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Don’t get taken for a ride by electrical ‘Rogue Trainers’ urges industry body TESP Rogue Trainers campai - EletriciansForums.net


Want to become a qualified electrician? Look carefully at the training courses on offer to avoid wasting time and money, is the advice in a new campaign from electrical industry body The Electrotechnical Skills Partnership (TESP).

With thousands of searches each year on terms such as ‘electrical courses’ and ‘how to become an electrician’, many people are at risk of taking the wrong training path if they’re not aware of the correct routes they should follow.

Alongside the many training providers who are doing the right thing and offering industry-recognised qualifications, there are unfortunately some training providers – dubbed by TESP as ‘Rogue Trainers’ – who don’t deliver on their promises, presenting a range of courses which look impressive to the untrained eye, but on proper inspection don’t lead to qualified status.

Don’t get taken for a ride by electrical ‘Rogue Trainers’ urges industry body {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net Click to view video

In a short, animated video from TESP, an unsuspecting victim is drawn into a house of horrors by false claims which turn out not to be all they seem.

The advice to those wanting to become an electrician is look carefully at what’s on offer and be aware of red flags like hard sells, payment plans, and qualification packages which aren’t recognised by industry.

Full advice is available at www.roguetrainers.co.uk with top tips for choosing a training provider, along with warning signs to look out for when researching a provider’s claims. Visitors are signposted to TESP’s industry approved Training Routes to read more on the right paths to follow to become qualified.

“There are still too many reports of people spending thousands of pounds with companies who wilfully misrepresent where their training leads,” said Ruth Devine, TESP Chair and Managing Director of SJD Electrical. “Some providers use high-pressure sales techniques to trap learners with a large financial commitment, but devious contract terms mean there’s no realistic prospect of achieving the qualification.”

“When so many training providers jump through hoops to do things properly and engage responsibly with industry and employers, it’s important that potential learners are aware of the pitfalls.

“We hope to raise awareness of this campaign to the general public and help those who may fall foul of rogue trainers when looking to become an electrician.”

Watch the video and find out more about the campaign.

Don’t get taken for a ride by electrical ‘Rogue Trainers’ urges industry body {filename} | ElectriciansForums.net Click to view video
 
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True but you can bet your --- they won't be testing those on the books against that new benchmark for fairness, it'd lose them members and money so not a great benchmark but if they did look to do this I'd think better of them.
Having never been assessed, I'm far from an expert, but my understanding is that the entry requirements have changed, while the annual assessment has remained the same. Is that not the case?
 
That was true until very recently, but not since the 1st September 2021
Well yeah but the point is they're just an awarding body. Even if their entry requirement was stricter than strict it's irrelevant since you don't have to be a member to be a practising electrician. Only when scheme adherence is MANDATORY to practice the trade do said scheme's requirements become the benchmark for 'fully qualified'.
 
Well yeah but the point is they're just an awarding body. Even if their entry requirement was stricter than strict it's irrelevant since you don't have to be a member to be a practising electrician. Only when scheme adherence is MANDATORY to practice the trade do said scheme's requirements become the benchmark for 'fully qualified'.
No to mention the scams only cover domestic in regards to building control

I could walk onto any site tomorrow and start work on a 415v 3 phase panel and there is no mandatory minimum qual required for me to do this work and certainly no scam required either
 
Being a CPS member does NOT guarantee Competence.
Being a qualified brain surgeon does NOT guarantee Competence. Yeh so thats the case throughout the whole Kingdom. Being an MP, well need I say more. Being a qualified past the bar lawyer, again need I say more. And so on ad infinitium there is no professional area that does not have it's wronguns and crap workers. So the system is endemically all snafu? Yeh but there is emerging some kind of standard. And if a newcomer read the foregoing he could be forgiven for beleiving there is no way to become a qualifed electrician and there is! Read the above one and all. I give up with Camo he just does not want to believe what is in black and white. I could set up as a brain surgeon. The take away here is that there is a proscribed route to being a spark it is not all confusion and chaos.
 
