You're assuming that's all they've done, which isn't true for some. Equally there's no guarantee that everyone who served an apprenticeship and has been in the trade for years is any good at their job. I can think of a few apprentice trained sparkies who've spent the following 20 - 30 years being cr4p.
One in particular who served his time and worked for the first fifteen years afterwards as a maintenance electrician for Land Rover. He doesn't give a ----, work's rough, no idea or interest in anything to do with standards or part 'P'. But he ticks all the old school boxes, has a JIB card and a nice shiny van bought with redundancy money. I'd take a five week wonder over that muppet any time.
So the idea that all Electrical Trainee are dangerous inexperienced chancers, and all apprentice trained experienced electricians are good at their job is cobblers. Not that either 'side' in the argument will let facts get in the way of hysteria, sweeping generalisations and personal attacks.
This is the most sensible post anyone has put together on here, probably including mine, so I am going to leave it now, with a few statements on the lines of Imago's
1. It is obvious that someone with no prior experience or aptitude, cannot do a 5 week course and be any good, and probably dangerous.
2. There are some guys, with prior experience and aptitude, who could become decent electricians, particularly (in my opinion) if they are only going to work in the relatively restrictive area of domestic. I'm not saying its not very tricky at times, but it's not as complex as many industrial situations.
3. For a guy that has just been booted out of his job and wants to get into another field of work, there is no other option, other than claim benefit. At least they are trying.
4. The "scams" as they are called are a good idea basically, they are obviously being administered wrongly. They should not accept anyone without decent qualifications, and those without should go to college off their own bat and get them first. I have worked around electrical installations for many years and think I have a good general understanding and practical experience, and could have quite easily got into one of the scams, but I wanted to do it as properly as I could and went back to college, at 55.
5. If a guy does not pass his "scam" assessment with flying colours, he SHOULD NOT be allowed to work anywhere. The idea that these bodies just give recommendations to "brush up a bit" is outrageous. Personally if it happened to me I would be too ashamed and worried to even consider going any further.
6. There are plenty of "dyed in the wool" "sparky's" who, as Imago so rightly said, are cr%p. I have met some at college and their lack of understanding is frightening. My mate works with a bloke who has spent 15 years house bashing for an established firm - he knows to "chuck a bit of 6 milly in" for a cooker, but he has not got the first idea why it's 6 and not 2.5!
7. If we go by ENG54 recommendations, there will be no sparkies left at all soon. Of course the best way is an apprentice who has then gone on to work with experienced guys and learned on the job, but that just does not happen any more, because we apparently can't afford it, as a country. The apprentice schemes that this lot running the country provide now are a joke, and just cheap labour half the time. We can't just throw all the Part P guys onto the dole, and before there was part P, back in the "golden days" loads of people used to do their own wiring and be even more dangerous. What we need is part P run on a proper basis.