5 week short courses

[Starjack]

So is it possible to be a fast-food worker or an office worker and then go on a 5 week course and come out the other end proclaiming to be an electrician.
In addition to that should you be allowed to do a 5 week course and immediately go self employed.
Is it safe to do a 5 week course then immediately be let loose on the public.

In my opinion if you insist on doing a 5 week course it should be compulsory to work for a company under a competent electrician for at least 3-5 years before becoming self employed.

5 weeks!!! It took me longer than that to learn to swim.

 

[Bait Account]

@Starjack there’s 2 sides to a coin bud. Yes some folks might just do the bare minimum to get started and blag their way but there are plenty of others who use the short courses to get into the industry. Many will then gain supervised practical experience and carry on with their studies before jumping into uncharted waters. Then again I’m sure most of us aren’t on as high a horse as you are.

 

[SparkyChick]

And there it is!!!!!!
They shouldn't be meddling with stuff if they don't know what they are doing, so is this how the world is going.

1
Fast food worker , total numpty at the beginning of the month

2
Goes on a wham bam thank you mam course
3
Pay their cheque
4
Register as self employed Electrician
5
Goes on their first job, can't do it because they rapidly find out they're not an electrician and then goes on a forum and asks for a dot to dot guide on what to do.
6
The fast food worker/ sorry " electrician" then collects his/ her money and moves onto the next poor sod.
Tell me I'm wrong, and I'm not being rude but that is how it is.

I'm not claiming this doesn't happen, only a fool would do so.

There is a huge difference between asking for step by step guides and coming here asking for advice, say having someone review a design for example. If someone asks for a step by step guide, it's against forum policy and they are likely to be advised to seek the services of a competent electrician, but when people see this kind of attitude on display it puts them off posting and that probably makes the difference between them learning and improving or not. Surely we want people to improve.

Do I think short coursers get enough practical experience on these coursers? No. Do I have an answer for that? Apart from taking people out on site with me, no I don't.

 

[Starjack]

I'm not claiming this doesn't happen, only a fool would do so.

There is a huge difference between asking for step by step guides and coming here asking for advice, say having someone review a design for example. If someone asks for a step by step guide, it's against forum policy and they are likely to be advised to seek the services of a competent electrician, but when people see this kind of attitude on display it puts them off posting and that probably makes the difference between them learning and improving or not. Surely we want people to improve.

Do I think short coursers get enough practical experience on these coursers? No. Do I have an answer for that? Apart from taking people out on site with me, no I don't.

You can move it into the arms if you like, yes that's right that lovely geezer Leesparky as given me free entry.

 

[ruston]

It is not really a subject that you cab generalise on . House bashing also requires other skills as well as electrical . Most people would be out of their depth even stripping a house to first fix it . It is a two handed sword . I have mixed feeling on it after having to put some of it right , yet I have followed on to some really tidy work.

 

[DPG]

You can move it into the arms if you like, yes that's right that lovely geezer Leesparky as given me free entry.

Only cos he wants the glasses collecting.

 

[SparkyChick]

You can move it into the arms if you like, yes that's right that lovely geezer Leesparky as given me free entry.

I'm not going to move it into The Arms.

And the reason is I want people who may be considering posting (but are worried about how others will respond - i.e. they don't want to be publicly humiliated or crushed for asking what to some may be a basic question) to see that there is at least one person here who will try and help them without berating them.

Don't think this means I won't tell someone they are out of their depth because if I think they are about to embark on a path that could lead to safety concerns, I will.

 

[EbolaSideRoom]

Sorry if it’s a basic question, but are we distinguishing between five week ‘short’ courses and five week ‘long’ courses?

 

[stuartmcclean]

Never get in a vehicle with a driver who has had intensive training for five days and now can drive ,question is the death toll satistics against a five week wonder,

 

[holychihuahua]

So is it possible to be a fast-food worker or an office worker and then go on a 5 week course and come out the other end proclaiming to be an electrician.
In addition to that should you be allowed to do a 5 week course and immediately go self employed.
Is it safe to do a 5 week course then immediately be let loose on the public.

In my opinion if you insist on doing a 5 week course it should be compulsory to work for a company under a competent electrician for at least 3-5 years before becoming self employed.

5 weeks!!! It took me longer than that to learn to swim.

