2330 Year two prices jumped 40% not sure what to do.

[bobajob]

Ths is a repeat of a post i made last night but I think the title was too amibiguous, so I have posted it again. Please mods, if you need to remove one of these threads could you remove the other one "not sure what to do". Thanks

I passed my first year of 2330 lvl2 with distinctions in units one and two, so was really happy about that.

Now I am a bit stuck, I am financing myself in the course and am not in the trade yet apart from helping out mates occasionally. My lovely college has decided to shaft us all in the second year with really unfair price increases.

Year 1 of 2330 lvl 2 have gone up £59 to £861
2330 Level 3 has stayed the same at £1025

But year 2 of 2330 lvl 2 has jumped a whopping £220 to £715 for the year. This is worse when you bear in mind that the year one fees include ALL exam fees for both years.

They know that we are over a barrel because no other college will take us half way through a course and if we want to get a qualification we have no choice but to pay the big increase. REALLY DIRTY!!!

I dont know if its worth carrying on. I feel so angry and feel like just throwing in the towel. I had saved £550 for the fees based on last years prices and thinking it might go up a bit. To find an extra £165 is going to be a struggle. And then what if they do the same next year for the level three? It also upsets me that there are idiots there who mess around and because of their age or limited income get the course subsidised. (rant over)

What do you guys think, is it worth carrying on? Is the qualification that valuable? Can it help me in the future? I'm 36 and would like to eventually start my own business after building quals and experience.

Any advice welcome.

 

[Macer]

Are there no grants available?
When i was at college i had to fund myself, in the second year i found out about a grant avaiable to me which i claimed. You had to have 100% attendance, which isnt really a problem if your comitted to passing.
The grant was called ALG - Adult Learning Grant, and is for over 21's as the younger lot got the EMA.

Also i studied Level 2 in a year which cost just over £1,000 - cant remember the exact amount
and the Level 3 was completed in around 6-7 month's, which again cost around the same

 

[MrSkipsey]

Re: Not sure what to do.

If its your first Level 2 or Level 3 course then you are eligible for help from the college or local government bodies.
When I applied for my first level 2 course I was unemployed and able to prove it via housing and council tax benefit so the college refunded the money I borrowed to pay for the course as I had no income.
My mate, who we have just finished L3 lost his job after being on the course for 5 months. He also applied to the finance department of the college and they issued him a checque that covered the remainder of his course which was about £220.

Just speak to the finance department of your college, if youve 'lost' your job midway they may be able to financially help you. No college wants to have 'drop outs' or 'fails' on their course as it limits the funding for the next year [I think - dont quote me] and it makes their pass rate look rubbish in the local colleges results section in the public domain and local press.

Just to pre warn you. If your signing on and claiming JSA then the JC will not have a problem with you attending college. They will however insist you give up college if an offer of work becomes availible. You have to be actively seeking work to claim for JSA. In my personal opinion, I wouldnt even inform the JC that you are at college, they dont care that your trying to better yourself. All they want is to fill the shelf stacking and data entry jobs that they have an abundance of!

 

[MrSkipsey]

Ive made a post in your other thread so hopefully a mod will move it to hear beofore deleting the thread.
Generally its more or less what Macer has posted.

 

[Jono Pashley]

Are there no grants available?
When i was at college i had to fund myself, in the second year i found out about a grant avaiable to me which i claimed. You had to have 100% attendance, which isnt really a problem if your comitted to passing.
The grant was called ALG - Adult Learning Grant, and is for over 21's as the younger lot got the EMA.

Also i studied Level 2 in a year which cost just over £1,000 - cant remember the exact amount
and the Level 3 was completed in around 6-7 month's, which again cost around the same

wow...we did it in a year for 570 quid so i dont know what to say about those prices besides that the college are robbing ....

 

[bobajob]

Thanks guys I really appreciate your input. I will look into the grants but I fear I may not qualify because I work for myself as a window cleaner and it puts me just too high to claim any benefits so I cant get the subsidised prices. but the ALG looks interesting. I had 100% attendance last year so it might br worth pursuing.

Thanks again.

 

[chocolate]

Hiya,

Interesting reading this. I have two hats here. I was in your shoes 3 years ago. Financed myself through the 2360 ( the course that dies and was replaced with the 2330 ) and then got a job. So like yo, I had no experience and wasn't in the trade. Paying for it all almost killed me. But I stuck it out and gave up the night outs and the motorbike.

Now, been with a company for 3 years. They wouldn't have taken me on if I didn't have qualifications. It depends where you live and what options you have. Smaller firms need reassurances that you can do the work. Big firms and building sites will take people on whatever, maybe. But for peace of mind, and to progress in this job, you should really aim to get the paperwork.

I have an apprentice who is in the same position as you. He is about to pa for his 2nd year, and he isn't happy about the costs. Alright, so he's working at the moment, but only as a labourer. For insurance reasons, he can't be work solo due to his qualifications.

