caning the Electrical Trainee

[Guest111]

Over the weekend I was chatting with another forum member and as usual the Electrical Trainee cropped up,the more I look at the situation the more I feel sorry for a lot of these lads.Years ago we had quite a few of what we called "home growns",these were people who worked alongside a trained electrician in a large factory for many years and ended up as good as the guy with the certificates but didn't have them as they'd not been to college.They were often classed as electricians in the place they worked but outside were little more than mates,these people are the type who would benefit from the short course just to get that bit of paper as they already had a good working knowledge and decent skill level.We now move on several years and a recession hits,people in their thousands start losing their jobs,often men with families to feed and mortgages to pay,already desperate and driven to despair they see an advert in the national press "become an electrician in 5 weeks and earn over 30k a year" .Suddenly salvation,a chance to drive away the impending bailiffs and put decent food on the table,hold your head up again,be proud be the breadwinner once more.So off he goes to the training centre and after parting with the last of his redundancy money he starts the course,it's all rosey,nice clean working conditions and everything as it should be,no crossed circuits or dodgy earths,everything he's shown complies with the latest regs,finally he sits his exam and proudly clutching his worthless certificate it's out into the big bad world and suddenly things aren't as friendly or easy as they were when he was at the training centre.Work is hard to find,suddenly the 30k a year prize seems a distant memory,he's spent the last of his money buying a golden promise that has turned to dust,so like a desperate animal hungry and cold he's driven to look further afield to earn his crust,the fortunate ones will find a job in a different field,maybe in a supermarket or somewhere else,the unfortunate will blunder on,often into fields of which they have no clear knowledge or experience,until one day they end up in a whole world of hurt.Now lets not forget who started all this and who are the only ones to achieve the golden prize,yes the training centres and the officials that allow them to flourish,oh yes and those nice people in government.
I'm not defending what goes on,but recently having had a few financial issues myself has made me take a deeper look at things.

 

[UNG]

When you look around it's not only the electrical industry it's not to long ago where training companies were offering HGV/LGV training with an opportunity to £50k a year

Pick up any newspaper and the jobs section is littered with retraining opportunities with the lure of big earnings that are never going to materialise

There seems to be an agenda of promoting a skills shortage then fixing it by utilising short course training which is subsequently endorsed by a competent persons scam that doesn't fully address the perceived problem in the longer term

 

[Slowhand]

I understand all about wanting to provide for your family and being short of money but there is no short cut to becoming an electrician.
An electrician understands what he/she does, the reasons why they do it and the science behind it.
A Electrical Trainee tends to do things " parrot fashion " because its the only way they know.
One of our most important responsibilities is " To prevent Fire and Electric Shock "
I don't see how you can gain that experience and knowledge in 5 weeks.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

I understand all about wanting to provide for your family and being short of money but there is no short cut to becoming an electrician.
An electrician understands what he/she does, the reasons why they do it and the science behind it.
A Electrical Trainee tends to do things " parrot fashion " because its the only way they know.
One of our most important responsibilities is " To prevent Fire and Electric Shock "
I don't see how you can gain that experience and knowledge in 5 weeks.

I dont think Phil was trying to defend the idea of a Electrical Trainee, he's just saying he's looking and thinking about it a bit more.

 

[Guest111]

the point I was making was that it's ok to bash the Electrical Trainee but it's the robbers that run these courses that are the real problem.

 

[jimmymac]

Good post with some good points Phil. Some people seem to forget that the Electrical Trainee's are victims of a large scale con. I agree that they shouldn't have been so naïve to think that 5 weeks is all it takes to become a spark but that's what they're told by a professional con man in a suit so you can see how many of them fall into the trap. The measure of the man (or women) is how long it takes for them to realise that they are not equipped to do the job and they have been conned

 

[Knobhead]

As an EETPU convenor I tried to get two guys made up to “tradesman” status. The local management backed me up. The company wouldn’t countenance it.

It backfired, the two lads went on a work to rule. I had to back them in what they were doing.
There was a good outcome, a bit of a compromise. Neither side would back down, they got another pay grade but it was a case of keep quiet about it.

I’m not the rotten barsteward that some think I am. If I think you show promise I will help, I will not help the ones that come in to my once proud trade thinking its easy money.

I detest the likes of Tradeskills4you. They are leaches, feeding on the blood of the innocent.
They have ruined my beloved trade. An electrician was almost revered in the community, not any more.

I’m just glad I’m retired.

 

[northstar]

the point I was making was that it's ok to bash the Electrical Trainee but it's the robbers that run these courses that are the real problem.

well said Phil d, could not agree with you any more so how do you put a stop to it ?

