New Career Skills

[duggie23]

I would warn all potential students of New Career Skills to think long and hard before signing up on this course. Your enuquiry will result in a sales person, sorry course advisor, coming round to meet you, always make sure you have somebody else with you to witness the lies that they will tell you. They will tell you various lies, ranging from we can promise you a paid job at the end of your course, or yes we guatantee you a work experience placement, oh yes we have really supportive tutors. And on and on they will. Me being me fall for all the sales patter. When going along on my week training, I think my tutor older bloke with glasses appeared around five times during the whole week, he was usually found sitting behind his desk upstairs. I have to say even though once you meet the job girl and she has just dropped the bombshell there are no promised jobs, she was really helpful and put me on the right track to help search work, she also had a genuine personality and was very compassionate towards my needs. I had Phil the tutor who does really well in not great conditions, always was there to spur you on. I am now a qualifified domestic electrical installer. I was going to do my PV at the centre, but PLEASE everybody look around the renewable courses are around £200 cheaper at other centres. So please the actual training was great, BUT you will get lied to, I also found when I complained the student care email address, you are just ignored or fobbed off with some excuse and they send you away to read your contract. My advise is go to a college go through a proper training establishment

 

[brightspark11]

I did the NCS domestic installer course last year and I understood that it was intended to lead to self employment. If you look at all the case studies of NCS graduates on the website and on the DVD they give you then you will see that most are self employed. The course advisor that visited me did not give any guarantees of work at the end of the course. I have now set up a company and NCS have arranged work experience, as far as I am concerned they have done everything they said they would. I would be interested to know which training centre you went to, I went to Watford and found the tutors to be very good.

 

[DNS1]

I had the sales visit from NCS and hated the hard sell attempts...

I resisted and have just started the course with Able Skills in Dartford this week who are great and cost less than a quarter of the NCS price!

 

[gareth jones]

Had the same experience, salesman gave it big, don't give you the price 'til the end, 30 seconds later you're showing them the door... so glad I did'nt enter this route! no college is perfect, but I like AbleSkills (for my 2330)

 

[Engineer54]

If you look at all the case studies of NCS graduates on the website and on the DVD they give you then you will see that most are self employed.

Well that's pretty obvious, They wouldn't qualify as being electricians that a company could legitimately employ!!

 

[giddygaz]

There seems to be a few suspicious posts about ncs on electricians forums, so heres the genuine experience:
I signed up in january 2012, I'll tell you what happened. As with Duggie23 I made an enquiry over the phone about where the training centres were, only to be told by the girl that she didnt know and that a local "course advisor' would pay me a visit to tell me more. I went ahead and a chap called mark soltys came by on the friday afternoon for a 3 hour SELL SELL SELL.
Words like 'fully qualified electrican' and '2391' earn 40k+ 'own a porsche' - The decision was to be made there on the day, from making a simple enquiry that morning I was signing up to £6300 deals that afternoon without being able to talk to anyone or think it through or compare at all. This is exactly the sales you get with the double glazing cowboys!
Now I'm not usually one to be sold to like this but after having a pretty upsetting time throughout the recession he got me at first to write a cheque for £1000 deposit against a £6300 course plus interest on payments of £1000 a month. Having time to breath and realise that I had got carried away, I called him up to opt for another cheaper option to which he had a new deal where there was no deposit no interest and payments of £219 a month with an opening balance of £6300.
1 week later I received my course material and some reference books, to be honest I found studying on my own to be hard and I even found errors in the course material!!
Onto the 1st week practical. most of the equipment to use for installing my lighting circuit was broken, leaving me to find parts in the bin for ages and I found the course instructor distracted the first 2 days and no help at all. he did get better on day 3 but I had already made mistakes that I didnt have time to go over because he just wasnt there. for £6k i expected better.
things got slightly complicated at home when we moved house and i took another job so found studying really hard and got little support from ncs. Time went by, payments were kept up but I had been made redundant so I decided I had to stop. £2000 spent with 5 books, 1 week practical and a cheap tool kit to show for it all and I cant seem to shake them off!!
They wont acknowledge my letter of cancellation and keep threatening me with ccjs and eventually baliffs and also my opening balance of £6300 now seems to be £8100!
So there you go. If you want to be an electrician,plumber or whatever - watchout theres some potholes to avoid. i suggest a local college, city & guilds 2330 to start with for £1600 for 2 nights a week for a whole year. regards Giddy

 

[cotty]

I signed up with New Career Skills at the beginning of February and so far I'm very happy with the service I've received.

I did my research regarding different training centres and found NCS to be offering the right package for me.

The course advisor (Steve Brooks) was very professional,knew his job very well and didn't in any way push for a 'hard sell' with me.

