Day November 22, 2025

Assessment visits confuse NVQ learners more than any other qualification component. You've uploaded 80+ photos showing installations across domestic and commercial projects. Your portfolio contains witness statements from qualified supervisors. Testing certificates document insulation resistance, continuity, and RCD verification across varied circuits. Then your training provider schedules "assessment visit" and you panic. What exactly does the assessor verify that portfolio evidence doesn't already prove? Why do they need to observe work in person when everything is documented digitally? What happens if you fail the visit after months building evidence?

The new JIB wage agreement covering 2026 to 2028 has landed, and reactions across the electrical industry range from cautiously optimistic to openly frustrated. The headline figures look decent at first glance: a 3.95% increase from January 2026, followed by 4.6% in 2027 and 4.85% in 2028. That's roughly 14% total across three years for nearly 10,000 electricians employed by around 550 contractors under the Joint Industry Board agreement. But peel back the surface and the conversation gets more complicated. Is a 4% rise in 2026 actually keeping pace with real inflation after years of cost-of-living pressure?