2394/2396 which courses to do first?

[gigawatt]

As an adult learner formalising his electrical studies I'm used to get regularly mucked about, but am confused by all the changes with the move over to 2394/2395/2396 so could do with some help please.

I was due to do my 2392-10 and then pretty soon after a 2391 course if i passed. have spent the best part of two years getting ready for these two exams so i can knock them out as quickly as possible. But now the new courses have come in, and I haven't been paying attention at the changes due to so many rumours/unsettled plans etc, so would prefer advice as to what course progression I should be looking at now?

Also, have I wasted my time learning material for the 2392 and 2391, obviously some things do not change but with all the amendment changes and course content I am a bit worried. Have I wasted money on all my learning materials for the 2392 and 2391 or should I be looking at any new learnign material to help (does it even exist yet??).

Also any advice on where to do the exams, the structure and how much written/practical content of the qualifications there are would help? Any advice from existing students, potential students, practising sparkies or qualification providers would be appreciated as am not sure at all what to do next?

 

[ringer]

Have you spoken to your local college? I would have thought they will be the best place to get these questions answered. Probably the best place to do the courses and exams as well.

 

[NrVolts]

im almost in the same boat gigawatt . i was advised to do the 2391 but the college i went to had got rid of the guy who was going to do it.got my 2330 ok .i hope this thread turns something up as i too dont know which course to do 2394/2395 or 2396.

 

[Richard Burns]

As ringer says the best place to ask is at the college providing your training.

City and Guilds is changing the 2392, 2391-10 and 2391-20 courses to the 2394/5/6 courses from January 2011, these course will be based on AMD1 of BS7671. The earlier courses are no longer open to registration (I think) but booked courses can be taken until June 2012.
Effectively the 2392 course is now called 2394 - Inital verification
the 2391-10 course is now called 2395 - Periodic Inspection
the 2391-20 couse is now called 2396 - Design

These are links to the course handbooks provided by C&G that details the requirements for the qualifications:
http://www.cityandguilds.com/documents/2394-L3A-IVC-Electrical-Installations-QHB-v02.pdf
http://www.cityandguilds.com/documents/2395-L3A-PITC-Electrical-Installations-QHB-v1.0.pdf
http://www.cityandguilds.com/documents/2396-L4A-DV-Electrical-Installations-QHB-v1.0.pdf

The key change is that 2391-20 was level 3 and the 2396 is level 4.

I have not checked in detail on the comparative course content but I would suggest that the learning that you have done for 2392 and 2391-10 would be directly transferable to apply to the new qualifications, with the proviso that details of the changes introduced by AMD1 would need to be addressed.

Obviously the BS7671 AMD1 2011 is available now. The on site guide (green) is also available now.
Guidance note 2 - Isolation and switching is available in January
Guidance note 8 - Earthing and bonding is available in February
Guidance note 3 - Inspection and testing is available in April
Guidance notes 1,4,5,6,7 should be available very soon.

 

[SirKit Breaker]

I am a C&G course tutor, and deliver all the short electrical courses. If you have registered for the 2391, dont worry about it, you are still OK to go ahead and do it. It is still open for registrations, and will close in about July 2013. If you pass both parts of the 2391 then all well and good, the problems will arise if you dont pass both parts before July 2013 as the credits will not be recognised and you will not get the qualification. The 2394 and 2395 are open for registrations from January, these are on the Qualification Credit Framework, this means that each part of the course gives you credits, if you do a search on my posts you will see it explained fully. 2396 is a different beast, dont worry about it.

Cheers............Howard

 

[benyspark]

hi sirkit breaker have just passed my 2391-20 does this mean it was a waste of time and now i need to do the 2396

 

[SirKit Breaker]

hi sirkit breaker have just passed my 2391-20 does this mean it was a waste of time and now i need to do the 2396

Congrats and well done with the 2391. No you have not wasted your time. 2394 and 2395 are replacing the 2391 because the 2391 is not part of the QCF (Qualification Credit Framework). I wont go into great detail, but if you have a search i have written many posts about it. 2396 is a new qualification and is level 4 not level 3 as the 2391,4 and 5 are.

City and Guilds are aligning all their courses with the QCF system. This means they will have their course numbers etc changed or altered.

The new 2394 and 5 are basically the same as 2391, so you did the right thing by doing the 2391 before it ends, and did 2 assessments instead of 5 under the new regime, and probably saved yourself a lot of money into the bargain.

Cheers............Howard

 

[benyspark]

ok cheers howard just thinking that its getting expensive keeping on top of all these exams but im made up i passed the design course took allot of revising to get through it tho but found it really interesting

 

[oracle]

Gig, 2392 is a level 2 qualification in fundamental inspection and testing. It is good starting point if you have no experience in inspection and testing.
2394 is a level 3 qualification and equips you to inspect and test new 3 phase and single phase installations and issue an electrical installation certificate.
2395 is a level 3 qualification and equips you to inspect, test and issue an electrical installation condition report (sort of MOT for an installation)
2396 is a level 4 qualification and equips you to design any installation from the ground up and provide a set of drawings for the installation.

Good luck and go for it, each qualification will increase you job/work prospects and pay!

 

[Robert Turnbull]

I know this is an old post, but I am looking to do my testing, was going to do 2394/2395, but i have just seen the 2396.

If i possible to do the 2396 and skip 94/95, I need a formal testing qualification, but I have spent the last 3 years doing EICRs
on a daily basis so am fairly well experienced in testing, also I feel learning the design stuff would be more beneficial for me for the future as I tender for bigger jobs and have to product drawings etc...

Thanks

 

[Leesparkykent]

If it was my money id be doing 2394/2395 first if I was you.

 

[Robert Turnbull]

It is my money, Realistically i'm only every going to do this once, if I do a 94/95 I'm not going to do a 96 in the future.

So as it is my money I want to get my moneys worth if you like and having spent lots of time doing ECIR and attending workshops with NICEIC and lots of one to one days with NIC on site I feel i don't have that just to gain apart from some theory and a piece of paper.

 

[Leesparkykent]

It is my money, Realistically i'm only every going to do this once, if I do a 94/95 I'm not going to do a 96 in the future.

So as it is my money I want to get my moneys worth if you like and having spent lots of time doing ECIR and attending workshops with NICEIC and lots of one to one days with NIC on site I feel i don't have that just to gain apart from some theory and a piece of paper.

But you said you wanted to gain a formal testing qualification.....

 

[AndyL]

I know this is an old post, but I am looking to do my testing, was going to do 2394/2395, but i have just seen the 2396.

If i possible to do the 2396 and skip 94/95, I need a formal testing qualification, but I have spent the last 3 years doing EICRs
on a daily basis so am fairly well experienced in testing, also I feel learning the design stuff would be more beneficial for me for the future as I tender for bigger jobs and have to product drawings etc...

Thanks

They are totally different qualifications, 2394/95 is about inspection and testing, whereas the 2396 is a design qualification. So you dont have to do one before the other, really depends on the route your career is more likely to take I would suggest.
However the City and Guilds handbook for the 2396 does STRONGLY recommend that you complete the 2394 and 2395 before attempting the 2396

 

[Robert Turnbull]

signed up for a 94/95