PAT Testing Course Manchester (1 Day)

Course overview

Portable appliances quietly keep a Manchester working day moving — the extension leads powering a Trafford Park unit, the laptops and chargers stacked on a Spinningfields desk, the drills and site tools loaded into a van before dawn. Someone has to be sure every one of them is safe to switch on, and more and more that job lands with people who were never trained as electricians: facilities staff, caretakers, landlords, event crews, and small-business owners who simply need portable appliances checked and signed off properly. Our one-day PAT Testing Course in Manchester is built for exactly that. It takes you from no prior electrical knowledge to competently inspecting and testing portable appliances in a single day, with real machines in your hands by the afternoon.

The course is run by Skills Training Group and backed by more than 1,000 five-star Trustpilot reviews. It is a hands-on, in-person day held right here in the city at our Cheetham Hill venue — not an online module or a video you work through alone. You spend the morning building the underpinning theory and the afternoon actually testing appliances on professional PAT equipment, so you leave able to do the job for real rather than just describe it.

Venue

The Manchester PAT Testing Course is delivered at:

3 Irish Town Way, Cheetham Hill, Manchester M8 0AE

Cheetham Hill sits just north of the city centre, which keeps the venue straightforward to reach whether you are coming in from central Manchester or travelling across from the wider Greater Manchester boroughs such as Salford, Bury, Bolton, Oldham, Stockport, or Trafford. The venue is accessible both by car and by public transport. We send full joining instructions when you book, and if you are unsure of the best way in on the day, our team is happy to point you in the right direction.

What you will learn

The day is split into a theory-focused morning and a practical, hands-on afternoon, so what you learn and what you do build on each other rather than being taught in isolation.

Morning — the theory:

• Why portable appliance testing matters, and what UK law and the HSE actually expect of you
• The current IET Code of Practice for the in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment
• The different classes of electrical appliance, and how the class affects the way each item is tested
• How to carry out a proper visual inspection and recognise the common faults that PAT testing is designed to catch
• How to set sensible re-test intervals for different appliances and working environments

Afternoon — the practical:

• Getting hands-on with professional PAT testing machines under the guidance of an experienced tutor
• Working through real appliances, running the correct tests, and understanding what each test is checking
• Interpreting your results and deciding, with confidence, whether an item passes or fails
• Recording your findings correctly and keeping the documentation that demonstrates compliance

Because the class is taught in person and in small groups, you can ask your tutor about the specific appliances and situations you deal with day to day — whether that is a portfolio of rented flats in Salford, a fleet of site tools, the IT kit across a Manchester office, or the equipment behind an events business. You leave not only understanding the theory but having physically tested appliances yourself.

Duration

The PAT Testing Course is a single day, running from 9am to 4pm. One day out of your diary is all it takes to go from a standing start to being able to carry out portable appliance testing competently. Tea and coffee are provided throughout the day, and all the testing equipment you need is supplied, so there is nothing to bring with you. Please note that lunch is not included, but there is plenty within easy reach in Cheetham Hill and the surrounding area if you want to pop out at the break.

Entry requirements

This course is genuinely open to everyone. You do not need any previous electrical knowledge or experience to attend — it is designed to take complete beginners through to competence, while still being useful for those who already have some hands-on background and want to formalise their skills. The only requirement is that you are aged 18 or over. Whether you are a caretaker, a landlord, a facilities manager, a maintenance operative, a sole trader, or someone whose employer has simply asked them to bring PAT testing in-house, this course will get you there.

PAT Testing Certification

There is no written exam. Assessment is practical and ongoing, so your tutor observes and guides you as you work through the testing during the afternoon rather than sitting you down for a formal paper. This suits people who learn by doing and takes the pressure off if exams are not your thing. On successful completion of the day, you are awarded the Skills Training Group PAT Testing Certificate, which shows you have been trained to inspect and test portable appliances in line with current guidance.

For many Manchester businesses and landlords, having a trained member of staff who can carry out PAT testing in-house is far more practical — and more cost-effective over time — than calling in an external contractor every time equipment needs checking. Complete this course and that capability sits within your own team.

The Manchester PAT Testing Course costs £195 + VAT per person. That covers the full day of tutor-led training, use of professional PAT testing equipment, tea and coffee, and your certificate on successful completion. To book, choose an available date, reserve your place online, and we will send your joining instructions for the Cheetham Hill venue. If you are arranging training for several members of staff, or want to check the next available date, get in touch and our team will be glad to help.