2365 lvl 2&3 is it worth it?

[waftycranker]

Hello everybody,

Hope everybody is keeping safe and well.

I am a mechanical engineer (NVQ 3) and with the current job market and no longer interested in getting covered in oil and grease I’m looking to gain a decent qualification to open up electrical work.

Ideally I’d like to be doing combined elec/mech jobs in commercial and domestic settings.

Unfortunately I can’t find a clear, concise pathway anywhere on the internet (C&G’s website is easily the the least informative!) but from what I can tell is the 2365 lvl 2 then 3 would be the best route.

My questions:
- Do I need to do the lvl 2? I didn’t when I did my mech NVQ 3.
- If I did the 2365 lvl 3 would I still need to get an experienced spark to sign off a log book?
- And is there an alternative qualification that would give me the knowledge needed that employers would also consider as relevant?

I appreciate that answers to these may already be on this site but I haven’t been able to find anything that clearly answers my questions.

Thanks in advance to any replies.

 

[Alex W]

Hello everybody,

Hope everybody is keeping safe and well.

I am a mechanical engineer (NVQ 3) and with the current job market and no longer interested in getting covered in oil and grease I’m looking to gain a decent qualification to open up electrical work.

Ideally I’d like to be doing combined elec/mech jobs in commercial and domestic settings.

Unfortunately I can’t find a clear, concise pathway anywhere on the internet (C&G’s website is easily the the least informative!) but from what I can tell is the 2365 lvl 2 then 3 would be the best route.

My questions:
- Do I need to do the lvl 2? I didn’t when I did my mech NVQ 3.
- If I did the 2365 lvl 3 would I still need to get an experienced spark to sign off a log book?
- And is there an alternative qualification that would give me the knowledge needed that employers would also consider as relevant?

I appreciate that answers to these may already be on this site but I haven’t been able to find anything that clearly answers my questions.

Thanks in advance to any replies.

1) I believe you do need to do Level 2 as well as Level 3 as they cover different areas and topics. There is very little practical involved in Level 3 whereas Level 2 covers practical techniques in much greater depth. Level 3 also goes into testing much more which leads into your next question.

2) Well that really depends, If you are doing work in domestic settings, any work covered by Part P will need to be signed off by someone registered with a Part P Scheme. You may be able to register with just your 2365 Level 3 although some schemes may insist you have a testing qualification such as C&G 2391.
If your work isn't covered by Part P then a certificate can be signed off by any "Competent Person"

3) I would highly suggest doing the 2365 courses or an apprenticeship. There are other "domestic installer" you can take such as C&G 4141-01, but the 2365 / apprenticeships are the main ways to get the underpinning electrical theory knowledge that most employers look for.

 

[Vortigern]

It's just a thought but have you looked at Electrical/Mechanical maintenance jobs? I get these vacancies posted to me and most of them are that kind of work. Very often working for utilities. Just thinking you might be able to walk into the right vacancy with on the job training with your skills. Looking in to them, there is electrical work but it seems mostly engineering, like the warp core explodes and you have to fix it with a stilleto and a nail file, that sort of thing

 

[waftycranker]

Thanks for the replies.

So the 2365 can be used as a qual by itself and not as part of an apprenticeship? That is good to know, I don’t really want to be starting out from scratch again. I do value apprenticeships but I don’t want to be going back to apprentice money for an extended amount of time, I’d much rather get a qual and work alongside a spark and learn from him/her whilst I could be the SME for the mech side of jobs.

I have applied for a few elec/mech engineer jobs but with the amount of applicants they are receiving it seems my application is going straight in the bin as there must be loads of dual qualified (and experienced) applicants.

I’m not sure about taking a job on the USS Enterprise though, the missus is getting ----ed off enough with me taking contracts a couple of hours down the road never mind where no man has gone before!

 

[Burtones]

The 2365 level 2&3 are the technical certificates- with them you can take the am2 and complete the nvq which will then give you the equivalent quals as a time served apprentice.

Also with all of the above you can register with one of the schemes.

If you have the level 2&3 and the 2391-52 inspection and testing qual you can register with a scheme without the am2 or nvq, either way to register with a scheme you need level 2&3.

*All of the above applies to people coming into the industry now or within the last few years, of course there a many combinations of equivalent quals that will be accepted by schemes- in fact, they would probably accept just the 2391-52 on top of the mechanical engineering nvq3 you already have so worth calling one up- although on their websites you can get a full hierarchy of their qualification requirements.