Doing the whole 2330 will give you a built-in regs qualification too.

I would say if you are really keen in being a sparks, try your best to pay for it. Look around at other colleges, but i know not many offer the courses. If you're married and kids, I understand things look grim.

Best wishes in what you decide.

 

[MrSkipsey]

Doing the whole 2330 will give you a built-in regs qualification too.

Sorry to go off on a tangent here but are you sure this is correct Chocolate? At Barking college were under the impression that after the 2330 L2 & L3. Although you are taught to 17th standards you still have to do the 17th edition.

 

[Jono Pashley]

Sorry to go off on a tangent here but are you sure this is correct Chocolate? At Barking college were under the impression that after the 2330 L2 & L3. Although you are taught to 17th standards you still have to do the 17th edition.

You do not get your regs included you still need a 2382 cert however if you passed 2360/2330 L3 after 2004 you can take the update course, because you are judged to already have some of the required knowledge.

 

[jreid67]

You do not get your regs included you still need a 2382 cert however if you passed 2360/2330 L3 after 2004 you can take the update course, because you are judged to already have some of the required knowledge.

im just about to go into my last year and under the impression that we'll be qualified for the 17th edition and we wont need to do another exam.

my college chargers about £250 for each year including the 2391, i think all colleges should be charging the same price

 

[Jono Pashley]

http://www.elecsa.co.uk/downloads/public/Routes to obtain a 17th edition qualification .pdf

 

[david.saxon]

Hi Colin,

Just finished my 2330 level 3.

We had the same at Chelmsford college.

I dont know what your grades were from school, but if you dont have "O" levels or any other level 2 qualification the college give You a major discount.

I paid about £ 300.00 in the first year of my level 2, But only £ 200.00 in my second year.

Level 3 was £ 680.00

Speak to your college.

Good luck

Dave


Also,

Just to agree, I have just finished level 3 2330 at chelmsford college and was told quite clearly that we would be qualified to 17th edition.

But every company I have spoken to asked for a 2382 certificate. which is lucky as I took it and passed a few months ago.

Cheers

Dave

 

[bobajob]

Thanks guys for all your support and advice. Sadly I wont be able to get any grants because I earn just to much to get any help, only a few hundred per year but its over the line. And I left school with 9 GCSE's above grade C so I dont qualify for that. I wish I had gone to college at the time but didnt get the best advice in that regard sadly.

I think I will just bite the bullet and pay it. I got two distinctions for 201 and 202 so I am capable to do it and in the long run I stand to make much more than £220 when I am qualified. It just burns that they are so blatant about milking us. Oh well, what goes around comes around and all that.

As far as the 17 edition goes we asked our college about it and they said that anyone who STARTED their 2330 lvl2 in Sept 2008 or later will be qualified to 17th edition because their course started after the beginning of the 17th edition. But anyone who did ther first year in 2007 or before has to do the update, because part, or all, of their course was done under the 16 edition. Thats what we were told but there dosnt seem to be any clarity. AS USUAL !!!

 

[Sp33do]

Ths is a repeat of a post i made last night but I think the title was too amibiguous, so I have posted it again. Please mods, if you need to remove one of these threads could you remove the other one "not sure what to do". Thanks

I passed my first year of 2330 lvl2 with distinctions in units one and two, so was really happy about that.

Now I am a bit stuck, I am financing myself in the course and am not in the trade yet apart from helping out mates occasionally. My lovely college has decided to shaft us all in the second year with really unfair price increases.

Year 1 of 2330 lvl 2 have gone up £59 to £861
2330 Level 3 has stayed the same at £1025

But year 2 of 2330 lvl 2 has jumped a whopping £220 to £715 for the year. This is worse when you bear in mind that the year one fees include ALL exam fees for both years.

They know that we are over a barrel because no other college will take us half way through a course and if we want to get a qualification we have no choice but to pay the big increase. REALLY DIRTY!!!

I dont know if its worth carrying on. I feel so angry and feel like just throwing in the towel. I had saved £550 for the fees based on last years prices and thinking it might go up a bit. To find an extra £165 is going to be a struggle. And then what if they do the same next year for the level three? It also upsets me that there are idiots there who mess around and because of their age or limited income get the course subsidised. (rant over)

What do you guys think, is it worth carrying on? Is the qualification that valuable? Can it help me in the future? I'm 36 and would like to eventually start my own business after building quals and experience.

Any advice welcome.

I get fundind from the ILA Wales and i notice Scotland do it too,can't you get anything like that?

 

[Risteard]

http://www.elecsa.co.uk/downloads/public/Routes%20to%20obtain%20a%2017th%20edition%20qualification%20.pdf

I was aware of that. Does anyone know why they forgot to include the 2351 for the update?

Also, I see that if you hold an ECS Gold Card you can do either the Update or Assessment Only. I wasn't aware of this and ended up doing the full course!