What is ACS Gas Certification?

There are a number of routes into the domestic gas industry depending on your level of experience and knowledge and whether you have an apprenticeship or work experience placement. The Nationally Accredited Certification Scheme ( ACS ) is an option suited to those who have already gained experience working with gas or a related industry and results in a formal qualification that enables the trainee to become a member of the Gas Safe Register . Membership to the registration system, which is owned by the Health and Safety Executive, is a legal requirement protecting consumers from unsafe and dangerous gas work and providing reassurance that the engineer they are employing to carry out work in their home is qualified for the service they are undertaking.

ACS is an industry-recognised qualification and allows trainee gas engineers to demonstrate their competence to manage a range of gas work including domestic gas, LPG, commercial heating, boiler repair and installation and meter installation. Assessment takes place at anyone of a number of approved centres, including Gas Training and Assessment, and engineers will need to carry out regular safety assessments according to the specific areas of work they perform and the types of appliances they are qualified to work on every five years.

Trainee gas engineers who are interested in joining and ACS assessment will be classified in one of three categories. Category one applies to has engineers whose professional qualifications have expired, including those who apply from abroad, Category two applies to qualified workers from a related industry including plumbing, and category three which applies to a trainee who is totally new to the industry.

Every ACS student will need to complete a core gas safety assessment before individual appliance testing can take place. For anyone working with natural domestic gas, this assessment is the Core Domestic Gas Safety ( CCN1 ) qualification which is compulsory. Upon the successful completion of this, engineers will be able to take individual assessments relating to their specific field of work including CENWAT (Central Heating, Boilers and Water Heaters), Meters (MET1) and Cookers (CKRI).

ACS is overseen by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). This body is the only national accreditation body in the UK recognised to carry out assessments of organisations which provide certification, testing and inspection services against internationally-agreed standards. Accreditation provides independent recognition that an evaluator can demonstrate that it has been successful at meeting the standards of international accreditation.