Rules, certificates and the trade committee

The glaziers trade is not an authorised trade in the same way as electrical and plumbing — you do not need a personal state authorisation to work as a glazier. But there are still a number of rules and certifications that govern what you are allowed to do and how work must be carried out safely and legally.

Certain work tasks require that you have completed a mandatory course before you are allowed to perform them. In glazier training you typically get several of these certificates along the way because they naturally belong to the work.

• 01Setup and use of scaffolding — requirement when working at height
• 02Work with epoxy and isocyanates — requirement for certain adhesives, sealants and surfaces
• 03First aid — so you can act if a colleague is injured
• 04Basic fire fighting — so you can intervene at small fires.

For a company to have you as an apprentice, it must be approved to do so. The approval is given by the trade's professional committee, which checks that the company can offer you the tasks and environment you need to learn the trade. It is a quality assurance so you as an apprentice actually encounter the breadth of the trade.

Behind the Education Stands the Glass Master Trade's Professional Committee, Where Employers and Employees Sit Together. The Committee Sets the Education's Goals, Approves Training Companies and Keeps the Content Updated as the Trade and Materials Develop. It is Also Where the Journeyman Exam and Its Requirements are Anchored.

Although you do not need personal authorisation glasswork is surrounded by building regulations and standards — for example requirements for safety glass in exposed panes energy panes and installation. Part of your trade is knowing these requirements so what you put up is both legal and lasts many years.