3. HIRE LICENSED ELECTRICIANS AND PLUMBERS
To ensure safety at any residential premises, electrical work should be done by licensed electrical workers, while water service and sanitary plumbing should be done by licensed plumbers. But nine times out of 10, believes Peck, this does not happen.
“Simply google ‘water heater Singapore’. Most of the advertisements are (placed by) unlicensed (workers),” he charged, adding that shops selling heaters may also recommend unlicensed workers for installation work.
To obtain his licence, said Confucius Teo from Competent Electrician, he had to complete a course provided by the training arm of Singapore Power, go for an interview and sit a test given by the Energy Market Authority (EMA).
Including his time at polytechnic and on-the-job learning, it took about seven years. “Some can’t even get it after 16 years,” he said. “It’s very stringent.
“(The EMA is) handing you a licence (whereby) you could kill someone easily if you make a mistake.”