Recommended additional courses

[SouthyBCFC]

Hi all, first post so bare with me. Currently I am a 19 year old apprentice having worked two years in the trade predominately in a domestic environment. Today i had my quarterly review with my training officer at work and it has come to light that the budget whereby any additional courses requested by the employees comes out of needs to be spent by march 2015. My point been is there anyone out there that can recommend me any additional short courses etc. that will benefit my CV in the future any suggestions would be welcomed. Currently thinking towards a 2 day PAT testing course but any thoughts from users i would be thankful for. Cheers for your time Tom

 

[trev]

Do you think you're ready for 2394/5? As an apprentice I'd probably doubt it but ask at work, the ones that know you and what stage you're at might say go for it.

 

[SouthyBCFC]

Still trying to get to grips with qualification jargon however... I have recently completed my 2357 level 3 city and guild qualification, still waiting to get my NVQ logbook all signed off and also in full knowledge that my employer will fund me for my 2391 inspection and testing and also my AM2 assessment. Knowing where i stand please could you shed some light on what the suggested course is, is this anything similar to the old C course i have heard so much about? cheers trev

 

[trev]

2391 is dead and gone mate, it's been split into 2. 2394 and 5 are now the numbers, one covers IVs the other EICRs.

 

[SouthyBCFC]

You saying that i have just looked up and found the exact same so i am 100% certain my employer will be funding me for the 2394/5 course regardless at some point in 2015. That been said off the top of your head can you think of any courses i can research that would benefit me in the long run as an electrician

 

[trev]

I'd steer well clear of the pat course mate, if you've got the bit of paper that means your gaffer could send you out doing it. I don't like the thought of suicidal 19 year olds and after a day or 2 you would be.
Why don't you talk to your boss and see what courses the company would like you to go on. If it's available I'd be looking at fire and intruder alarms.

 

[SouthyBCFC]

Haha nobody ever did hear of an enthusiastic pat tester. Agreed that seems a great route to go down i don't feel i could get it authorised due to the lack of alarm systems we tend to deal with at work keeping in mind i am employed by my local council (tea boy); we seem to stick to domestic in general unfortunately it feels very limited at the moment i want to gain the most qualifications i can from the place whilst working there as you can see.

 

[trev]

Bull.
All councils have a section looking after schools and public buildings mate. They are bottomless pits of cash too, screw any course you can out of them then head off into the big bad world

 

[SouthyBCFC]

Haha agreed mate, sucks the fact were separated into two completely different sections one depot that looks after areas listed above and us purely domestic, feel as though i fell into the wrong section, cheers for your advice anyway mate

 

[trev]

I subbed for our LA a few months back and was shocked at how it's organised. The really good sparks are all on installation while the less talented ones are on repairs. Come the end of the decent homes work it'll be the installation lads that get dumped though.

 

[Pete999]

You saying that i have just looked up and found the exact same so i am 100% certain my employer will be funding me for the 2394/5 course regardless at some point in 2015. That been said off the top of your head can you think of any courses i can research that would benefit me in the long run as an electrician

Don't waste your firms money and your time on the PAT course

 

[UNG]

Haha nobody ever did hear of an enthusiastic pat tester. Agreed that seems a great route to go down i don't feel i could get it authorised due to the lack of alarm systems we tend to deal with at work keeping in mind i am employed by my local council (tea boy); we seem to stick to domestic in general unfortunately it feels very limited at the moment i want to gain the most qualifications i can from the place whilst working there as you can see.

I would of thought an alarm course would be more use for domestic work exactly how much PAT testing are you going to do in a domestic property

 

[SouthyBCFC]

Agreed an alarm installation course seems to be more relevant again bareing in mind from a social housing perspective alarm installations doesn't get paid for tenants through the councils funding i can't stress enough how much of a useful qualification this would be for me to have. PAT testing seemed a suggestion due to the amount that goes on throughout the depot given the vast amount of tradesmen present needing it

 

[Engineer54]

Still trying to get to grips with qualification jargon however... I have recently completed my 2357 level 3 city and guild qualification, still waiting to get my NVQ logbook all signed off and also in full knowledge that my employer will fund me for my 2391 inspection and testing and also my AM2 assessment. Knowing where i stand please could you shed some light on what the suggested course is, is this anything similar to the old C course i have heard so much about? cheers trev

How the hell did you manage to complete C&G 2357 level 3 technical certificates and complete NVQ 3 in 2 years??????

