No industry experience...will these qualifications help me??

[snentz]

Got a budget of £ a few thousand and 31 years old with no previous training or experience in electrics aside from basic personal domestic stuff and general knowledge but would like to have a trade and am willing to study and PAY to gain it.

There seems to be no clear route to becoming a qualified electrician and a confusing myriad of courses and qualifications.

Most people on these forums seem to warn against the short intensive courses with private training companies, but they seem like the only option for someone in my position. Also a lot of people saying the qualifications aren't worth anything without experience...which seems quite negative as you have to get both whatever order you do it in. So I intend to go ahead and obtain whatever quals I can and then look for employment in the industry, and then perhaps further my studies.

After several days of research into the various qualifications, training providers, reading forums and searching through electrician jobs it is not clear what the best qualifications to hold are to be a basic sparky, maintenance engineer etc. The most common requirements for jobs listed as 'electrician' or similar seem to be 2391 (now changed to 2394/95? but most employers haven't updated to this...) and 2382 17th edition.

So...if someone like me without experience went to a training centre and obtained the following:

4141-01
4141-02
2377-22
2382-12
2392-10
2393
2394
2395

all of which you can theoretically do without working or having worked in the trade, would be around 35 days training and approx £4400 (going on average prices). Would you be a qualified, employable electrician (i know, i know experience helps employability) if holding all these quals or would you need to have additionally done the 2365 (old 2330 from what I gather??) or 2357 to consider yourself qualified??

So if you have all of the above but not the 2365 or 2357 can you work as an electrician? Also if I got all of the above plus 2399-01, 11 & 12 (Solar PV Installation and Maintenance) would it be worth it??? Or do you really just have to be a daddys boy with mates in the trade to even get in on any side of it?

I'm not really looking to spend 3 years going to night school once a week, or spending 2 years working for free or as someone's little apprentice for £2.50 an hour. I would just like to have a skill and qualification to my name that will enable me to apply for jobs...as it seems silly and backwards to have to be an apprentice before you start studying.

Can people help confirm and clarify this for me??

Many thanks.

 

[Harryb]

Try the search function pal

 

[telectrix]

you would need hands on experience. try and get employment as a mate around £8/hour whilst doing the courses at college. these 5week courses are only fit for guys who want to keep the schemes in funds and do the house bashing.

 

[snentz]

but is anyone likely take me on to gain hands on experience without having completed any of the courses?

what is house bashing? lingo...

 

[snentz]

Try the search function pal

read hundreds of threads before posting my specific queries pal

 

[Adam W]

There's not much work around at the moment and competition is increasing all the time, but an employer might be more interested in someone who is doing a full course at a local college than trying to cut corners at a training centre.
That said, employers take on friends and family with no experience or qualifications.

 

[Martyc]

You'd be lucky if you can fit a full 2365 course in 1 night a week, it's taken a year of 3 nights a week and I'm only just coming to the end of my level 2, level 3 is another 2 years of the same.

From what I understand the short courses teach you how to pass the exams, not how to actually do practical work or understand the ins and outs of the how and why. It's not something that can just be done in a few weeks and a lot of the chaps on here have done apprenticeships that have lasted many years putting up with poor pay etc to get where they are now.

The short courses aren't respected. And college alone with little practical experience will be tough to find work with too (I'm in that boat but have other f/t employment ATM). The other option is to go it alone. But ask yourself this, would you trust someone with no experience and 5 weeks of rushed, inadequate training into your house and mess with something (that they don't even know about properly) that could kill you and your family and destroy your house and belongings? If you wouldn't accept it in your own home it's probably not advisable to do it yourself.

It's tough to get in 'the trade' especially if you don't know anyone who can help, but if you stick at proper training routes it would appear there are opportunities for right people with the right attitude. Or just become a plumber.

 

[snentz]

So can I conclude that all training and qualifications obtained at private training providers is not worth getting??? This seems to be the concencus I'm picking up round here.

