Advice on going self employed as a new electrician

[Muzza]

Hi guys I'm new to this, I was told this is the best place to get advice.
im currently studying as a domestic electrician with ATL, ive got about 4/5 months left before I get my part p full scope and 17th edition. and ive done my research and realised that no electrician/firm will hire me as i don't have much experience, so I have no choice but to work for myself only doing small jobs at first like lights and sockets etc.. until I get more confidence and experience. now this is where I need the advice, is there anything i need to do before I can do this?? and how can I get my JIB gold card if working for myself??

any help is much appreciated thanks

 

[Fin170]

You'll have to contact the JIB about what they want for the Gold card (90% sure they make it up as they go along) but I think it's the NVQ, site visits and evidence of the work you've done (which has to includes bits of about everything)

You might get some work off some larger firms as an electrical labourer

 

[PEG]

Hi muzza,i hope i can post in time,to prevent the stool-storm that will certainly be heading this way....Please have a search first,on this site,regarding questions of this nature.
You may then be able to re-phrase your post,and have a better chance of a constructive response. Regards peg :icon12:

 

[Guest77]

Hi guys I'm new to this, I was told this is the best place to get advice.
im currently studying as a domestic electrician with ATL, ive got about 4/5 months left before I get my part p full scope and 17th edition. and ive done my research and realised that no electrician/firm will hire me as i don't have much experience, so I have no choice but to work for myself only doing small jobs at first like lights and sockets etc.. until I get more confidence and experience. now this is where I need the advice, is there anything i need to do before I can do this?? and how can I get my JIB gold card if working for myself??

any help is much appreciated thanks

I don't think you will have any problems getting a basic gold card, the problem you will probably encounter is competance due to lack of training, I recommend you try to find a job sub contracting as a mate for a couple of years and then start thinking about carrying out work to BS7671 alone, good luck.

 

[Anthony S]

Genuine question: do you actually get out on site with another electrician as part of the ATL studying ?

 

[amlu]

go work as a mate, get some experience before you go out on your own.
there is plenty of practical things that they do not teach in the college.

 

[Muzza]

thanks for all the help guys. and no you don't mate,you pretty much get all your practical at the centre 5 weeks of it.

 

[GMES]

As others have said, don't get fooled into going self employed straight away,don't run before you walk.
Start contacting firms and sole traders and get a few years on site experience under you belt, you just have to be prepared to work hard, study and get some proper tuition from an experienced electrician, it will make you a better electrician in the long run.

 

[Muzza]

well that's what I originally wanted to do but its next to impossible trying to become a mate in my area spent the past 8 months applying for jobs and still having no luck. and the electricians who do get back to me say I need more experience but I cant get experience unless I become a mate its like around about

 

[test electrical]

Two years as a mate one as a improver and then go for the 2394/5 and then think again in the mean time do some foreigners at least you have someone at work to call if it goes ---- up and it will.Its easy when it new and done right in the first place I get phone calls all the time from good sparks ten years plus and am no stranger from getting stuck. You learn every day at this game and no one knows it all, so take your time and good luck.

 

[Guest125]

Two years as a mate one as a improver and then go for the 2394/5 and then think again in the mean time do some foreigners at least you have someone at work to call if it goes ---- up and it will.Its easy when it new and done right in the first place I get phone calls all the time from good sparks ten years plus and am no stranger from getting stuck. You learn every day at this game and no one knows it all, so take your time and good luck.

Great advice well put.

 

[Engineer54]

Hi guys I'm new to this, I was told this is the best place to get advice.
im currently studying as a domestic electrician with ATL, ive got about 4/5 months left before I get my part p full scope and 17th edition. and ive done my research and realised that no electrician/firm will hire me as i don't have much experience, so I have no choice but to work for myself only doing small jobs at first like lights and sockets etc.. until I get more confidence and experience. now this is where I need the advice, is there anything i need to do before I can do this?? and how can I get my JIB gold card if working for myself??

any help is much appreciated thanks

So what actual qualifications do you expect to gain at the end of this ATL course?? i ask because there is no such thing as a full scope qualification, and you don't need or require a Part P qualification....

I take it you are talking about one of these distance learning courses ATL run??

Going by your above post, you have already made up your mind to start trading as a sole trader, probably to regain some of the costs this course has cost you. I suppose it's a bit late to advise you to go down the local college training route, where you would have gained recognised real and meaningful trade qualifications...

 

[Risteard]

I don't think you will have any problems getting a basic gold card

I can guarantee that he will have problems getting a Gold Card.

 

[trev]

Anyway, back to the question.
Marketing! You can be the best spark in the world, you can give the best customer service at an unbeatable price but if no one knows you're there you're sitting at home waiting for a phone call.

 

[sparksburnout]

Hi Muzza. What qualifications does this "training as a domestic electrician" lead to, exactly, and what is a "part P" course? did you come from an electrical or practical background?

 

[Guest77]

I can guarantee that he will have problems getting a Gold Card.

He can get a gold card with the grade of "Electricians mate" written on it fella, if you are suggesting he will not get a gold card with the grade "electrician" written on it then you are probably correct. That is why I posted basic gold card in my reply to the guy.

 

[Fin170]

'Basic gold card' is a JIB ECS card which gets graded as labourer, trainee, apprentice or other bs term such as 'ancillary operative' like I ended up with (which is white).

JIB were incredibly rude and unhelpful when I talked to them about upgrading it, told it would be £1500 and take a year to get (probably more than that due to nobody would be able to get on for site visits). Lucky for me my employer (until recent) paid me on merit instead of middle men box ticking

 

[Muzza]

all the qualifications I get at the end of my ATL course are - C&G 2357 (NVQ 3), C&G 2377 (inspection n testing), 17th edition and full scope part p. as ive said im only taking baby steps atm cause I cant afford to pack in my day job, but I want to see a return on some of the money ive invested in the course this year. and for the past year ive been looking for work as a mate but nothing available in my area, ive even tried to work voluntary but still no luck.

 

[spark 68]

all the qualifications I get at the end of my ATL course are - C&G 2357 (NVQ 3), C&G 2377 (inspection n testing), 17th edition and full scope part p. .

That in bold is not really a I&T as such exam, in that it is the In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, formerly known as PAT, so really a PAT testing qualification, not really much good for site work/Mate, the less said about the Part P one the better.

Not your fault really, but the marketing people from the training centres.

 

[Risteard]

He can get a gold card with the grade of "Electricians mate" written on it fella

You cannot get a Gold Card without being awarded a Skilled Grade, i.e. Electrician, Approved Electrician or Technician. That is why the card is gold.