I don't believe it!
I've just had to renew this domain today which means it's been a little over a year since I first began to consider a new career as a Domestic Energy Assessor (DEA).
And what a year!
When I first heard about the opportunity I was excited... really excited! I couldn't wait to start training. I immediately got onto Google and found... not a lot!
I called LearnDirect and learnt... not a lot! I did get a number for a company in the Manchester area, however.
The manager, there, answered the phone and told me that the next awareness day wasn't until the back-end of March (unless I fancied travelling up to the North East - I didn't!) and the first course dates were already full!
There was talk, however, of a more local get-together which he would email to me - He didn't!
I need to qualify now!
I was frustrated; the timeline was tight and I wanted to be qualified and trading from day one.
With so little information on the internet, I decided to start this website and document my findings with a view to assisting others in a similar position. I figured that if I dug deep; hammered the phone; and studied the legislation etc... I would sail through the training and qualifying process.
Caution and denial
In digging deep, I soon discovered that the legislation wasn't in fact, completely finished: How on earth can training begin when the framework was not even finalised, I thought.
Additionally, the software was still being written and the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for the training was also still being finalised.
That was my first warning sign.
So enthused was I, however, I went into denial; the Govt had publicly set a date, they wouldn't let it slip, surely!
All the more reason to get going ASAP, I reasoned.
That was despite knowing hundreds of Home Inspectors had already lost many thousands of pounds after the Govt scrapped the introduction of the Home Condition Report (HCR) just a few months earlier.
Yet I was still in denial: This was about climate change, I thought; they can't let this slip - I really need to get started quickly before too many people find out and clog-up the training courses...
...I also needed to get in with the estate agents, quick, before it was too late!
Estate agents are not all bad!
Next on my to-do list was to contact local estate agents to let them know of my intentions. It would also be an opportunity to conduct some market research and gauge reaction.
Fortunately, I knew a partner to one of the larger estate agents in the area so he was the target of my first call. He told me they were sending around 18 staff on a training course the following month! Gulp!
He was not best-pleased with the time and expense in doing so but his reasoning was that the company had to keep the doors open - Relying on external 3rd parties to produce the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) was definitely not an option!
After saying all that, he still wasn't confident that the Govt would drive this through; so his parting advice to me was to sit and watch before throwing £4k at it.
His advice caused me to reflect on my own blind enthusiasm up to that point. The training provider I spoke with hadn't got back to me; largely, I think, because they were over-run and stretched by the pace. In addition, the NOS and legislation had still to be signed-off and now I was being told that one of the largest estate agents in the area were keeping it all in-house!
Yet there was still around a month to go before the next available course date, I (irrationally) thought...
...but thank God for that month!
I took his advice and monitored events. It's been a fascinating, yet tragic, journey to witness.
The point of all this is really to say: I do understand why people are still seeking to enter this industry and begin a new career; It's an industry legislated by Govt., afterall - As I said on the very first podcast: There's no better guarantor than the Govt!
At times I've wanted to scream at certain people suffering the same denial I did: ARE YOU DUMB?! WAKE UP FFS!
It's difficult to let go, I know.
The tragic thing is, they are still out there because many people entered this industry at different times. Worse, many have been conned by unscrupulous training providers promising lots of money and work. No one can be blamed for believing them.
In many ways, people desperate to better their lot in life; who are willing to stretch themselves to that end - both financially and in time - are really quite vulnerable to what should be the honest - and unbiased - claims made by educators.
Instead, the market economy rewards those that get people through the doors, no matter the price to individuals and their families.
Hmph... I had other intentions for this post like how the direction and focus changed and the reasoning behind the podcasts etc... oh well!
"Happy" birthday website and thanks to everyone that's followed along and sent messages of support ;)
Tags: debris
Posts: 3
Reply #2 on : Tue February 26, 2008, 18:20:35
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Reply #3 on : Fri February 13, 2009, 13:36:21
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Reply #1 on : Tue February 26, 2008, 13:06:29