BER assessor internship and jobbridge

wirehairmax

I've seen a few of these advertised lately and I wonder how it would work? Would an intern be sent out to do a survey and all the calculations and take it back to the office and let a registered assessor upload it to NAS? Do the SEAI know this is happening? I love the way the ad below States that a third level qualification would be an advantage and that '"some" manual labour would be required!!!!

Example of ad I saw this morning:
The intern will gain practical experience in Surveying homes for retrofitting as per relevant technical specifications and carrying out Building Energy Ratings in homes across Limerick City & County. The intern will receive formal/informal training in the following: Initial training will involve some manual labour as part of the process, Domestic Insulation, surveying, Quality Assurance and other training as it arises. On completion the intern will have attained skills in surveying and insulation techniques, communication and administration skills and have engaged with Local Authority and Sustainable Energy Authority.

Skills Requirements Skills; Excellent technical & Administration; Strong computer skills Excellent written and verbal communication. May suit person with engineering/ construction qualification. BER trained registration covered by the company. Ability to manage time effectively. Initiative to solve problems and to seek opportunities for learning. A commitment to improving practice by trying new methods. Ability to take direction and implement agreed workplans. The ability to lead.

Please Note: This is an Internship. An allowance of €50 per week will be paid in addition to your current Social Welfare payment.See eligibility criteria above.

Department Retrofitting / Insulation department

Mentor The Organisation will assign a mentor to support you during the Internship.



Duration 9 Months

Number of Positions 1

Contract Type Other

Days, Hours & Start Date Days per week: To be Advised
Hours per day: Not specified
Hours per week: 39
Start Date: TBC

Experience Required: No Experience Required

Education Requirements: Third Level - Engineering / Construction qualification an advantage.

Email CV to: ***********

mickdw

As internships go, that is one of the more reasonable ones as long as the person doesn't end up installing attic insulation or something.

wirehairmax

Wouldn't agree with you on that one mick. To carry out a BER survey you must have passed the accreditated courses, have relevant qualifications and experience in a construction related discipline. This ad makes a mockery of the SEAI code of conduct relating to training and qualifications.

shanered

Didn't think this would happen tbh

BryanF

wirehairmax wrote: »

This ad makes a mockery of the SEAI code of conduct relating to training and qualifications.

we nominate you to advise the SEAI of this

please let us know how you get on

wirehairmax

BryanF wrote: »

we nominate you to advise the SEAI of this

please let us know how you get on

I've been trying to ring them today but no answer. But I will be sending them an email tonight. I don't expect a reply to be honest.

BryanF

wirehairmax wrote: »

I've been trying to ring them today but no answer. But I will be sending them an email tonight. I don't expect a reply to be honest.

maybe point this out to the Jobs Bridge Authority? surely they have a code of practice that should not conflict with a SEAI code of ethics

Job Bridge in the construction industry is a farce as far as i can see. the BER course can be attained by other means by a dole recipient, other than free labour for 9 months!! - the employer should have to say add 200 to the (over 25) job seekers amount to allow the 'intern' live! (300 to an under 25) and that a pity-full minimum imho

sydthebeat

what BER assessor out there is doing a 39 hour week???????????????????????


theres something very very fishy about this one.

If someone could pm me the name of the company id be grateful.

wirehairmax

sydthebeat wrote: »

what BER assessor out there is doing a 39 hour week???????????????????????


theres something very very fishy about this one.

If someone could pm me the name of the company id be grateful.

It's a retrofit insulation company too. I'll look it up later tonight or you can go into indeed.ie and search "BER" you should find it there

sydthebeat

wirehairmax wrote: »

It's a retrofit insulation company too. I'll look it up later tonight or you can go into indeed.ie and search "BER" you should find it there

did they not see the latest BER code of conduct????

it states:

a BER assessor is prohibited from carrying out a BER assessment on a dwelling where the assessor would be assessing energy improvement works carried out by him/her or a connected person within the preceding 12 months.

also the assessor must be engaged directly by the client and not as part of an energy improvement service.



hummmmmmm

mickdw

I don't see an issue is a company was genuinely taking on a person to work within a surveying company, learn some worthwhile skills, get experience and then trained as a ber assessor.
If they are an insulation company, I don't see a problem with taking on an intern within the office, learning to prepare quotes etc for insulation works.
My point is that at least the person might be learning something. Much better than some of the schemes when people end up as free unskilled labour.

BryanF

mickdw wrote: »

I don't see an issue is a company was genuinely taking on a person to work within a surveying company, learn some worthwhile skills, get experience and then trained as a ber assessor.
If they are an insulation company, I don't see a problem with taking on an intern within the office, learning to prepare quotes etc for insulation works.
My point is that at least the person might be learning something. Much better than some of the schemes when people end up as free unskilled labour.

IMO its open to abuse by an employer

• if your a labour you get paid (and more than 250 per week)
• if your training to be a contractor you do a trade and you'll quickly be on more than 250 a week (i dont know what a first year apprentice gets? but in a way your a student to start with)
• if you gone to college and done degree in a construction related subject ( more than 250 per week with more responsibility than an intern)
• if your training to be a BER assessor you do a weeks course (not nine months)

mickdw

Obviously its a dream for the employers but as I say there are bigger abuses happening in this jobbridge scheme.
Say you had some guy with a cert in construction or something. Sitting in the house on the dole and thinking he would like to get into the insulation business. I genuinely think it would be a golden opportunity for such a person. Go in there, get familiar with the trade, pricing work, competing for work etc. They could get value from it. Fair enough it is more or less unpaid but it could be an opportunity.

sydthebeat

mickdw wrote: »

Obviously its a dream for the employers but as I say there are bigger abuses happening in this jobbridge scheme.
Say you had some guy with a cert in construction or something. Sitting in the house on the dole and thinking he would like to get into the insulation business. I genuinely think it would be a golden opportunity for such a person. Go in there, get familiar with the trade, pricing work, competing for work etc. They could get value from it. Fair enough it is more or less unpaid but it could be an opportunity.

but as been said before, they could do the full BER assessment course for free in two weeks.

Then should a job be in existence out there, they can interview for said job for a proper wage.

I agree that there are much worse abuses out there, and this scheme is tantamount to slavery in my opinion. Internernships are fine for mid level type jobs where theres a change of career proposed. In my opinion 9 months is way to long for the type of internships proposed. Half of that would be sufficient for this kind of job, plus €50 a week extra wouldnt pay a lot of peoples expenses for these jobs.

All it is doing is creating a whirlpool dragging value of services downwards, negatively affecting competition.