i am thinking about starting an electrician course

[ektoras]

i am thinking about starting an electrician course i live i plymouth
need some advise please... which places have got a good reputation
for people with no experience etc thanks luca

 

[ipf]

Well, status quo, I suppose... down, down, deeper and down.

 

[Thomas123]

Sounds like yet another Lamb to the slaughter!!


Make you wonder what sort of mentality these people have, if they honestly think they can become an electrician in 17 days/5 weeks!!! God help us all!!!

after 17 days i could barely terminate a socket, let alone sign off my own work..

i remember arguing with a Electrical Trainee when i was doing the 2391 a couple of years back. he argued black and blue that there was nothing wrong with spurs off spurs on a ring. he said the ring is wired in 2.5mm2 and the spurs are wired in 2.5mm2. so whats the difference.

at that time i put my face into my palm. i gave up, he knew best. he knew better than the lecturer too.

 

[FixitElectrical]

If you want the quick option, Trade Skills 4U are good, affordable and reputable. They are in Gatwick just near the airport.

 

[Riley]

Electrician course damn theres me doing a 4 year apprenticeship... what time wasted

 

[FixitElectrical]

We can't all quit our jobs and take years out to do apprenticeships, we have all got to start somewhere. I know several older guys who did proper apprenticeships years ago and told them I was doing a 6 week course etc, and they were really quite taken by it, they did agree that if you make a good job of things and are competent there's no problem.

I think there's a lot of people who do short courses and the go on to trash people's houses! There's nothing to say that someone who has been doing it 20 years is going to be any better, it's like saying you have had a driving licence for 50 years so it makes you better at driving.

 

[Engineer54]

We can't all quit our jobs and take years out to do apprenticeships, we have all got to start somewhere. I know several older guys who did proper apprenticeships years ago and told them I was doing a 6 week course etc, and they were really quite taken by it, they did agree that if you make a good job of things and are competent there's no problem.

I think there's a lot of people who do short courses and the go on to trash people's houses! There's nothing to say that someone who has been doing it 20 years is going to be any better, it's like saying you have had a driving licence for 50 years so it makes you better at driving.

There is a simple answer to your first sentence, If your unable, can't do the time, or just not interested or bothered enough to put the time in, ...then look for another trade or profession. Preferably one that doesn't put your future clients/customers or their homes at risk...

I bet they were taken by it too, ...taken back!! All i can say is, that they were being overly polite.
I cannot for the life of me, see a time served electrician agreeing anything of the sort. They will know full well, that there is no way on this earth you can become an electrician in 6 weeks let alone be competent!! And there lies the be all and end all of it!!....

Your comparisons we've all heard before, and like any leaky bucket, they don't hold water!!

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

Oh dear oh dear when will there Electrical Trainee idiots learn they have done their money big time and been completely sold down the river.....competent in 5weeks , what a load of pure horse s**t

 

[i=p/u]

Have you ever met any on jobs or know any that gets work you should of got. I don't . I think they crazy spending that cash for a course which means very little to them and others. A lot of money. The only work they will get is off people they know

 

[i=p/u]

But they can improve over time. What you put in is what you get out and all, I thought mostly army personnel doing this course ???

 

[i=p/u]

"And a happy new year ya filthy animal

 

[FixitElectrical]

Ill keep my mouth zipped shut as I know it's controversial to discuss such things. You might say I've been had, but at the end of the day, I've got a load of level 3 city and guilds, registered with the NIC and have the exact same assessments as someone who has been doing it 20 years. I don't feel it takes 4 years of training to do general house bashing, I could do all that before, the only reason I did the courses was because without bits of paper I'm not going to get far...

Im only ever going to touch domestic stuff, so I feel perfectly competent and cannot see any problem. I'm doing my city and guilds 2394 and 2395 next month too.

I won't say any more, id rather not get into a slanging match!

 

[FixitElectrical]

Plus I have years of structured cabling experience is commercial and domestic environments.

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

With the absolute greatest respect, the "papers" you have are worth nothing compared to proper recognised City & Guilds qualifications, if tendering for a contract you wouldn't have a chance against city & guilds guys, if your wondering why I am this way it's because I've worked in a college on the workshop floor so I know what is involved in the proper qualifications and you can't compress even a fifth of what you really need to know into 5 weeks, it's a con and a farce

 

[Stroppy]

We can't all quit our jobs and take years out to do apprenticeships

Don't apprenticeships in the UK do day-release? Here in Guernsey as an apprentice you are employed by an electrical firm, learning on the tools with experienced colleagues, and go to College for one day a week, and in some years an evening class session as well. The government pays the employer a certain amount as compensation for losing his apprentice for one day, and it lets the apprentice get paid for a full 5 days.

Guernsey College of Further Education

 

[i=p/u]

But we can admit you can build on it, I think the i know how to do it but don't know why is something you'll ask a lot .

