VEFK is a German abbreviation for "Verantwortliche Elektrofachkraft". There is no really comparable role in other countries so there is no english term. Some German standards refer to "Responsible Skilled Electrical Person" in the English translation.

The VEFK assumes responsibility for the electrical systems in a company and guarantees that these systems are operated in a legally compliant manner on behalf of the company. This does not mean that the VEFK operates the systems itself, but rather uses specialist knowledge and expertise to determine how safe work is carried out. Some of these are simple tasks, such as setting inspection intervals for electrical devices. But there are also complex tasks, such as risk assessments for complex systems.

A prerequisite for success is knowledge of the company and its electricians. These are the people who maintain the electrical systems but do not usually operate them. The VEFK works closely with them and instructs them in the safe use of electrical technology. Due to its position, the VEFK has the authority to give technical instructions. This means that the VEFK determines how the work is to be carried out, but not who carries it out. However, it also determines who is allowed to carry out the tasks in the first place. The decision is based on the qualifications of the respective employee and is usually set out in qualification plans. The qualification plan shows which training an employee has had and which is required to carry out certain tasks.

A VEFK is not necessarily required by the businessmanagement. In larger companies, there are also VEFKs for sub-areas. In any case, the VEFK is only responsible to the person who himself is in charge of the area of responsibility ("the boss"). In very large companies, there are different levels of VEFK. For example, a "simple" VEFK who is responsible for a sub-area (e.g. component production), a departmental VEFK who is responsible for a main area (e.g. production) and an overall VEFK who is responsible for the entire company.