In defence of the short course trainee

[imago]

To be honest, that's more the fault of the training provider and C&G than the person. Surely the guy should have been taught how to look up things in the 7671 green book himself and shouldn't have been awarded the 2382 until he was competent (regardless of whether that took 5 weeks, or 5 years).

I think it's more of an attitude issue to be honest. If someone has already gained a trade/qualifications/experince then they should be able to recognise gaps in their knowledge/experience for the trade they are retraining into and take steps to fill them. Most tradesmen will come across that situation on a fairly regular basis, and act accordingly. Most tradesmen will also have learnt to use the base knowledge to adapt to the new or unexpected. I wonder, for example, when a newly trained electrician is fitting an MCB or a cable of a particular size, if he could explain why. The number of actions taken and materials used which are explained as "That's what the Reg's say" is quite worrying to me.

Blind obedience is no substitute for a soild understanding of the principles.

 

[mechelec]

I'm a guilty one I'm afraid (although I have the sense not to touch the £8k training centres!)

BUT...

- I've been reading and learning the regs for MONTHS (even though I've not even booked the course yet)
- I've got just about every tool known to man and years of experience using them
- I've got years of experience with building work, plumbing, general house-bashing etc
- I've got a background of mathematics and engineering, so the calculations are second nature to me
- I accept that once I've got the qualifications I will still have a lot to learn
- I am not expecting a part P registration to be the be all and end all. I plan to get the 2391, 2330 etc, as soon as circumstances allow.

The point is, please please please don't tar us all with the same brush.

There is a HUGE difference between someone like myself (and many others on here) and someone who turns up at a training centre never having seen an insulated screwdriver or the inside of a junction box.

Good luck. It sounds as though you have the right attitude and aptitude and will no doubt make a good electrician in time. What really grates on me is people who are sold the idea of 50K per year and that is their only motivation.

 

[DNS1]

Blind obedience is no substitute for a soild understanding of the principles.

That's a good point.

I made the assumption that the person we're talking about knew the principles and theory behind the use of MCBs... Not necessarily the case of course.

 

[Specialist]

DNS1, I've got to ask: If your not on the course yet & have'nt done Part P who's going to Test, Inspect & Sign off the Electrical work your doing ?

 

[DNS1]

DNS1, I've got to ask: If your not on the course yet & have'nt done Part P who's going to Test, Inspect & Sign off the Electrical work your doing ?

I'm not currently working as an electrician.

 

[Specialist]

But your re-wiring your Girlfriends kitchen.

 

[telectrix]

ssshhhh.

 

[DNS1]

ah, ok.

The electrical work I'm doing is limited to our own properties. Without registration we're having to go down the rip-off route unfortunately and having building control signing it off.

 

[Specialist]

Thank you DNS1, see Tel: Simple question & simple answer.

 

[Big n Daft]

"Simple question & simple answer."

looks like we're heading into new territory folks:lol:

 

[GLENNSPARK]

i think its up to an individual as to what they undertake on their own homes....once the safety of other person/s and their property/s is involved.....its a different matter then.....

 

[Specialist]

i think its up to an individual as to what they undertake on their own homes....once the safety of other person/s and their property/s is involved.....its a different matter then.....

Hi Glenn: Why is it different mate, thought the Rules & Regs applied to everyone. You mention once the Safety of other persons or their Property is involved, what happens if someone in their own home causes an Electrical fire & it burns down the nextdoor Neighbours house for example.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

He's assuming its detached, in a very large field, with 13 acres in all directions of downward sloping wet field.

 

[Specialist]

He's assuming its detached, in a very large field, with 13 acres in all directions of downward sloping wet field.

:rofl: Knowing Glenn, I should have thought of that:lol:

 

[SPARTYKUS]

I don't know him, so am probably in for an 'ear boxing' if we ever meet!

(no offence Glenn :blush5

 

[Specialist]

I don't know him personally either mate, but i do know him to talk to & thats the sort of thing Glenn would have come up with.:lol:

 

[topcat]

I have worked in electronics and computing for 15 years and i am now retraining.The same problem is now happening in computing guys come out of college on real world experiance and get taken on at the same rate as some one with 15 years experiance. I will be working with a local part p sparks to get more experiance but a full time apprenticeship I could not afford to do but I can see the problem from bolth sides.

 

[trev]

A few years back I was approached by a "University" based in Boston USA, they advised that owing to my age and experience (how did they know what experience I had?) I qualified for a degree. Because the wife and kids were out and I was a bit bored I returned the email with a short list of quals and exp, they came back full of praise for me and what I had achieved and told me I was entitled ??????? to a doctorate in electrical engineering (Does such a thing even exist?)

All this for a fee of $3500. While I think it would be nice to have letters after my name this thing would have been only good for toilet paper as I could not ever back up the skill set I would be expected to have with such a qualification.

Anyone care to point out any diference between this and the average Electrical Trainee

 

[Specialist]

Hmm, You got me:lol:.

 

[trev]

I'm starting to get a bit annoyed and beligerent now guys so I'll apologise now to all the good guys who have done the short course route, and yes there are some.
I hold a St John's Ambulance first aid certificate which took a few weeks of evening classes to obtain the skills necessary to pass the assessment. Could I claim to be a doctor on the strength of this? No I could not and rightly so, so how can a Electrical Trainee call him/herself an electrician?