I suppose you are talking about chancers touting for work in peoples homes not new install or refurb site work. If they State up front the limitations of their experience and a customer is still happy to employ them then fair enough. They may instead take the i am a lifetime electrician imposter option and bill every job as five days money using the rational of "this might be the only work i get all week". This type of behaviour would indicate that they are artifice burglars not tradesmen.

 

[Silly Sausage]

And I guess this is one of my biggest gripes... wtf is wrong with people coming to an electricians forums and asking for advice ffs? Who'd have thought it eh???

I have my own rule that I never respond to the DIY threads, they just invariably end up in ---- fests. Best policy, steer well clear

 

[ukiri]

What cracks me up about Electrical Trainee`s is when they get a piece in the business section of the paper about how fantastic they are that after 18mths/2yrs they have decided to set up a training co train other Electrical Trainee

 

[Adrian1958]

There is a bit of surmising going on here,
To assume short course attendees are from a non electrical back ground.
I completed a full electrical apprenticeship in the mid 70s , worked on a few factory rewires , some house bashing and a lot of fire systems, then i moved into electonic engineering.
At the age of 58 i found electronics passing me by and i looked back at my electrical skills. I signed up to a short course to get my qualifications up to scratch, although mine was over 9 months.


Looking at some of the chase filling by some electricians , i think a 5 week short course in plastering is needed.

 

[Upton Sparks]

And there it is!!!!!!
They shouldn't be meddling with stuff if they don't know what they are doing, so is this how the world is going.

1
Fast food worker , total numpty at the beginning of the month

2
Goes on a wham bam thank you mam course
3
Pay their cheque
4
Register as self employed Electrician
5
Goes on their first job, can't do it because they rapidly find out they're not an electrician and then goes on a forum and asks for a dot to dot guide on what to do.
6
The fast food worker/ sorry " electrician" then collects his/ her money and moves onto the next poor sod.
Tell me I'm wrong, and I'm not being rude but that is how it is.

For a start , the person you have discribed would not have the gumption or the get up and go to go out and change his life, and if he did have that the gumption to change his life then the 5 week course is a good starting place, For him or her.

It's no as easy as you make it out to pass a 5 week course. It's not a pay, show up and pass, then they have to join a scheme (assets by the scheme yearly) to certificate and make notifications for building control. They will need to pass there 18th edition course as well as the testing and inspecting 2391 or what ever they call it Now.
Your also being either naive or disingenuous
They can't do it in 5 weeks . It's normal 5 weeks course then they have to take the 18ediron and book in the testing and inspecting course, i think your be hard pushed to do it all in 4 months at a push.

Yeah ok they will not have mastered any practical skills and as for any containment and metal bashing not a chance.... But they don't really need those skills for house bashing, your either a practical person or your not. Horse for course.
And they are not going to make it on to a construction site as an electrician until they gone and done the required qualifications and got the gold cards. But they can get on as an electrical labour and gain the experience and qualification required over time.

But that was not your point, your asking, "should they be allowed to go out and start a business and start working in people's house"

Well yes, as long as they have joined a scheme and an have the correct insurance and have past their tests and if they did all that in 5 F'in weeks! Good on them! I think I would employ them because they shown determination and commitment which counts for a lot.

Oh and Last time I checked we lived in a free democratic capitalist country ......... It Worked for you ? no? Comrade ?

 

[SparkyChick]

What cracks me up about Electrical Trainee`s is when they get a piece in the business section of the paper about how fantastic they are that after 18mths/2yrs they have decided to set up a training co train other Electrical Trainee

Is there any evidence of that happening?

I'm a short courser (ignoring the fact I've passed all the level 3 exams, completed the AM2 and have just my NVQ3 portfolio to writeup), is it wrong that I have a trainee working with me? Someone from these very forums who was looking to change his life, who thus far has done me proud in the quality of the work he's produced, the rate at which he's picking up new skills and also the positive effect the on-site experiences appear to be having on his exam results.

 

[HappyHippyDad]

So is it possible to be a fast-food worker or an office worker and then go on a 5 week course and come out the other end proclaiming to be an electrician.
In addition to that should you be allowed to do a 5 week course and immediately go self employed.
Is it safe to do a 5 week course then immediately be let loose on the public.

In my opinion if you insist on doing a 5 week course it should be compulsory to work for a company under a competent electrician for at least 3-5 years before becoming self employed.

5 weeks!!! It took me longer than that to learn to swim.

I think 5 weaks is ok it is long enuf to learn how to do work in houses safly and maybe even some comercial but not to much.