Addressing the growing concern about the continuing promotion of training programmes for energy assessors:

Contribution from Nicholas Shaw, Home Inspector, addressing the growing concern about the continuing promotion of training programmes for energy assessors:

‘My personal agenda on this issue stems from the fact that when I began my training to qualify as a Home Inspector I, and all the other trainees I met during my course had been given the impression by quoted examples of the high income that could be made from working as a HI/DEA. Throughout our course we were constantly encouraged to believe that very high earnings were possible from producing HCRs and EPC. We were encouraged to believe that even a change of government would make no difference to the market for our skills.

As to a solution to the problem of a small pool of work being shared out amongst an increasing number of qualified practitioners the only solution seems to be that ABBE, prompted by the CLG should call a halt to training. I fully understand that the government will say that it does not have the authority to do this but the Housing Act must allow for the enactment of a moratorium on the certification and accreditation of HIs and DEAs until the market situation stabilises. We already have more than enough DEAs to meet the demands of even a recovered housing market. As a further step I believe that those like myself that took the Home Inspector, that are as yet unaccredited, root should be eligible for some degree of compensation as the Dip HI qualification is not worth the paper it is printed on. Compensation could take the form of monetary recompense and their free transfer onto the DEA scheme. As time goes on I have noticed that the particular trainer I used, or was used by, shifts its ground by moving its newspaper adverts from qualification to qualification. It went from adverts for Home Inspectors to Energy Assessors and now has moved on to Air Conditioning Assessors as each specialism fills up.

I am sorry if this turned into a bit of a rant by I feel very hard done by, as do many of my colleagues. Cheated by our training companies with the assistance of the government by failing to retain proper control of the development of this supposed 'new' group of professionals. We can expect no help or sympathy from a new Conservative administration as they will just use the usual excuse of it not being their 'fault' and that we should blame the previous three Labour governments.’

7/1/10