I do believe you maybe x army and course was offered to you?? Cause to spend your own money on this course is crazy, and don't doubt you can fit lights and sockets and wire a cooker. It's easy enough and it's experience that teaches you more when you know the theory

 

[GLENNSPARK]

Call me an old cynic if you want mate but I reckon what the scams will do is offer conditional acceptance onto the DI register providing THEIR L3 qual is completed within a certain timeframe as THEIR qual will be better than anyone else's.
I believe it's an NVQ that's going to be the reuirement though, all the same they'll be offering them.

you mean like the `napit2391`?...lol..
i mean..why would you?..lol...lol.

 

[Engineer54]

Ill keep my mouth zipped shut as I know it's controversial to discuss such things. You might say I've been had, but at the end of the day, I've got a load of level 3 city and guilds, registered with the NIC and have the exact same assessments as someone who has been doing it 20 years. I don't feel it takes 4 years of training to do general house bashing, I could do all that before, the only reason I did the courses was because without bits of paper I'm not going to get far...

Im only ever going to touch domestic stuff, so I feel perfectly competent and cannot see any problem. I'm doing my city and guilds 2394 and 2395 next month too.

I won't say any more, id rather not get into a slanging match!

Who the hell are you to determine that it doesn't take 4 years of training and experience to conduct domestic electrical work?? With No training and no experience, i put it to you, that you Couldn't do all that before, and doubt very much if you can now!! The first time you hit a fault finding problem, and you'll be on here or another forum requesting assistance. Your like so many others we see on here, full of confidence because you passed a numbty assessment, and gained what can only be described as an ''add on'' qualification, ....ie, the 17th ed' C&G!!!

The only level 3 C&G qualification you could have possibly gained on your 5 or 6 week course is the Pat testing qualification, that should have never been given a level 3 status, because it just isn't level 3 standard!! So what are these other level 3 qualifications you say you have loads of??

So if your starting a 2394/2395, next month why didn't you go this route in the first place?? BTW, what do you call ''structured cabling experience'' then??

Being registered with the NICEIC is no test of competence, literary NOBODY fails a DI assessment from any of the scam providers. The difference between those that have been in the trade for 20 years, is they will have decent core qualifications and more importantly the experience to back it up!!

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

Yeah that comment got me aswell, " I could do all that before" , and "House bashing", he is very mistaken

 

[Riley]

Ill keep my mouth zipped shut as I know it's controversial to discuss such things. You might say I've been had, but at the end of the day, I've got a load of level 3 city and guilds, registered with the NIC and have the exact same assessments as someone who has been doing it 20 years. I don't feel it takes 4 years of training to do general house bashing, I could do all that before, the only reason I did the courses was because without bits of paper I'm not going to get far...

Im only ever going to touch domestic stuff, so I feel perfectly competent and cannot see any problem. I'm doing my city and guilds 2394 and 2395 next month too.

I won't say any more, id rather not get into a slanging match!

So can you do PLCs Motor Control etc when someone says there a sparks they should have some sort on site experience and not just know domestic. So what youre saying a few weeks course and your competent.. how much on site experience have you got ? Do you know any about Industrial and Commercial that stuff takes years to understand im doin this since im 17 and your talking through your hole ya havnt got a clue.

 

[i=p/u]

To be fair to original poster he only interested in domestic he says . But we have to ask ourselves why the powers that be let this course be acceptable. ,

Their ain't that many deaths so maybe they training us to we'll

 

[shagbite]

if city and guilds' exams weren't so bloody easy, it'd be nigh-on impossible to pass them after only 5 week's tuition.

these courses rely far too heavily on studying 'past papers' and learning how to pass the exams rather than learning the actual subject.

it's about time C & G scrapped multiple-guess exams. if you don't possess the ability to learn the subject properly, then you'll have to make-do with being a mate.

 

[i=p/u]

, the most thinking you have todo is in the nvq where c&g isn't involved. Maybe it's todo with everyone allowed a crack at jobs and no discrimination even if cant spell or count but are grafters.

i dunno, coms cabinet and marco trunking tomorrow and adjust a ring circuit for me anyway.

 

[FixitElectrical]

Wasnt quite expecting such comments...

Theres a couple of points id like to make here, I only said I wanted to do domestic work, no intention of ever doing anything other than that.

llandrillospark - I have got "proper recognised City & Guilds qualifications" thanks. You also say "tendering for a contract you wouldn't have a chance against city & guilds guys", I have got C&G, plus I am never going to tender for anything as I am doing domestic work only in my spare time.

No I am not ex MOD, I am a 30 year old who has run a successful datacomms and Internet business for the last 12 years, built from nothing, which now turns over £500k+ per year. So yes I am spending my own money on this.

