s supervisor of electrical works, as an independent electrical contractor or as the operation supervisor of an electrical installation. Before starting work, the electrical contractor shall appoint a supervisor of electrical works, who holds a certificate of qualification bestowing competence for supervising the electrical works in the relevant field of activity. The operator shall notify Tukes of the appointment.
Becoming a Person in Charge
A person in possession of a certificate of qualification may become a supervisor of electrical works under an electrical contractor, an independent entrepreneur or an operation supervisor for certain types of electrical installations. For more details, please see the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s decision on electrical works. The possessor of an electrical installation shall appoint as the operation supervisor of an electrical installation a person who holds a certificate of qualification authorising him/her for the task. The possessor of the installation shall notify Tukes of the appointment.
Electrical contractor in this context means an operator as referred to in the Electrical Safety Act attending to electrical works subject to notification of operations. Electrical contractors may be enterprises or natural persons. Electrical contracting is considered to include both works carried ou ton electrical installations and repair of electrical appliances.