I received all my course books/text books the next week and I'm now into my studying and submitted my first TMA and very much looking forward to my first weeks practical in Doncaster.

The qualifications I'll acquire will be sufficient for me to work self-employed on all aspects of domestic electrical work including testing and varification and at 37 I've no intentions of wanting to work for a large company!

I'm not putting in hard work to line some corporate's pockets!!

You get what you pay for at the end of the day,'buy cheap,buy twice'!!

So far very happy with NCS and when you sign a contract with finance,you're legally bound to pay the rest outstanding!!

Pay in full or do the course you've signed up for,nobody will hand you a career on a plate,you have to put in to get out....

 

[m top]

just finished my domestic installer course and the 2392 just got to do solar pv,the course i found to be very good kev at doncaster is a great tutor i could not recommend him high enough been working with a mate (sparky) on and off for past 9 months and i am about to set up on my own,the course gives you a basic understanding off whats required but further skills need to be obtained onsite i am now happy to work on my own but have the luxury of my mate being availible pretty much all the time,on the whole the course provides a stepping stone to be a domestic installer so i am happy with the finished outcome,i still read my books pretty much all the time and reference online i suppose at the end of the day its how much you want it no one will give you it in this world !!

 

[cotty]

just finished my domestic installer course and the 2392 just got to do solar pv,the course i found to be very good kev at doncaster is a great tutor i could not recommend him high enough been working with a mate (sparky) on and off for past 9 months and i am about to set up on my own,the course gives you a basic understanding off whats required but further skills need to be obtained onsite i am now happy to work on my own but have the luxury of my mate being availible pretty much all the time,on the whole the course provides a stepping stone to be a domestic installer so i am happy with the finished outcome,i still read my books pretty much all the time and reference online i suppose at the end of the day its how much you want it no one will give you it in this world !!

I'm pleased you've enjoyed the course and your comments have given me even greater confidence in the course I've chosen with New Career Skills.

Thanks for the feedback,I start my first weeks practical in Doncaster on April 2nd.

Cheers

 

[m top]

Study study study and site experience is essential ,a good book worth it's weight in gold is the part p doctor £17.99 Electra site very easy to understand I would buy a copy straight away wish I had it when I started my course,good luck with the course you will get out of it what you put in.

 

[cotty]

Study study study and site experience is essential ,a good book worth it's weight in gold is the part p doctor £17.99 Electra site very easy to understand I would buy a copy straight away wish I had it when I started my course,good luck with the course you will get out of it what you put in.

Cheers for that,very much appreciated

 

[giddygaz]

I signed up with New Career Skills at the beginning of February and so far I'm very happy with the service I've received.

I did my research regarding different training centres and found NCS to be offering the right package for me.

The course advisor (Steve Brooks) was very professional,knew his job very well and didn't in any way push for a 'hard sell' with me.

I received all my course books/text books the next week and I'm now into my studying and submitted my first TMA and very much looking forward to my first weeks practical in Doncaster.

The qualifications I'll acquire will be sufficient for me to work self-employed on all aspects of domestic electrical work including testing and varification and at 37 I've no intentions of wanting to work for a large company!

I'm not putting in hard work to line some corporate's pockets!!

You get what you pay for at the end of the day,'buy cheap,buy twice'!!

So far very happy with NCS and when you sign a contract with finance,you're legally bound to pay the rest outstanding!!

Pay in full or do the course you've signed up for,nobody will hand you a career on a plate,you have to put in to get out....

I am very sceptical about your post, I think you work at NCS. 'buy cheap, buy twice' nailed it for me, you're a salesman.

 

[cotty]

I am very sceptical about your post, I think you work at NCS. 'buy cheap, buy twice' nailed it for me, you're a salesman.

You are very naive! And certainly not a tradesman! Anyone with an ounce of sense knows if you buy cheap tools you end up buying twice!!

A Fool And His Money.........

 

[cotty]

An update to my course with New Career Skills.

I completed my first practical week in Doncaster ending the 5th April and must say I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The tutor (Jim) was excellent,very experienced and a great sense of humour.

With it being Bank Holiday week the course was 4 days instead of 5 but worked to my advantage as there was only myself and another student so we received plenty of one on one tutoring which was great.

All in all it surpassed my expectations although certainly opened my eyes to how much there is to learn.Plenty of Study ahead for sure.

 

[Adam W]

You are very naive! And certainly not a tradesman! Anyone with an ounce of sense knows if you buy cheap tools you end up buying twice!!

A Fool And His Money.........

It depends what kind of tools and where you're going to be working; one of my favourite screwdrivers cost me 99p and I've had it about 6 years. If you're regularly working with other contractors you may well find if you buy nice tools they appeal to 'the wrong people' and you end up replacing them long before you want to.

