Electricity Sector

Process Flow
Electricity Sector

Background

Any contractor that provide electrical works (internal wiring) services in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, must
obtain their license from either the Abu Dhabi Distribution Company (ADDC) or Al Ain Distribution
Company (AADC).

A document named ‘Process for Approval of Licensed Contractors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’,
prepared by RSB and handed to both distribution companies, was created and outlines all the general
and specific requirements, paperwork and instructions required. Once a contractor fulfills the
requirements, they would submit both a hard and soft copy of the above mentioned requirements to
the distribution companies.

After then, all the contractors’ staff would take an exam held at the distribution company to assess the
contractor’s staff’s competencies. After passing all the exams, the contractor is eligible to obtain their
license to work.

The license is valid for 1 year.

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Process Overview

Figure 1.0 “Internal Wiring Installation Process Flowchart”

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Process Breakdown
Part A) Request

A contractor, new or old, will approach QCC for application and/or process information since ADDC has
stopped accepting any questions and direct all contractors to QCC.

To begin with, the contractor must be classified depending on the service they provide (Referred to as
‘ADDC Classification’). The breakdown is as stated in Annex 1 in the ‘Process for Approval of Licensed
Contractors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’ document and as shown in the table below:

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 Table 1.0 “Contractor Categories – Minimum number required”

Note: As for the ‘Health and Safety Officer’ take note that it changes depending on the assigned
category. There is no exam, once the contractor provides the necessary documents, a certificate of
conformity is then issued.

Category 1 & 2
Minimum Requirements:

 Qualification: Bachelor of Engineering, or Diploma of Engineering, or equivalent

 Experience: Minimum three years’ HSE experience for Bachelor degrees and Minimum five
years’ HSE experience for Diploma degrees
 Professional HSE Training: OSHAD Approved Practitioner
 Legally work under the company sponsorship with job title match with competency
requirements

Category 3 to 5

 Approved Engineer, Assistant Engineer, or Supervisor with the following requirements

 Professional HSE Training:
- IOSH Managing Safety/IOSH Working Safety
- First Aid including CPR training
 Legally work under the company sponsorship with job title match with competency
requirements

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 Staff Education Qualification Equivalency Years of Experience

 B.Sc. Electrical 7 Years

Engineering or
Senior Engineer equivalent Required or
Engineering Degree 5 years of UAE Practical
 QCC Certificate experience in Electrical
Installation work

 B.Sc. Electrical 4 Years

Engineering or
Engineer equivalent Required or
Engineering Degree 2 years of UAE Practical
 QCC Certificate experience in Electrical
Installation work

 Electrical Engineering 5 Years

Diploma or equivalent
Assistant Engineer
qualification
 QCC Certificate
or
Required
2 years of UAE Practical
experience in Electrical
Installation work

 Electrical Engineering
Diploma or equivalent
Technical Supervisor Required 4 years
qualification
 QCC Certificate

 Electrical Industrial
certificate or High
Electrician Required 4 years
School certificate
 QCC Certificate

Assistant Electrician  QCC Certificate X X

Table 2.0 “Education Qualification & Years of Experience Requirements”

Note: No education qualification and years of experience is required for the Assistant – Electrician.
However, if any of these staff do have education qualification and years of experience (with or without
equivalency), tell the contractor to include them in the final company submission. QCC certificate will be
issued once the employee passes the assessment conducted in one of the registered centers.

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Part B I) Classification

Soon after the process is explained, the contractor must then proceed to the Department of Urban
Planning & Municipalities (DUPM) to register and get their company classified. An example of this is
shown below:

Figure 2.0 “Municipality Classification Certificate Example”

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Part B II) Assessment

The following occupations are part of the internal wiring installation works:

1. Senior Engineer
2. Engineer
3. Assistant Engineer
4. Technical Supervisor
5. Electrician
6. Trade Assistant – Electrician

As of December 5th 2017, there are 4 assessment centers offering assessment services and they are as
follows:

1. Know How For Management Consulting & Training L.L.C.

2. International Centre for Training & Development (ICTD)
3. Aspiring Minds
4. Middle East for Economic & Managerial Development L.L.C. (EcoMan)

The exams for each occupation follow the same formula as other personnel conformity schemes (i.e. the
exam has Theoretical & Practical sections). The theoretical exam consists of 20 multiple choice pictorial
questions and the practical is dependent on the occupation. For example, the ‘Electrician’ occupation
practical exam will require the candidate to construct and show his/her knowledge and understanding in
circuits and relevant equipment.