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Being a qualified brain surgeon does NOT guarantee Competence. Yeh so thats the case throughout the whole Kingdom. Being an MP, well need I say more. Being a qualified past the bar lawyer, again need I say more. And so on ad infinitium there is no professional area that does not have it's wronguns and crap workers. So the system is endemically all snafu? Yeh but there is emerging some kind of standard. And if a newcomer read the foregoing he could be forgiven for beleiving there is no way to become a qualifed electrician and there is! Read the above one and all. I give up with Camo he just does not want to beleive what is in black and white. I could set up as a brain surgeon. The take away here is that there is a proscribed route to being a spark it is not all confusion and chaos.
Black and white?

There is a multitude of qualifications, all of which you can either possess or not possess in any combination, and you don't need any of them to legally carry out work of any kind. You only actually 'need' a JIB gold card because employers ask for it, it's not a legal requirement at all and some sites will let people on without them. Competent persons schemes have no weight in law, they're not legal entities, possess no legislative power or otherwise and basically cropped up to position themselves as 'standard' with zero backing from law or statute of any kind meaning they can be simply ignored. They are irrelevant because they're given no power or authority by the actual authorities.

There is no such thing as 'fully qualified' in this country. If you think there is you're simply wrong and that's the end of it. Until there is a qualification which allows only those who possess it to carry out electrical work unsupervised then there is no such thing. That's all there is to it.

As for your brain surgeon comment, it's laughable for several reasons that are obvious to everyone except apparently you. For one yes it does guarantee competence because you have to prove competence to the General Medical Council to become one, which you cannot do without very specific degrees and training. For two no you couldn't just 'set up' as one, don't be ridiculous.
 
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Sorry but forgot to mention the OP. Yes I think it is a great thing you are doing highlighting unscrupulous purveyors of electrical courses and exposing them??? But someone needs to do that and maybe we got a bit off topic and you probably feel you had your fingers bitten off in trying to share what is a noble effort. This forum has so many stories of people who have been ripped off and disappointed on these courses preying on genuinely interested and motivated people. I personally wholly endorse what you are doing.
 
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All well and good when installations go right, it's when they go wrong and someone gets hurt or worst that the legal side will utilise the 'recommended or industry standards' to measure you by.
Whatever form they take.
 
"Importantly, the routes clearly stress that becoming a fully qualified electrician can only be achieved with valid on-site work experience, as opposed to courses that offer no ‘real world’ practical skills."

There is no standard, body, qualification or overseeing authority that defines 'fully qualified'. In short, there's no such thing.
I thought I was a member her but it’s been so long that I could not find any trace...

I rejoined/joined because of this post.

I saw talk of this on Twitter, I have to say I 100% agree with you.

‘Companies’ like these guys set up, they endorse their mates in the JIB, ECA, NIC, et-al That bunch of leaches then endorse them back and the incestuous circle starts again.

Boils my blood! Can you tell.

Qualified electrician - meaningless let alone ‘Fully’ qualified. No one is ever fully qualified in this field!

Electrical ‘training’ - meaningless

Approved electrician? Really? Approved be a private company with no Legal standing.

Absolute joke.

This lot will be no differant than all that come before them. Wait for the call for the paper in your wallet to be ‘approved’ by another private company.
 
The closest thing to 'qualified' in todays market is an up to date NVQ3 ?

But as you say the term 'qualified' in the electrical industry means nothing as it there is no formal one size fits all qualification

Its not like a driving test where you pass and then are qualified to drive , the electrical trade has never ever had such a universal standard I dissagree Mate it did when I were a Lad 5 years apprenticeship , indentures at the end of 5 years, nothing more to say. except 6 months trial before signing your indentures and 6 months improving afterward oh and yer cards so you could go and get a job somewhere else. kids today have it so easy.
 

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