Worth a complaint or not?

[OllieNotts]

Hi, started level 2 2330 etc 3 weeks ago and as of yet myself and my group as a whole are not very happy.
Too cut a long story short the college is due a new lecturer and his CRB check hasnt come through yet(apparently), the practical tutor has decided after one session of H&S that he needs a few weeks off on the sick. For reasons that seem out of the tutors control we have started the 201 module on H&S and then had three different tutors going over the same kind of stuff and nothing electrical. We had our first practical session last tuesday on our 6th lesson of the course by which time we should of been up to three theory and three practical and was shown by the supervisor a diagram of a circuit and given tools and wire shown once and told to get on with it. Que the whole class running round asking everyone else how things are done while he minced around from table to table while we were all running out of material and couldnt get things done. When we had actually wired the light up we were still given no explanation what it is for but put your name on etc and the today when it was time for practical we are joined by the other group on the course making for 50 odd people in one small workshop! 20 of us went off on an "abrasive wheel course" to learn about saws etc which we will get a "certificate" needed for if we ever go on site(I am dubious as to whether this is true). I wouldnt of bothered as we are already behind but I couldnt face the workshop and yet more benny hill style "teaching". A few of us asked the supervisor today who just keeps saying its not his fault etc which we understand but it seems to be getting beyond a joke now. No one knows anything except it is not their fault. They dont know when it will be sorted. They dont know what our timetable is because other people are letting them down and all the while we are passed from pillar to post and I really dont know much more then I did three weeks ago when we started.
Sorry if its gone on, just not sure what to do but it feels like we could still be doing this **** in 4-5 weeks and then its my future that is at stake not theirs and I am not the only to be annoyed but its getting ridiculous.
Advice please?

 

[mogga]

is this an F.E.College or a "Course provider" ? If its an F.E. college go complain to the head of college as you deffo wont pass if your being messwed around like tis ALSO a wee letter detailing the short comings to CnG (as they provide the course to follow and exams ) And probably the funders for your course as they wont provide funding for resit if you fail but may if its not your fault ( complaint letter will back this up if it does happen " rather than complaining AFTER it will be to late
if its a Course provider then Ask to meet witth the center manager Also letter CnG and Trading standards as its YOUR money and your paying for a service not being provided
Either way good luck

 

[Air Conditioner]

In my opinion when things are out of your control you have to take control of the things you can control. So speak to the head of the college and express your concerns (you could do this alone or in a small group) about the situation hopefully they should be able to tell you whats being done and hopefuly set your mind at rest that something is actually being done. The other thing to do is to take control of your own learning as much as you can whether that means reading around the subject or practising past papers. Hope that helps a little. Good luck.
A/C

 

[stansmith]

try and sort it out i had the same issues when i did my 2330 years ago, the prac was a joke only did a couple of sessions in the first year and most tutors were just lazy sparks looking for an easy ride, i was lucky to have one good tutor who actually did care. id just see how it turns out for now and like its been said make the best of a bad situation

 

[Adam W]

I'd wait a couple of weeks before risking putting peoples' noses out of joint (not literally).
When I started college the course started about 3 months late because they didn't have a tutor, then the guy we got was rubbish; his opening speech included a bit about how he used to teach in some of the roughest colleges in London so if we started on him he'd throw us through the window.
He "left" after a couple of months and we were taught by the head of department for the rest of the year.
Practical started off by wiring up JBs on plywood boards, which wasn't really explained properly and didn't make much sense.
After that we actually wired circuits in bays which seemed more relevant. I got distinctions in all but one module.

Health & safety might be boring but it's in the exam so you need to do it, and it's better to get the boring stuff out of the way first.
With all due respect a lot of people come on here complaining about the pace of the first few weeks practical, especially those who have forked out a fortune for an 'intensive' course then get told to poke wires through pre-drilled holes in boards instead of someone standing behind you while you rewire a house.

As regards the tutor leaving you to get on with it, that could well be some kind of initiation to see how well you cope, after all, you don't get a babysitter on site. My college loved doing stuff like that. Some numpty once came on here demanding the answer to a question his college had set him as part of the entrance assessment. They'd set him a level 3 question, presumably to see how well he'd cope or if he gave a model answer they'd know he'd cheated by asking on a forum. We tried suggesting he should have a go himself but he saw that as being 'obstructive' and 'unhelpful'. Dunno if he got in.

So yeah I'd leave it a few weeks before you start throwing your weight around.