 

[stuartgil]

hi all, i'm a student of NCS and have been for the last year, its a very good course but you do need to do your home work and put as much time into your books as possible. Its a good idea as well if you know someone near you on the course and you can either meet up to go through your tma's or call one another, this is what I have done and its made the training a lot more easier as two heads are better than one. Also try and work along side a sparky for the practical experience, especially when it comes to testing as this seems to be the area that they don't seem to give you enough experience in. And your expected to know your stuff on week four with regards to testing.

 

[bf2k]

I signed up for what is a Domestic Installers Course at NCS in January 2009 (although that isn't how they sold it). It all started well, got the information and course content on time, etc etc but it all went down hill after I went on my first practical week. I was told by the salesman that when I passed the course I would be a qualified electrician, which isn't strictly true. I was told I'd signed up for a 5 practical week course which would allow me to join a competent persons scheme whilst having any work assessed (because they took the week 5 test & inspect module was the evidence I know what I'm doing). When it turned out the week 5 was an extra cost and it doesn't count a jot towards the competent persons schemes. They also tried to sell me the extended week 5 including a PV course for an extra £750.

Most electricians I speak to (and I've come across it on here) don't really recognise people like us who've done the NCS course as qualified electricians and I can see why. We can only work on domestic installations and can only sign off our own work. So I can't even employ people to work with/under me because I can't sign off their work. If they had sold it as a route into being an electrician then fair enough but they didn't. I still need to go on to do my Level 3 to call myself an electrician.

As for the centre (I only went to Doncaster) you can't fault it. Modern, everything there you need and the tutors are on hand to help every step of the way. The careers advisor was crap though. He could only offer me work experence but couldn't help with how to go self employed??? For the best part of £6k I feel slightly short changed.

 

[simonherts]

My experience of New Career Skills electrical course was good. I don't normally have time for reviews sites (I'll explain why) but I was wound up by the comment that the only reason I work for myself is because no-one else would have me. I don't think that's fair and it's a bit of a cheap shot.
I work for myself because I now have a business where I work hard but what also allows me to take my family away every Christmas and every summer. That's why. I am going to tell you how I made a decision to train with New Career Skills, how I made sure I got my money's worth and I am also going to tell you how my business is going so well. First of all, I am a really picky customer and that comes from my previous job in shipping. I did not make mistakes because if I did cargo didn't turn up and that was a big problem. I'm the same when I buy something. A guy called David (I think) turned up at my house and told me all about New Career Skills and showed me pictures of their training centres and of students who done it. He asked me for £5,500 and I said I liked it but wanted to think about it. I can remember his facing dropping (ha!). But I said to him that I wasn't going to hand my cash over until I did what I did in my business which was take up references.
So I asked him for the names of two people I could speak to who had trained with New Career Skills as electricians. I would advise everyone to do this. I cuts to the truth. He couldn't give me the names, but he gave me the lady Clare who ran Career Search and she gave me two names. I called those people first pretending to be a customer looking for an electrician just to check out they were real (bit sneeky). Then I rang them again and asked them what they thought of New Career Skills training and what they were doing now. I was happy so I rung the guy back and said come round and I'll pay. I did it interest free.
I then decided I was going to read through their brochure and use everything they offered. Why not? I was paying for it and it cost enough. So week two I told them I wasn't quite sure I got everything so I wanted to take the week in centre again. It said in their brochure I could, so I wanted it (did it p*ss them off? - I did not care). New Career Skills let me. I asked for work experience twice because they promised it and I went out with a guy near Portsmouth for two days and then I went out with a company doing work for Sky. They had an estimating workshop - I wanted it. They have these manuals on how to run your own business - I had them too. I joined their web site and I got discount on a tester. Basically I milked them for everything and got my money's worth.
I set up my own business and I used the tutors afterwards to get advice on a few bits and bobs I hadn't done on the course. Again why not - I paid for it. Now I do domestic electrical work and whoever says I am no good can come and see my work and check it out. I am a member of a competent person scheme which means my work is quality checked. But also my customers say the work I do is the best and the way I treat them is the best. I got some of this from New Career Skills and some of this because I am a fussy git and my eye for detail is what gets me jobs.
I'll explain. I take photos of every job I do, before and after, and I put this on my web site showing the quality of my work. Before I do a job I visit the customer with a estimate sheet which gives my time and also the consumables. I guarantee my prices for 21 days. If I have not heard back from a customer I have quoted on I call them within 7 days. If I don't get the job I send them a postcard saying thanks for the interest (and I get loads of work from this). After the job send them a survey by email (lots of free programs to do this) and I ask them to rate me. I put these ratings and their comments on my web site. Every Christmas I send all my customers a funny Christmas e card (it's free). If a customer recommends three people who use me I end that customer a £50 M&S voucher. About half of these tips I got from New Career Skills and the rest I thought up myself. There was also a bloke who came round to talk about his own business and I got ideas from him. I have probably stirred up a few of the people on here who think you cannot train to be an electrician and all of us our rubbish. As I said, I don't think that's fair. My customers love what I do. They say it is a breath of fresh air. Lots of that is down to me, but I think I made the right choice too and I checked it out first and that's my advice to you my friend. By the way I also take a student now and a again from NCS on work experience because I feel a bit guilty cos I took so much off them!

