Every donated item sold in our shops helps to fund our vital work supporting people who have experienced homelessness by providing them with a home, individual support and work opportunities within our social enterprise.
Among the many generous donations we receive, electrical goods form a sizeable portion of our income. However, to ensure all electrical items are safe for resale and handling by our staff and companions, we introduced a focused PAT (Portable Appliance Testing) training programme for our staff and companions.
This training is not just about compliance with health and safety regulations – it’s about responsibility, empowerment and trust. By equipping our colleagues with the skills to safely test donated appliances, we’re ensuring that customers can buy with confidence, while also protecting our companions and staff working behind the scenes.
The course, run by an external company specialising in this field, includes hands-on learning, safety protocols, and guidance on identifying faults and maintaining records. For many of our colleagues, including those with lived experience of homelessness, this training also offers a valuable opportunity to gain new skills, build confidence and take a meaningful step towards future employment.
Our companion Darren and Operations Assistant Steve recently took part in a one-day PAT training course, learning and supporting each other. They gave their feedback on the course and the benefits from taking part:
Darren
I didn’t have any prior electrical training apart from the basics – how to wire a plug, fuses and things like that, but this went much more in depth. It went into checking for safety, checking cables and plugs using specialist PAT testing equipment to ensure they are earthed and functioning correctly.
I suffer from a lung condition called pulmonary sarcoidosis which makes me breathless quite quickly, so I’m no longer able to lift things and I had to be taken off deliveries and warehouse work. Doing the electrical work is beneficial to me and I’ve only recently been doing it since I passed the PAT testing course a couple of months ago.
Lots of donated lamps
I’m really enjoying it – it’s busy and there’s always lots of electricals coming in. We get a lot of lights and lamps, hundreds of them. We also get lots of vacuum cleaners, fans, microwaves, TVs and radios.
At the end of every PAT test, each appliance should be marked ‘passed’ or ‘failed’ and we send any items for recycling if they are unfit for resale. These might include CD systems with tape decks that don’t work; people won’t buy them if one part of the system isn’t working. We also make physical checks too to see if the cables are damaged or the plugs are unsafe, both of which can be changed.
There were about seven of us companions on the course and we work as a team, helping each other. If we’re not sure about anything we have a chart that we’ve put up on the wall, as well as a book we can refer to.
I really enjoyed the course – it was something different and you do get a certificate at the end which can be added to your CV which is all good for the future. If you want to move on from here, you’ve got those new skills to take with you, giving you more work options.
Steve
I had done a similar course before, but you do need a refresher every so often as a few procedures change or get updated; nothing major but worth having the latest up to date information.
As I was asked as Operations Assistant to oversee the electrics department, it made sense for me to do another course, along with the companions.
A happier working environment
Certain items, such as fridges and TVs, I haven’t done a lot, so with some of the other guys who have done lots, they’re teaching me bits. Being there to oversee the system, work alongside the companions and help each other has made a big difference and creates a happier working environment.
There are a few of us who work as Operations Assistants and we all have general operational responsibilities around the community. We work anywhere we’re needed; the shop, warehouse, donation hub, but we each have a couple of specific responsibilities, and mine are vehicles and electricals.
The PAT training is useful to me because if I’m working in the shop and if a customer brings an electrical item back in, or there’s a query about it, I can then just go off into the electrical area and re-PAT test it. So having that knowledge is good because you can immediately re-test an item and see whether it’s down to user error or a faulty item.
Moving forward, we plan to have a PAT testing facility in the donations area, so that we can test some of the items as they come in which will reduce the volume in our main testing area.
Across Emmaus, with every donated item that we sell, we save thousands and thousands of items going to landfill waste, which is great for local authorities, and good for the environment too. Some items still go to landfill sadly, but we do recycle items in lots of different ways. We have a guy who comes in and takes away our wiring which is recycled. Also, if it wasn’t for Emmaus more people would be likely to buy something new and throw the old item away, so it’s great that we’re able to offer an electrical department
Supportive working environment
I’ve been here for 24 years now. To see the companions being hands-on and getting involved in the training, knowing that this is a learning experience for them as well as me, is really important. Being there and supporting them by working alongside them means we are all learning the same information at the same time.
We all learn things differently and we all have our strengths and weaknesses, so just seeing that group knowledge and sharing this with each other is real teamwork. You can really see the difference it makes to the team when you’re sitting in there and working alongside them, it’s so much better. It shows that you’re happy to get involved, to be there for support and do the work yourself. At the end of the day, how can you expect someone to do something, if you’re not prepared to do it yourself?
A unique environment
Because of their backgrounds and life experiences some of the guys find it difficult to respect others, which is why it’s important to build a supportive working relationship to help build this. Things can change very quickly here; all the best laid plans at 9 o’clock can be completely changed by ten-past. It’s easier for me to adapt because most of the things that crop up daily, I’ve seen before.
It’s a unique environment to work in and it takes a while to get to know individuals and how to best work with them, but it’s all worthwhile and so rewarding. Like anything, you get out of it what you put in. Like any job, some days you want to pull your hair out, but then there’ll be something else that happens, and you think, “yep, this is what it’s all about”. We’re a big social enterprise now and we get a lot of regular visitors that love coming here and meeting the companions, staff and volunteers, so it’s great.
*Pictured are Steve (left) and Darren with PAT equipment and course certificate.