 

[OllieNotts]

Thanks for the advice.
Do not want to start putting folks noses out obviously, it just seems they have no idea. It is my local college doing this not a training provider(I hope that is right).
I know most of the H&S stuff already from working for 13 years and having gone on numerous inductions etc and passed the mock exam already but the few electrical questions I got on there were wrong obviously, I just keep getting excited over the weekend and get there to be met with lost faces(tutors) excuses and chaos. I think I will give it tomorrow and next week and see what happens. In the mean time need to start ringing round and asking if anyone wants a trainee Would LOVE a job in the field right now and decided if I can get one will take it and drive a lorry at weekends to keep the money up. I will even pay for my course fees next year and NVQ if it means getting JIB status AND good experience.
Sorry for moan lads feel a bit down about the whole thing tongight. Working nights tue-fri to keep bills paid and college mon tue and obviously as it doesnt seem to be going well its difficult to see the bigger picture sometimes.

 

[piratebillybob]

i was the same as you. Working nights to pay for my college course.

i demoted myself to do my electrical course and i paid for it myself so i was darn sure i wanted it done properly.

Saying that though i started 3 weeks late. I was also in a practical group where there were lots of people, and i was also in the position where i was being asked to build stuff without the theory being delivered first.

But with hard work (and the fact that the level 2 isnt *that* difficult once you get into it)
i came out of the year with all distinctions.

All i can say is if you fall behind then use the half term week to catch up as there wont be anyone else in the workshop. Or stay behind in the evening.

Your theory will catch up to the practical. But it wouldnt hurt to get ahead and read about different types of lighting and power circuits now and try to work out how theyre wired.

By the time christmas is over your skills and confidence will be better.

When i first started my level 2 i was a mess. I was doing crap work, getting stressed because i had given up so much and it wasnt going exactly to plan.

What you have to remember is this is the beginning of the road. if you think this is stressful then wait until youve got all distinctions and people still wont give you an apprenticeship and youre stuck with the possibility that youve wasted the last 2 years of your life.

because you do need to start looking for an apprenticeship now. All distinctions wont be enough to secure one. And offering to pay for the NVQ wont be enough either. (I know because thats exactly what i tried to no avail)

You must have onsite experience. So start doing weekend work now, even if its free. And start applying for the big companies in the new year

 

[OllieNotts]

I am not stressing, as such anyway I am just getting annoyed at the lack of will to get anything done. The head of department gave a genuine apology to us in Tuesday afternoon, wonder if he read this And they are trying to get a temporary tutor in as now the theory and practical have gone off sick one for weeks one till next week ffs what is wrong with em? Had an afternoon on electrical theory so felt a bit better but spent 2 days solid in a classroom very zzz and was nodding by the end shamefully.
Thanks for your advice though, I know its crap as far as getting a start goes but I have a year so I am gonna start having a go now.
We have been told to that after promises the level 3 will go ahead next year, we may have to be in the trade in the complete it as per the new rules. Because of the change in structure with gov funding they think that they will only fund it under the new rules and if they cant get the funding to carry it on we have wasted a year anyway. So I have to at least start now just dont know where to start Nottingham has not served me well as a lorry drivers there is no major players here. I guess we have eon on the electric side but jobs will be rarer the rocking horse **** so I have to get a yellow pages and start writing or calling?

 

[piratebillybob]

i come from a small city. Across two counties i contacted about 70 companies, and got about 10% rejection/90% no reply. It resulted in 2 work trials that went a bit dodgy because i didnt believe there was an apprenticeship there and they were just using me for cheap work.

Nottingham is a great position. The amount of electrical companies will be a lot more than near me.

Youve also got the neighbouring counties. So having to drive 30 miles to work every day may be your only opportunity but you arent going to get something easy, it just doesnt work out like that.

I went to yell.com, searched for electrical companies within a 25 mile radius. For an apprenticeship, I picked out all the companies that did at least two fields eg domestic and commercial, industrial and commercial or all three

This is because you need at least 2 for your nvq.

I then sat down one day and worked my way through the list. Crossing off the ones who werent interested, and ticking ones who wanted me to send them my cv.

Youll get lots of hung ups and rude people but dont let that deter you.

If however youre after just being a workers mate for the moment to get site experience then ring them all.

I would go to a professional printers and and get your cv done properly in a nice folder.

I wouldnt necessarily blindly send out cvs just because of the expense. Its best to phone around and then send out a quality cv to those who may be interested. I think my cvs cost me £1.50 a time.

As for national companies, youve got the company formerly known as eon, national grid, severn trent, n power, national rail as well as all the other ones at apprenticeships.org and Hot Apprenticeships