I am not suggesting people with years of experience may have seen more things and know more, but at the end of the day, we all have to start somewhere. You could turn it around and say someone who has done electrical work and successfully for 20 years who is equally as good as you make out, then does a 5 week course to get the quals to get NIC etc, then you call him a cowboy for doing a 5 week course. I agree someone who has been in the business for years has more experience, but come on, how much brain power does it take to change consumer units etc, really, its hardly rocket science.

Ill list my qualifications for you to entertain yourself with.
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 2377-22 - in the In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 2377-32 - in Management for the Maintenance of Electrical Equipment
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 4141-02 - in Electrical Installation Work within a Domestic Dwelling
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 4141-03 - in Fundamental Electrical Science and Technology for Installation Work
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 2382-12 - in The Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671: 2008
City & Guilds Level 2 Award 2392-10 - in Fundamental Inspection, Testing and Initial Verification
City & Guilds Level 3 VRQ Part P Building Regulations
---
City & Guilds Level 2 Award 3667-02 - in Copper & Fibre Communications Cabling in an Internal / External Environment
City & Guilds Level 3 Award 3667-03 - in Designing & Planning Communications Networks, Internal and Underground Environments
Fibre Optic Association Certified Engineer
Fibre Optic Industry Association Accreditation
---
CCIE - Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert
CCNA - Cisco Certified Network Associate
CCNP - Cisco Certificate Network Professional
CompTIA Network+
CompTIA Server+
CompTIA PDI+
CompTIA A+
CompTIA Security+
CompTIA Project+
---
UKATA Category B - Non Licenced Asbestos Remover
CITB - Health, Safety & Environment Test for Managers & Professionals

Ok and top of this im about to do the City & Guilds Level 3 2394 & 2395, once I have done these, ill also do the 2396 as well, just to top it off.

And no, I cannot do " PLCs Motor Control" whatever that is, because i do DOMESTIC ONLY.

Engineer54 - Your comment of "what do you call ''structured cabling experience''", well I have owned a data comms business for 12 years, and proficient in fusion splicing and do structred cabling in peoples homes and businesses on a weekly basis. I am extremely competent in IT and data cabling. I am not an idiot.

The only reason i wanted to do these electrical courses was for my own satisfaction and also do do domestic electrical work in my own time as a change of scene when I feel like it.

I think the thing here is, theres a lot of people who did it the old fashioned way who yes, no doubt are good, but equally dont appreciate people like myself who also do a bloody good job of things, coming along having done a 5 week course stealing their business and under cutting them. At the end of the day, the world has changed and how things happen, the way you become a domestic installer now, is to do a 5 week course. yes they might well be easy and teach you how to pass an exam, but at the end of the day, I have a bit of paper that says i can do it, i get work, do a good job and people are happy.

Even my neighbour who did it the old fashioned way has said I can rewire his dads bungalow this year and sign it off as i have all the kit and Part P etc, he has no kit any more and cannot sign it off. And also, my uncle, he replaced my father in laws consumer unit and various other things 18 months ago, and he has been doing it for 35 years and qualified etc, he is a cowboy, left a total wiring mess. Just because someone says they have been doing something for years does not mean they will make a better job of something.

Rant over...

 

[FixitElectrical]

Just to add, I think people who did apprenticeships years ago just feel thats the ONLY way to become a sparky, thats it, no other option, its like saying if you want to do it now, you have missed the band waggon.

 

[LlandrilloSpark]

LOL

The only ones relevant to the industry that carry any weight are listed below:-

City & Guilds Level 3 Award 2382-12 - in The Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671: 2008
City & Guilds Level 2 Award 2392-10 - in Fundamental Inspection, Testing and Initial Verification

You can forget the rest...

So lets get this straight.....you got no City & Guilds 2330 levels 2 or 3 or/an 2356 so basically you have no underpinning knowledge and/or training then.

God help us

 

[Johnuk]

well just read what people have said, maybe FIXITELECTRICAL, you should have said a little about yourself 1st before you put question
think they just jumped the gun on you,

but best courses to do are college ones then you get ex of the tutors

 

[Riley]

In Ireland you have to do an apprenticeship or a adult apprenticeship no 2 ways about it, 4 years time served money **** at start but knowledge gained , 3 years on site experience domestic commercial industrial worl, 6 months college 6 months training centre, 12 exams in total throughout the four years

 

[Engineer54]

I'm at a total loss here!! You say you have a successful business turning over 500K a year and your taking a know nothing domestic course?? The mind boggles!! lol!!

 

[FixitElectrical]

Yes because I want to do something else in my spare time having done the same thing for 12 years.

I dont see why I should spend thousands extra and months of training for someone to tell me how to do domestic work which frankly anyone and most unqualified people can do. yes if i wanted to do commercial work then yes I would do the proper route, but im not.

 

[GLENNSPARK]

I'm at a total loss here!! You say you have a successful business turning over 500K a year and your taking a know nothing domestic course?? The mind boggles!! lol!!

exactly....i mean whats all that about?...