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Part C) Certification

All assessment centers are required to share the results of the assessment to QCC for verification (5
working days after the exam date). QCC is then to reply back within 3 working days if the exam results
are correct/valid. All assessment centers exam submissions must include the following:

1. Cover page summary: Detailing all the grades along with the assessors notes and remarks.
2. (Optional): Detailed Breakdown of the results along with detailed grading criteria.
3. Scanned copy of the marked exam
4. Picture of the completed practical exam (if applicable)

A contractor is then asked to contact certificate@qcc.abudhabi.ae in order to issue the certificate and
document of conformity.

Furthermore, each candidate can attempt to redo an exam 3 times. Upon failing for a third time, QCC
will take note of this candidate and “ban” him. In other words, QCC will notify all the assessment centers
not to accept this candidate for any examination for the next 6 months. QCC is to then advise the
candidate to return back to the workforce and receive further training and only return for assessment
after the 6 month period is completed.

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Part D) Company Registration

After issuing all the certificates and documents of conformity for the contractor, it is at this point that
QCC asks for the company file submission. This was previously given to ADDC in both a printed version
and on a CD/USB. All the required documents can be found in the Annex 1 in the ‘Process for Approval
of Licensed Contractors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi’ and is as follows:

 General Requirements

The Contractor must satisfy the following requirements for a Competency License:

a) The Contractor must have:

i) A valid commercial license issued by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic
Development (or other relevant department)
ii) Current Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry membership

b) The Technical staff to be named in the Contractor’s Competency License Application must have
received certificate of conformity from QCC.
c) The Job title mentioned in the residence visas of each of the technical staff to be named in the
Contractor’s Competency License Application must be similar or suitable to the relevant
technical staff job title listed for the relevant category of competency license. (See Table 1.0
“Contractor Categories – Minimum number required)
d) For all categories, all technical staff to be named in the contractor’s competency license
application must hold a valid residence visa issued in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi and such staff
must be under the sponsorship of the contractor (i.e. NO borrowed from other
companies/parent company/sister company/Under same umbrella company/staff within
company. There are NO exceptions, all staff MUST be under the sponsorship of the contractor).
e) The Contractor must ensure that its technical staff to be named in the Contractor’s Competency
license application matches the technical staff requirements for the category of competency
license to be applied for.
f) The contractor must pay the required fee for the appropriate category of competency license as
set out in Annex 2 in the ‘Process for Approval of Licensed Contractors in the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi’.

 Required Documents

This will be what the contractor submits to QCC after the issuance of the certificates of conformity.

a) Copy of sponsor’s or national partner’s passport

b) Copy of valid Municipality, Department of Economic Development License.
c) Copy of valid Membership Certificate of Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and industry
d) Copy of a valid office lease contract in the name of the contractor
e) Copy of a valid Engineer’s registration certificate (Electricity Wiring Regulation Course E1)
f) For each technical staff member named in the application:

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 I. A copy of passport and valid Abu Dhabi residence visa page showing sponsorship of the
contractor
II. Experience record or curriculum vitae along with references
g) A copy of the Notarized Power of Attorney for the Contractor’s authorized signatory.
h) A copy of the Notarized Power of Attorney for the Registered Engineer’s authorized
signatory.

Note: Refer to the Annex 1 in the ‘Process for Approval of Licensed Contractors in the Emirate of Abu
Dhabi’ for renewal of license applications (Important: Remember to make them include section 4.4.5)

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Part E) ADDC License

As of December 5th 2017, AADC have not 100% converted to QCC as ADDC. In other words, AADC are still
on the previous process (Test at their premises, they do interviews, they will not accept QCC Certificate
as the only requirement, etc …)

Hence, the following is only applicable to ADDC (Until AADC follows up):

1. QCC will check the below table and give the contractor a copy to present to ADDC if required

Document Checked by QCC

Copy of sponsor’s or national partner’s passport.

Copy of a valid Municipality, Department of Economic Development

licence.

Copy of a valid Membership Certificate of Abu Dhabi Chamber of

Commerce and Industry

Copy of a valid office lease contract in the name of the Contractor

Copy of a valid Engineer’s Registration Certificate (Electricity Wiring

Regulation Course E1) for the person named as such in the
application

For each technical staff member named in the application:

(i) a copy of passport and a valid Abu Dhabi residence visa page
showing sponsorship of the Contractor; and

(ii) experience record or curriculum vitae along with references.

A copy of the notarised Power of Attorney for the Contractor’s

authorised signatory

A copy of the notarised Power of Attorney for the Registered

Engineer’s authorised signatory
Table 5.0 “Contractor Document Submission Checklist”

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2. Final Result:

After the contractor pays the ADDC license fees (depending on their category), they will receive the
competency license.

Example of the license:

Figure 4.0 “ADDC License Example

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