PAT Testing Course
Swansea

The course opens by establishing the groundwork you will build on all day. You will gain a clear understanding of what Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) actually involves, why it is a critical part of an organisation's electrical safety regime, and the standard terminology the industry uses — so that nothing encountered later in the day feels unfamiliar or ambiguous.

You will also be introduced to the full range of electrical equipment categories you will encounter as a practising PAT tester — portable, movable, hand-held, stationary, fixed and IT equipment — together with the equipment classes (Class I, Class II and Class III) that govern how each appliance is protected against electric shock. Grasping these distinctions at the outset is essential, because an appliance's class and category determine which tests must be applied.

Before you handle any testing instrument, you need a solid grasp of the hazards you are there to manage. This module examines exactly how electricity injures people — through electric shock, burns and the ever-present risk of fire — and identifies the conditions that make defective equipment genuinely dangerous.

From there we map out the legal landscape that sits behind PAT testing in the UK. You will work through the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 (PUWER) and associated duties. We also tackle a persistent misconception head-on: there is no single law requiring PAT testing by name, yet duty-holders are legally bound to keep electrical equipment in a safe condition, and systematic inspection and testing is the recognised means of demonstrating that. You will leave this module clear on who carries that duty and what acting "reasonably practicably" looks like in the real world.

A methodical visual inspection is the most powerful tool in the PAT tester's kit — it catches the majority of defects before any instrument is connected. This module teaches you how to conduct a thorough, formal visual inspection and how to identify the signs of damage, wear and misuse that should take an appliance out of service immediately.

We also take you inside the equipment: correct plug wiring to BS 1363, appropriate fuse selection, cable and flex condition, strain-relief arrangements, and the integrity of casings and connections are all covered in detail. You will understand how an appliance's construction relates to its equipment class, and how to distinguish the routine user checks that all staff should carry out from the formal visual inspection that falls to a competent person.

This is the point at which the course turns decidedly practical. In our dedicated learning zone you will get hands-on time with real PAT testing instruments, learning how to set them up and operate them safely and accurately. We introduce the range of testers you are likely to encounter in the field — from basic pass/fail units through to sophisticated downloadable instruments capable of storing and exporting test records.

Through repeated practice you will learn how to connect appliances correctly, appreciate the importance of using properly calibrated equipment, and develop the confidence and dexterity that only come with repetition. By the time you finish this module, working with a PAT tester will feel entirely natural.

This module takes you through the formal test sequence and shows you how to apply it across different appliance types. You will cover each of the core electrical tests in turn — earth continuity testing, insulation resistance testing, lead and polarity checks, and functional checks — with a clear explanation of what each test is measuring and what a given result tells you about the safety of the appliance under test.

A key focus is learning how the correct test sequence varies between Class I and Class II equipment, so you always apply the right tests in the right order. Safe working practices are reinforced at every step, ensuring that your testing is both technically sound and carried out without risk to yourself or others.

A test result is only valuable if you can interpret it accurately and act on it appropriately. This module shows you how to read your readings against accepted limits, make a clear pass or fail decision, and handle a failed appliance correctly. You will also learn the proper approach to labelling tested equipment and maintaining records that are clear and defensible.

We give equal attention to setting sensible retest intervals. Drawing on the risk-based approach introduced in the current edition of the IET Code of Practice — which replaced the old rigid frequency tables — you will learn to determine testing frequencies by weighing up the type of equipment, its working environment, frequency of use and the people who use it. Thorough record-keeping and a well-maintained asset register are presented as the cornerstone of demonstrating ongoing compliance and due diligence to any auditor or insurer.

The final module pulls all your learning together and grounds it firmly in its regulatory context. You will understand the distinction between statutory requirements — the law you must comply with — and non-statutory guidance that represents recognised best practice, and appreciate why a competent PAT tester needs to be conversant with both.

Central to this module is the IET Code of Practice for In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, currently in its 5th edition. We walk through what the Code sets out, how it supports the underpinning legislation, and how to use it as your authoritative day-to-day reference. You will finish the course with a clear sense of what "competence" means in this discipline, how to demonstrate due diligence, and how to conduct PAT testing to a professional and fully defensible standard.