 

[Slowhand]

the point I was making was that it's ok to bash the Electrical Trainee but it's the robbers that run these courses that are the real problem.

Yes I agree that its the robbers that run the schemes that are the real problem. They promise people neverending work and huge money if they pass the course.

It's not the Electrical Trainee I was having a go at, it was the misinformation given to them that the certificate makes them all knowing and bulletproof.
I just didn't say it clearly enough..

 

[Guest111]

Yes I agree that its the robbers that run the schemes that are the real problem. They promise people neverending work and huge money if they pass the course.

It's not the Electrical Trainee I was having a go at, it was the misinformation given to them that the certificate makes them all knowing and bulletproof.
I just didn't say it clearly enough..

Exactly,I saw that,now we maybe need to educate these poor souls not to waste their money going down this fast track route,save them the heartache and put the robbers out of business.

 

[Jay Sparks]

I agree that the short courses have a place for the people who have had the skills for being an electrician for years but not the bit of paper. But the blame should be shared by the training centres AND the people wanting to do these get rich short courses. They are adults after all and they are not being forced to do them. Just putting the blame on the training centres is like me blaming McDonald's for making me fat! :smilewinkgrin:


Jay

 

[7029 dave]

When you look around it's not only the electrical industry it's not to long ago where training companies were offering HGV/LGV training with an opportunity to £50k a year

Pick up any newspaper and the jobs section is littered with retraining opportunities with the lure of big earnings that are never going to materialise

There seems to be an agenda of promoting a skills shortage then fixing it by utilising short course training which is subsequently endorsed by a competent persons scam that doesn't fully address the perceived problem in the longer term

That is a very good point, I have held an class 1 lgv for over 20years, just passed my medical, because I wanted to keep it going, BUT without the drivers CPC (blue card) which all drivers need now by September this year (dead line) it is worthless.!! Just one BIG scam.

 

[Slowhand]

I agree that the short courses have a place for the people who have had the skills for being an electrician for years but not the bit of paper. But the blame should be shared by the training centres AND the people wanting to do these get rich short courses. They are adults after all and they are not being forced to do them. Just putting the blame on the training centres is like me blaming McDonald's for making me fat! :smilewinkgrin:

Perhaps it might be an idea to start by kicking the Ars*s of the scam providers who are all too rapidly proclaiming themselves as governing bodies of the trade, who welcome Electrical Trainee with open arms, take their money and appoint them "17th edition part P fully qualified electricians"
NIC for example

 

[7029 dave]

Its all money first, skills take back seat, that's not how it used to be.!! The real crux is far too may adults trying to break into the industry, so the training providers are rubbing their hands, and promising the earth, that's how I see it through my narrow glazzies.

 

[Adam W]

Phil if this hypothetical character of yours had the skills and many years of experience to be in a position to benefit from a short course he should have no problem finding work. The people falling foul of these cowboy training centres are those trying to parachute into a new career with no prior knowledge or experience, thinking they're so much better than everyone else that they can condense 3 or 4 years training into a matter of weeks.

Since there's very little regulation the training centres will keep peddling their courses as long as people keep buying them; the MD of Train4TradeSkills has been on here and said that in as many words.
To stop this from happening either the regulation need tightening up or people need to stop buying fast track courses. We can campaign and petition for better regulation, and we can tell people that in most situations a fast track course is not the right option, in a two-pronged attack.

 

[Cbigfoot]

I have the honour of seeing both Electrical Trainee and full apprentices, and the four year served are not always that good either.

However my point is i have just agreed to take on an apprentice whose previous company was unable to keep him due to shortage of work. The colleges course admin person came to me to complete the paperwork and said that they do not think much of any of the short courses in any trade, even though they run them!

 

[R G]

Its only a matter of time when somebody injures or kills themselves or somebody else , and its all down to these so called training centres , you only have to look at some of the past postings on this forum of some of these people fishing for answers to basic safety related issues ..

 

[GLENNSPARK]

fast track 5 week crap is all about Part P....and the scams are in it up to the hilt...

its an out n out lie to tell someone their competent in 5 weeks.....thats mis-selling to me...

i think most in here know exactly what my thoughts are on all this....i`d have them all shut down....

rackets...all of em....

 

[not clever]

Well done phil this is exactly what i was trying to convey to herr rommel the other night, but alas he didnt agree with me.

He might with you though, who knows.

 

[Guest77]

I just typed a big reply for this thread with something I experienced today and it disappeared, won't bother in future the site is flooked