Gas Training

There are no short cuts to becoming a registered gas engineer. Gas Safe enforces a rigorous system for checking the suitability of gas operatives before permitting them to join the register in order to carry out unsupervised gas work.

Before a gas operative can begin their ACS training they must be able to demonstrate a minimum of 12 months on the job experience working with gas under the supervision of a Gas Safe registered engineer. In addition, the must hold a valid pre-learning gas qualification.

Whether you already have a Gas Safe registered engineer working with you will significantly affect the cost and duration of the training.

I have a Gas Safe registered engineer working with me

The good news is that if your business already has a Gas Safe registered engineer who can supervise the learner, or a friendly contractor who is prepared to help, the route to ACS is substantially easier and less expensive than the learner attending a full managed training programme.

The learner must be able to demonstrate 12 months of experience working under supervision on on-the-job gas work (i.e. work that is practical to LPG gas on caravan parks). This must be confirmed by the appropriate registered gas engineer. Once the learner has gained some experience they will be ready to take a pre-learning qualification (PLQ). We do not have a park specific PLQ, however, our standard five day ACoPs gas course for caravan service technicians can be used. Having at least six months experience working on a park will be important to the learner as the ACoPs course focuses on touring caravans and motorhome gas systems which the learner is unlikely to be familiar with. Once they have completed their ACoPs they will need a further six months experience on-the-job before they can attend an ACS course.

The advantage of working with a registered engineer is that the learner can acquire their experience in-house which significantly reduces the cost of their training to your business both in terms of direct cost and time out of the business attending courses.  

I don’t have a Gas Safe registered engineer to work with

If your business does not already have a Gas Safe registered engineer that the learner can shadow, they will need to undertake a managed learning programme that will take them through initial gas awareness training, a pre-learning qualification, provisional or practical experience and finally their ACS training and assessment. This programme takes place in Flintshire and typically lasts between 30-40 days over a 12 month period.

ACS qualification units

An ACS gas qualification is made up of a number of mandatory core and optional appliance units. The minimum number an operative can take is one core unit and four appliances.

The specific units the leaner will require will depend upon the scope of work they intend to carry out and on what appliances. We will discuss this work with you so that we can advise you on the appropriate units your operative will need.

Cost and duration

The ACS programme is tailored to each learner; therefore, the duration and cost is reflective of their individual requirements and their chosen centre.

The standard package of training and assessment in mandatory and optional units takes approximately 5-8 days (not including weekends) and a typical charge is between £1100-1600 + VAT. We will advise you upon the units you require for the scope of gas work you intend to do and your final quote will be specific to the package designed for you. 

Please note the above charge includes the learner’s training, assessment, handbooks and certificate; however, it does not include Gas Safe registration which you must apply for individually. We will give you a specific quote based upon your requirements for your ACS but we strongly advise getting a quote from Gas Safe for registration before undertaking this programme.

Upon successfully completing the programme you will be issued with an ACS certificate and ID card with which you can apply to Gas Safe to become a registered gas operative. Your ACS certificate will be valid for five years, after which time, you will need to be re-assessed.

The ACS qualification is valid for five years, after which time, gas operatives will need to attend a re-assessment programme.

Like the initial ACS gas training, the re-assessment is tailored to the individual operative’s requirements. An operative can chose to re-assess on their existing units with or without training (depending upon how confident they feel in the re-assessment), add additional units if their scope of work has increased (training is mandatory on additional/new units) or reduce the number of units if the scope of their work has decreased (a minimum number of core and appliance units is still required).

Cost and duration

The cost and duration of reassessment will depend upon the units the technician requires assessment on and whether they require training.

Re-assessment only typically takes between 3-5 days with prices starting at £900 + VAT.

Gas operatives can begin their re-assessment up to six months prior to their existing certificate’s expiry date. The new expiry date is calculated from the originals expiry. This therefore allows the engineer to be re-assessed in plenty of time without losing any of their certificates validity.

We use 4 training centres across the UK who deliver the appropriate LPG units for ACS training and assessment for the caravan park industry.

• Birmingham, West Midlands
• Langport, Somerset
• Leeds, West Yorkshire
• Sandycroft, Flintshire

Each training centre has different training schedules, therefore, the exact duration of your training and or assessment will be affected by where you chose to go.

As a technician’s training package is tailored specifically for their requirements we are not able to list specific training dates. In the first instance we will discuss your requirements with you, when you want/need to do the course and which of our training centres you would like to attend.

Initial ACS training and new gas operatives

Please contact us so that we can discuss your requirements and advise you on the most suitable route to ACS for you and your business.

Existing ACS gas operatives

If you are looking to reassess on all or part of your existing ACS qualification, please contact us to discuss your requirements. Please also send us a copy of your current certificate so that we can advise you accordingly.

Accepting your quote

Once we have discussed your requirements we will issue you with a training proposal confirming the recommended ACS units, dates and cost. If you are happy and accept the proposal, a £100+VAT non-refundable deposit is required to hold the booking.