650 free lockout kits available to trainee electricians in Scotland

Trainee electricians in Scotland will be given 650 free lockout kits by The Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT) and Electrical Safety First (ESF).

The free lockout kits are part of a 12 year partnership between the two organisations, where training officers visit colleges and training centres across the country to hand them out to third stage apprentices and adult trainees. This year, everything will have to be done while maintaining social distancing, but the organisations are still keen to hand out the free kits. 

The lockout kits are worth £30 each and offer the ability to ensure the electricity is turned off and stays off until work is completed. That means these kits should potentially save a life, one of the key reasons behind the distribution of the free lockout kits - to ensure safe isolation. 

Among this year’s recipients were trainees at Ayshire College, Ayr Campus, Dundee & Angus College and Perth College UHI, with other apprentices presented with their kits at all 21 SECTT Approved Centres.

Anne Galbraith, CEO of SECTT, said, “Adopting safe working practices and procedures is essential and embedding the right approach at the start of an electrician’s career is key.

“The kits not only provide crucial safety equipment but also promote safe practice throughout these trainees’ working lives.

“Everything we do at SECTT is safety critical, so as an organisation we are proud to do everything we can to support this.”

Lesley Rudd, Chief Executive of ESF, added, “It’s vital that safe working procedures are undertaken across the industry, but to be properly effective they need to be established at the start of an electrician’s career.

“These free kits don’t just provide essential safety equipment that will make safe isolation an ingrained habit, they could also make the difference between life or death.”

Fiona Harper, The Secretary of the SJIB, concluded, “This annual handout demonstrates the industry’s ongoing commitment to safety as well as skills. Ensuring that the next generation of electricians are educated in safe isolation is essential, and sits alongside other measures to ensure we have a properly trained and qualified workforce, such as the current consultation to introduce regulation of electricians as a profession.”