mate i been doing electrical installation for over 25 yrs on and off since my apprenticeship i gave up and thats the reason why i end up doing for nothing as even wehn i was on site in 90s doing new build was wiring upto 5 houses a day for peanuts mate £26 day rate and 35 for 3 bed price for first fix some of the houses we did were 5 bedroom lol
when i starte for them there was 4 of us 2 bosses me and another lad this was after i had given my apprenticeship up at 16 at 18 i returned to it doing new build for a local firm no names mentioned and way things are going may have to ask them for a job again lol
they had 2 sites
2 yrs ltr we were running 22 sites the four of us all over north west
But i always regretted giving the apprenticeship up as testing was ltd Norweb or manweb did the full tests we jsut had to do continuity etc
they powered up testing etc if any faults we would rectify which was only when plumber or chippy etc had damaged
we also did some rewires and large new build nursing homes built by same builders wainhomes
anyway after yrs of doing it for nothing ort next to nothing as wellas any other low paying job i have done i decided when my partner was left disabled to try to get qualifications to set up myself and work from home
I approached the jobcentre over many yrs to get help with training or back to college but always told no training or funding etc and i am now exempt from work as i am a full time carer for the mrs and a part time spark at the moment
then a few yrs back decided i had enugh of working for peanuts and now it was either get qualified and go self employed or become resigned to the fact that as the dole had told us we were exempt from work at the age of late 30s the both of us we dont need to work ever
all good i told them if you like doing nothing all day and never having any money and just surviving off whatever they chucked our way
but we would like some kind of future
so in 2007 my dad passed away and this made me more and more determined to get the quals i needed i approached them agin and still no help so had to pay private for a 6 week wonder course at the princely some of £4020 reduced from £5K + for 2382-10 ,2377, 2393, and logic full and defined scopes levels A.B.C, 6 week theory and practical training on bays and a megger 1552 a ck toolkit the regs and osg as well as a large folder with all course notes etc
anayway at great reluctance i paid the money did the cours epassed enjoyed it with a great set of lads 8 of us took it 1 asian lady dropped out even though she had paid got the megger passd the logic part p competence and exams she failed the 2393 building regs which i read a book for a weekend and got 100% monday morning
so after i had done this course again i approached jobcentre and again no help to start up so after searching the web i found a firm that will help with start up and could get me grants for £2k for start up for tools office equipment anything except a van
I decided to do the 2391 at cost of £540 but got most funded of college and a local skills shop so only had to pay £140 BARGAIN as to get more experience of testing I studied every day for upto and more than 12 hrs a day for 4 months did a 8 week evening course 3 hrs 1 evening a week at bury college and passed first time no experience of testing 3 phase n the real world
then rang the firm who will help with start up to find out the governement had pulled all the funding for the regional development fund from which i was gettng the grants as we live in former coalfield area I anyone would get £1k for start up but as i lived in a former coalfied area i would have got £2k
torys got in cutr the funding and now i have to see if they have different funding
in the meantime 2330 was ending and 2356 so if i was ever to be classed as a fully qualified spark i ahd to get in this course at more cost to us
rang every college within 100mile radius and on last day of registration for 2330 i got a call from warrington college to say there is aplace if i could get ther for 4pm it was 3.30pm and it was rush hour in best of times its 30mins
anyway got there had a chat enrolled paid fee found out as we were on benefits i could get it for £120 yippee some luck got home found out C&G had exteneded even though i had rang them that day and loads of other days and every college who all told me it was ending and the 2356 which i have regisstered for on the 23rd march 2011 at a cost of £780
i went on the 21st aprila s arranged to find outr as C&G had extended that all the lv2 students who had been fast tracked and the ones i was ssupposed to be joining had gone back to lv2 they ahd been fast tracked to sign up for lv3 in time
so this meant no lv3 2330 course for me until sept
next thing i got my £120 fee returned and rang college to be told as it was exteded but new tory ???????were in they had pulled the funding which meant me re enrolloing in sept and possibly paying anywher between £800 and 1600
I was furiuous but reamianed calm rang them asked if i could speak to someone told receptionist if the student support
she got a nice lady from financial dept down explained my situation and that i was a carer and its my last chance as the new 2357 you have to be employed so out the window for me at 40 now 41 yrs of age
she went to speak to her manager who sent her to the director of college and as a result i got to still pay the 3120 so gave her the cheque back and sat in for 4 weeks with the lv2 students why they have had the rest of there lv2 stuff finished properly basically doing nowt apart from getting some lv2 sample papers to do as paractice also for the tutor to see what i know and dont lol
i asked him if t was possible to do the lv2 he said not worth it to me but i said as i dont have it if i need employment in future may come unstuck without it so i asked would it be possible to jsut do the lv2 exams at same time as lv3 exams lol
I am still negotiating this he said it may be possible
mate i would start from lv1 if it meant at the end i got a JIB gold card with approved electricain on it then after 25 yrs + and a lot of struggle to be able to be classed as a electrician and not a 6 week wonder lol as some on here would class me
mate i jsut class Myself as getting there one day or the end of the line whichever comes first
i have spent best aprt of £7k trying so far and still not earned a bean lol this was our savings from always working upto the mrs operation which was private and went wrong
so its do or die now mate
