C
charlie76
You will never get a straight answer in this forum about a quick route to becoming an electrician as most of these guys have carried out 2 years at college and had hands on training and experience with competent electricians who themselves have had years of experience. It frustrates a lot of people in the trade that there is a route to going out and getting papers in a matter of days which will allow you to register as a part-p installer and get a van and in theory go around wiring up houses. This is true but you won't be able to work on commercial or industrial systems and it is very unlikely anyone will employ you to do so.
I myself have done the BS7671 17th edition regs and would consider myself relatively competent in electrical/electronic theory having a degree in electronics, having years of experience as a C&I engineer and years of experience in project managing fire and security installations in commercial and industrial settings. However, the regs BS7671 alone will not give you the knowledge or experience to go out and correctly install and tests systems.
I also carried out a part-p domestic installers course and level 2 inspection and test. This gave me a better understanding and some of the skills needed to carry out domestic installations only.
I would say there is absolutely nothing wrong with short courses (Electrical Trainee) provided you know your limits and you are personally confident you know what you are doing. If you know nothing, doing these courses will not equip you with enough knowledge and skills to go out and work alone on new or existing domestic installations even if they tell you on the course you will be able to after completion.
What is all boils down to is that if you injure or kill someone or burn down their house and you end up in front of the magistrates, your competence will be brought into question. 2 days on a BS7671 course will not wash as competence and you will likely be liable to a prison sentence. If you can prove that you understood the work you were carrying out and the work was designed, tested and erected to BS7671 or better then you have a better argument.
You need to know your limits, you need to know yourself, if you complete the course, ask yourself the question, can I carry out a job safely and do I understand what I am doing, have I tested it correctly, do I know why I have performed certain tests and what the results mean and why I am doing the test. If you are not sure then you shouldn't be doing it.
If you want to be a fully fledged electrician and carry out all manner of works not only domestic then you are going to need to go to college and do the 2 years training which will get you started but you will still need the practical experience and guidance from those in the know.
I myself have done the BS7671 17th edition regs and would consider myself relatively competent in electrical/electronic theory having a degree in electronics, having years of experience as a C&I engineer and years of experience in project managing fire and security installations in commercial and industrial settings. However, the regs BS7671 alone will not give you the knowledge or experience to go out and correctly install and tests systems.
I also carried out a part-p domestic installers course and level 2 inspection and test. This gave me a better understanding and some of the skills needed to carry out domestic installations only.
I would say there is absolutely nothing wrong with short courses (Electrical Trainee) provided you know your limits and you are personally confident you know what you are doing. If you know nothing, doing these courses will not equip you with enough knowledge and skills to go out and work alone on new or existing domestic installations even if they tell you on the course you will be able to after completion.
What is all boils down to is that if you injure or kill someone or burn down their house and you end up in front of the magistrates, your competence will be brought into question. 2 days on a BS7671 course will not wash as competence and you will likely be liable to a prison sentence. If you can prove that you understood the work you were carrying out and the work was designed, tested and erected to BS7671 or better then you have a better argument.
You need to know your limits, you need to know yourself, if you complete the course, ask yourself the question, can I carry out a job safely and do I understand what I am doing, have I tested it correctly, do I know why I have performed certain tests and what the results mean and why I am doing the test. If you are not sure then you shouldn't be doing it.
If you want to be a fully fledged electrician and carry out all manner of works not only domestic then you are going to need to go to college and do the 2 years training which will get you started but you will still need the practical experience and guidance from those in the know.