If the vast majority of your companies work is in the domestic sector, how have you managed to complete the NVQ 3??

Somethings not quite adding up here....

 

[TJ Anderson]

How the hell did you manage to complete C&G 2357 level 3 technical certificates and complete NVQ 3 in 2 years??????

If the vast majority of your companies work is in the domestic sector, how have you managed to complete the NVQ 3??

Somethings not quite adding up here....

It does add up. I know apprentices / trainee electricians who have done NVQ3 in 2 years and all domestic. Many did it on one massive social housing contract we were all on for over 4 years.

 

[Engineer54]

It does add up. I know apprentices / trainee electricians who have done NVQ 3 in 2 years and all domestic. Many did it on one massive social housing contract we were all on for over 4 years.

Really, so you can get through a NVQ 3 purely on domestic projects?? Pull the other leg it's got bells on it!!

If you can complete a full level 3 2387 + NVQ 3 in two years as an apprentice with a contracting company that mainly deals with domestic installations, something is very ,very wrong somewhere along the line !!!

 

[Plonker 3]

What about doing PASMA and IPAF courses, not electrical but they last for three years and will make you more employable should you choose to leave in the near future. Even things like asbestos awareness are asked for now adays.

 

[davesparks]

Really, so you can get through a NVQ 3 purely on domestic projects?? Pull the other leg it's got bells on it!!

If you can complete a full level 3 2387 + NVQ 3 in two years as an apprentice with a contracting company that mainly deals with domestic installations, something is very ,very wrong somewhere along the line !!!

I spent my entire apprenticeship working for a rural domestic building company, it is entirely possible.

There was just me and the one qualified electrician on the company, amongst around 60 tradesmen of every discipline.

The electrician I worked with was very experienced in domestic, commercial, agricultural and light industrial work, having worked for a very well respected local contractors for most of his career.

We did the occasional bit of commercial or agricultural work for local businesses and farms, and the basics of motor control I learned in company's joinery workshop.

I have still managed to come out of it with the skills that have allowed me to succeed in much bigger working environments and working with far more complex systems.


It's not just about where you work, the attitude and the knowledge of the person teaching you is a massive part of it.

 

[Engineer54]

So was your technical college apprenticeship a two year affair too??

And you did this so-called NVQ 3 with that company as well, all at the same time? NVQ 3 is supposed to cover installation of all types of metal containment systems and just about every other type of installation work that you'd never see or come across on domestic installations.

Sorry, it just does not add up or compute with me.... But then i put little to no faith in the verification of these NVQ 3 portfolio logbook system. They are wide open to fraud and abuse.

 

[davesparks]

So was your technical college apprenticeship a two year affair too??

And you did this so-called NVQ 3 with that company as well, all at the same time? NVQ 3 is supposed to cover installation of all types of metal containment systems and just about every other type of installation work that you'd never see or come across on domestic installations.

Sorry, it just does not add up or compute with me.... But then i put little to no faith in the verification of these NVQ 3 portfolio logbook system. They are wide open to fraud and abuse.

The college part was spread over 4 years (should have been 3 but the college were hopeless)

Yes I did the NVQ3 with the company and I did have the broadest range of types of work of anyone in my class.
I had worked with T&E, SWA, MICC, steel conduit and trunking, plastic conduit and trunking and cable tray by the time I finished the portfolio.

When I did the AM2 the only thing I had never worked with before was FP200, which didn't take 30seconds to get to grips with.

Yes the NVQ system is open to massive abuse, certainly some of the photographic evidence in my portfolio was utter BS.