 

[telectrix]

put it this way. would you have a lawyer defend you on a serious charge if he'd only had 5 weeks law school?

 

[Adam W]

No not all training and qualifications, but then nobody said that.
Employers want to see that you've learned how to be an electrician, not learned how to look things up in a book.
You need to be able to know how to look things up in a book, but it's more important to know how to do electrical work.
These private training providers are renowned for putting together a load of short courses and selling them as a fast track into a lucrative career, which is rubbish - it's like having a fridge full of condiments and no food. The reason they offer them is because people are willing to buy them and there is no regulatory body stopping them from selling them. That's not just my opinion, that's what the CEO of Train4TradeSkills admitted.

 

[Darkwood]

The instant qualified wonder courses were originally aimed at well experienced but lacking in the paperwork, as this wasn't generating a lot of profit and along with the fact that they were attracting a whole selection of people that assumed you could fast track a simple course and earn loads of money they realised if they carefully worded and marketed these course they could hoodwink simple Jo Blogs into paying for these courses and see their profits shoot up..... this worked so good that these companies sprung up everywhere and it seems now they have even convinced themselves that these so called fast track courses is all you require.... well in the real world it is not the case they soon find they are out of their depth the competition from well trained and established companies is too great and no-one will employ them because they have zero experience. We do have members on here who go against this grain and have done well but having talked to them you really find they are either already experienced in say engineering or electrics etc and just basically changing lanes .... other members who have also succeeded show clear sign of a high level of dedication and interest thats well beyond the norm and with all respect these members could IMHO set themselves up in any career.

The painful truth is you would need to do a joint apprenticeship and college course for min of three yrs to be competent IMHO to rewire a house, commercial and industrial again need a level of experience that can be sort through working for the right company as well as doing advanced electrical courses that do circuit and installation design covering all the issues associated with the wider industry.

 

[snentz]

[h=2]So I would be looking at positions such as...



Company confidential[/h][h=2]Electricians mate/labourer[/h][h=3]Job description[/h]Electricians mate required to assist electricians on construction sites, industrial premises & some domestic projects. Must have previous site experience & hold either a valid cscs card or citb.

Would be an advantage if candidate has:
Driving licence (transport provided)
Experience of work with armoured cables & basic connections.
IPAF licence for cheery picker/scissor lift.


Position would be temporary contract but may become permanent for the right candidate. Works are throughout the UK so at times may have to lodge out occasionally and must be flexible.


The company may provide training for part qualified persons who aim to become fully qualified.

IndustriesConstruction - industrial facilities and infrastructureJob typeFull timeSalary£6.50 -£8.00 PER HOUR DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCEHours of WorkFlexitimeOvertimeTemporary contract

 

[snentz]

Im willing to work in those types of jobs for up to 3 years whilst gaining all the qualifications, licenses, badges etc that I can

 

[snentz]

I'm willing to do a full year at college on a full time course before that whilst not earning....so would it be sensible to do the 2365 and then start applying for low level mate/labourer jobs? I can clearly see there is no quick route to becoming competent and agree that anyone who applies themselves with dedication can succed in any field...I'm just tring to work out a way I can do it and put together a personal financial, work and study plan that is achievable and worthwhile.

 

[Adam W]

That's exactly what I did.

 

[rmc86uk]

Im willing to work in those types of jobs for up to 3 years whilst gaining all the qualifications, licenses, badges etc that I can

The problem is even to get a mates job they want site experience as it states in the job you posted. Also for having IPAF £6.50 for a mate is low pay.

 

[Jdsparky]

Get a mates job as you can't have it all right now, as with anything you need experience, even getting used to using side cutters for example will be awkward at first so even if you had all the knowledge in the world about sparking and couldn't strip a cable, pretty useless tbh. Best route for u if your serious is go to college a couple of nights a week along with working as a mate (if u can get in with someone) this will most probably be sub contracting, and find out if it really is the job for you before investing too much money into a job that isn't paid the best.
if all fails, put £4400 on red and keep going till this time next year we'll be millionaires.