Industrial Electricians Only:

[Knobhead]

Tony I'm not trying to hijack this thread but I would be interested as to what additional training for industrial work was done by the guys that have replied.

For me when I joined the railway signalling department I had already done my full apprenticeship in electrical installation gaining C&G 236 parts A, B & C plus the AM2. Then it was basically a second apprenticeship in railway signalling which could last anywhere between 4 & 6 years to make it to Technician Officer grade. Luckily enough I managed it in 4 but it was a tough old slog. This training consisted of 3 months block per year in the railway signalling school in York with the remaining nine months being spent being closely mentored in the field. At the end of each year there was a 5 day written / practical assessment that moved you up a grade if you passed.

As has been said, it was mainly product related.

Modicon PLC’s I taught myself by pinching the program from work and using it at home. The best program I’ve ever written I was blind drunk.
Telemecanique PL7 the company got one of the service agents in to give me a one to one session. That was great as I could cover the bits I needed, not what they thought I needed. We then did the Telemecanique course, it was useless.
Mitsubishi was in house, again good because you got to know useful stuff.
The less said about the training for TI PLC’s the better.

All the usual licences including EOT cranes.

HV cable jointing and my AP ticket.

The industrial version of gas safe. Now this was my idea of fun! At the safety in mines research centre, explosions galore! The lecturers should have been magicians on the stage. A 45 gallon oil drum full of propane/air goes with one hell of a bang!

Many manufacturer’s courses.

16[SUP]th[/SUP] and 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. I did the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] after I finished working, god knows why.


Formally not a lot, but the world doesn’t stand still.


<edit>
Forgot to add NVQ4 in management and industrial law.
Approved trainer for the EITB and the food industry (don’t ask!)

 

[Sintra]

No longer trusted? Perhaps not among the powers that be but for most of us that's BS
I say restore the trusted status!
FREE THE ZHUHAI ONE!

Sorted...

 

[shanky887614]

As has been said, it was mainly product related.

Modicon PLC’s I taught myself by pinching the program from work and using it at home. The best program I’ve ever written I was blind drunk.
Telemecanique PL7 the company got one of the service agents in to give me a one to one session. That was great as I could cover the bits I needed, not what they thought I needed. We then did the Telemecanique course, it was useless.
Mitsubishi was in house, again good because you got to know useful stuff.
The less said about the training for TI PLC’s the better.

All the usual licences including EOT cranes.

HV cable jointing and my AP ticket.

The industrial version of gas safe. Now this was my idea of fun! At the safety in mines research centre, explosions galore! The lecturers should have been magicians on the stage. A 45 gallon oil drum full of propane/air goes with one hell of a bang!

Many manufacturer’s courses.

16[SUP]th[/SUP] and 17[SUP]th[/SUP]. I did the 17[SUP]th[/SUP] after I finished working, god knows why.


Formally not a lot, but the world doesn’t stand still.


<edit>
Forgot to add NVQ4 in management and industrial law.
Approved trainer for the EITB and the food industry (don’t ask!)

were you the tea boy for that long tony?

 

[Deleted member 72666]

A, B and C certificates mid 1970's. If you got the C, you knew your stuff.

Those were the days!(Mary Hopkin) I did my 'c' course in 83, we were the first to do the project to the 15th edition.

 

[7029 dave]

Never done the c course, could not be arsed.

 

[Engineer54]

were you involved with col gaddafi's great manmade river project

I was indeed involved with phase 1 of that project.

I wonder how it has fared since he has been disposed of?? If it hasn't been maintained that's literally Billions of US dollars down the proverbial drain and no fresh water to the coastal populated areas....

 

[malcolmsanford]

Never done the c course, could not be arsed.

Can I be so bold as to ask why mate? The C course was a great course and certainly a good introduction into design and calculations

 

[7029 dave]

Can I be so bold as to ask why mate? The C course was a great course and certainly a good introduction into design and calculations

Malcolm, had enough of sitting in a class room, and if I am honest struggled with it, got me A and B so happy with that.!!

 

[Coach]

I nearly missed this thread. I got the A and B, failed the C, in the early 70s. changed jobs and my new employer let me take it again. I really felt that I had achieved something then.
It never got me any more money on the industrial side but I usually got the more interesting jobs.

 

[malcolmsanford]

Fair dos Dave I was always a bit of a nancy boy a preferred a warm classroom or office to a cold site.

The B was/is a good standard mate

 

[Knobhead]

were you the tea boy for that long tony?

The funny thing is I’ve more letters after my name for non electrical work.

Photography started as a hobby. Two research papers published and I became a Kodak sponsored photographer.

I’m registered as a publisher with the British Library with my own ISBN identity. Again something not related to electrical or even photography.

The company wanted me to continue with my studies, I always seemed to find the time for other things, anything but electrical. I know I was a fool but I was sick and tired of the classroom.

 

[ipf]

Fair dos Dave I was always a bit of a nancy boy a preferred a warm classroom or office to a cold site.

The B was/is a good standard mate

B was ok, not in the same class as C....but before i started I always aimed for the D...then again, at that time i was definitely more interested in bra sizes..

 

[DomCallear]

Luckily I managed to get an apprenticeship with a commercial/industrial electrical company, with the odd house here and there for the big company bosses. We do a variety of work, ranging from conveyor installation, panel wiring, cable pulls, lighting, transformer changes (HV side done by another company), refrigeration power, lighting and control (working at -25), and even recently doing a stint in the Central Bank of Nigeria.
I feel very lucky to have landed such a job, especially during the recession.

 

[bignod]

Time served apprenticeship on a power station covering all aspects of maintenance from domestic to 22kv,including fault finding on plc's and control systems. I also carry out installation work on site.

 

[joel89]

I'm industrail still working in it. Steel/forging heavy engineering work on big motors, starters, PLCs, vsds I'm only 25 been doing it 7 year.. Cranes, press, Cncs etc

 

[shanky887614]

I'm industrail still working in it. Steel/forging heavy engineering work on big motors, starters, PLCs, vsds I'm only 25 been doing it 7 year.. Cranes, press, Cncs etc

cncs or cnc milling machines?

 

[joel89]

Cnc milling machines. Just easier calling them CNC's

 

[pinkonthebrain]

Yes i think i fall into industrial electrician, 38 yrs exp 65% ind, quarries to petroleum laboratories.
foundry etc, not forgetting power station EDF

 

[Canadasparky]

I’ve been working in industrial since coming back to UK 2 years ago working for Brick manufacturer. I was working in Oil & Gas in Canada before that.

 

[bomjac]

Been ages since I was on here, but here goes.

Started out in the Steelworks. 20 years old and fresh out my time as the sole maintenance spark on nights was a steep learning curve, but one which has stood me in good stead ever since. Progressed from there to ship yards, rig yards, Power Stations and eventually offshore North Sea all on construction before eventually making the swing across to commissioning. Stints across the North Sea, Europe and Middle East but ultimately I did not have the TS1 postcode that is a pre-requisite to getting on the decent jobs. The commissing game is even more nepotic than the old Eton boys club ! When you start seeing young kids not even a year out of their time or fresh from college turning up as "Commissioning Techs" on a new build whilst there are quality guys unable to get a start then it's time to move on to other things.

Currently in the Middle East as an Electrical Trainer, training local apprentices and technicians with the occasional specialist training course for VSD's, UPS etc.

What do I miss the most ? I miss the buzz of getting some huge chunk of machinery back up after a breakdown and the satisfaction of being involved in the successful start up of a new facility.