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As the calendar turns on 2025, it’s time to reflect on the vital role electrical safety training has played in shaping safer workplaces across the UK. This Year-End Review highlights key insights, trends, and recommendations to ensure your team is well-equipped for the challenges ahead.
The Regulatory Imperative: Why Training Matters
Recent updates to UK regulations underscore a shift toward proactive electrical safety measures – placing training at the heart of compliance:
RCD, surge protection, AFDD installations are now mandatory in new installations and upgrades under BS 7671 (18th Edition Amendment 3).
Landlords must now ensure EICRs every three years in rental properties (down from five years), including the social sector by end of 2025.
These rules, along with Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, demand a workforce that not only understands the law but can implement it safely.
Without rigorous training, even the latest technologies and regulations can’t translate into real-world safety.
Training: Delivering Tangible Safety Outcomes
The HSE’s 2024/25 report showed 124 workplace fatalities and over 59,000 RIDDOR-reported injuries. Studies reveal that:
Training programmes reduce fatalities and injuries, especially in construction, agriculture, and high-voltage operations.
Tailored programmes – focused on hazard recognition and risk management – help tackle top incident types like falls, manual handling, shocks, and arc flashes.
Electrical-specific training is no exception. Ensuring personnel – from operatives to managers – receive targeted training in safe isolation, regulation comprehension, and emergency response has become essential.
Upskilling at Scale: Industry-Wide Priorities
A July 2025 analysis highlighted the rising need for system-wide electrical capability across the UK:
The UK needs approximately 12,000 new electricians annually to meet demand—including EV charging, renewables, and energy efficiency installations.
Upskilling staff in 18th Edition, PAT testing, 2391 inspection awards, and green technologies enhances compliance and business agility.
Apprenticeships, NVQs, and T Levels are adapting to cover net-zero skillsets, such as solar PV and retrofitting systems.
By investing in structured training programs, employers gain a competitive edge, reduce compliance risk, and build a highly skilled workforce capable of meeting future-facing demands.
Training Impact: Real-World Benefits
Here’s how effective electrical safety training delivers value:
Compliance & Audit Readiness: Trained employees support up-to-date records like EICRs and RCD verifications.
Incident Reduction: Staff can spot and act on electrical hazards – cuts shocks, arcing, and fires.
Cost Avoidance: By mitigating risks, businesses avoid fines, legal penalties, and downtime.
Reputational Trust: Certified teams boost confidence among clients, insurers, and auditors.
Four Essentials for Your 2026 Training Strategy
- Adopt a tiered training approach
Basic awareness for office and site staff
Targeted technical training (e.g. safe isolation, AFDD installation)
Advanced courses for inspectors, supervisors, and engineers
- Keep curriculum current
Ensure modules reflects BS 7671 Amendment 3, RIDDOR updates, and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989.
- Embrace blended learning
Combine interactive e-learning (for foundational knowledge) with hands-on workshops and practical assessments.
- Measure and review
Track KPIs – training completion, knowledge retention, incidents reported – and refine programmes annually.
Looking Ahead: Training’s Growing Role in Safety
Expect HSE-style inspector workshops to expand, offering insider insight for duty-holders.
Training in green electrical technologies – EV infrastructure, solar panels, battery systems – will become mainstream.
Digital learning, including virtual audits and risk simulations, will gain traction as training budgets face scrutiny.
As the Year-End Review shows, electrical safety training is now indispensable. It connects updated regulations and equipment upgrades to effective risk control. For organisations committed to safety, embracing tailored, multi-level training is not just a regulatory checkbox – it’s a strategic investment.
Call to Action:
If your team hasn’t received electrical safety training recently, now is the time. Contact us today to schedule a course and protect your people, your equipment, and your reputation. We can tailor our training to exactly meet your needs.
If you have a question about electrical training give us a call on 0800 652 1124, email us at info@elecsafety.co.uk or contact us through our website at https://elecsafety.co.uk/about/contact/.