 

[Drexyn]

My experience of New Career Skills electrical course was good. I don't normally have time for reviews sites (I'll explain why) but I was wound up by the comment that the only reason I work for myself is because no-one else would have me. I don't think that's fair and it's a bit of a cheap shot.
I work for myself because I now have a business where I work hard but what also allows me to take my family away every Christmas and every summer. That's why. I am going to tell you how I made a decision to train with New Career Skills, how I made sure I got my money's worth and I am also going to tell you how my business is going so well. First of all, I am a really picky customer and that comes from my previous job in shipping. I did not make mistakes because if I did cargo didn't turn up and that was a big problem. I'm the same when I buy something. A guy called David (I think) turned up at my house and told me all about New Career Skills and showed me pictures of their training centres and of students who done it. He asked me for £5,500 and I said I liked it but wanted to think about it. I can remember his facing dropping (ha!). But I said to him that I wasn't going to hand my cash over until I did what I did in my business which was take up references.
So I asked him for the names of two people I could speak to who had trained with New Career Skills as electricians. I would advise everyone to do this. I cuts to the truth. He couldn't give me the names, but he gave me the lady Clare who ran Career Search and she gave me two names. I called those people first pretending to be a customer looking for an electrician just to check out they were real (bit sneeky). Then I rang them again and asked them what they thought of New Career Skills training and what they were doing now. I was happy so I rung the guy back and said come round and I'll pay. I did it interest free.
I then decided I was going to read through their brochure and use everything they offered. Why not? I was paying for it and it cost enough. So week two I told them I wasn't quite sure I got everything so I wanted to take the week in centre again. It said in their brochure I could, so I wanted it (did it p*ss them off? - I did not care). New Career Skills let me. I asked for work experience twice because they promised it and I went out with a guy near Portsmouth for two days and then I went out with a company doing work for Sky. They had an estimating workshop - I wanted it. They have these manuals on how to run your own business - I had them too. I joined their web site and I got discount on a tester. Basically I milked them for everything and got my money's worth.
I set up my own business and I used the tutors afterwards to get advice on a few bits and bobs I hadn't done on the course. Again why not - I paid for it. Now I do domestic electrical work and whoever says I am no good can come and see my work and check it out. I am a member of a competent person scheme which means my work is quality checked. But also my customers say the work I do is the best and the way I treat them is the best. I got some of this from New Career Skills and some of this because I am a fussy git and my eye for detail is what gets me jobs.
I'll explain. I take photos of every job I do, before and after, and I put this on my web site showing the quality of my work. Before I do a job I visit the customer with a estimate sheet which gives my time and also the consumables. I guarantee my prices for 21 days. If I have not heard back from a customer I have quoted on I call them within 7 days. If I don't get the job I send them a postcard saying thanks for the interest (and I get loads of work from this). After the job send them a survey by email (lots of free programs to do this) and I ask them to rate me. I put these ratings and their comments on my web site. Every Christmas I send all my customers a funny Christmas e card (it's free). If a customer recommends three people who use me I end that customer a £50 M&S voucher. About half of these tips I got from New Career Skills and the rest I thought up myself. There was also a bloke who came round to talk about his own business and I got ideas from him. I have probably stirred up a few of the people on here who think you cannot train to be an electrician and all of us our rubbish. As I said, I don't think that's fair. My customers love what I do. They say it is a breath of fresh air. Lots of that is down to me, but I think I made the right choice too and I checked it out first and that's my advice to you my friend. By the way I also take a student now and a again from NCS on work experience because I feel a bit guilty cos I took so much off them!

Hi Simon, I have to say although i'm not on the same course that you completed. I was interested in your post and your feedback based around your experience. I am pleased you turned things into success with your business and your outlook is positive and customer focused from your comments. I am considering setting up a business in the future to encompass a great project that I have been thinking about for some time, I have spoken with a couple of sparks who think it's a unique and amazing idea and they are very keen to join me if I do get started. The customer focus I saw in your post is in direct relation to how I would support my own business along with a few other things. the discount scheme is brilliant and almost guarantees return business providing you make good on your rewards, i'm sure you always do. It's great to see a success story amongst all the doom and gloom and I thank you for providing some light at the end of the tunnel.

 

[Brady Lipshy]

Thank you for sharing this informative thread.