Career change advice / suitability of awarding body ? ?

[Clarkster04]

Hi allJust about to leave the Army after 23 years and have finally settled on my intended second career option, namely an Electrician!!!I have recently approached a local access training organisation and pasted a link to their web page covering the "Proffessional Electrician Qualification" and wondered if a few of you could comment on suitability and if the awarding body are well recognised as i have very little knowedge as of yet..Professional Electrician Qualifications from Access Training If i have learnt one thing over the last 23 years it is that local knowledge and advice are one of the best sources of quailty information!!!Any help with pearls or wisdom or must haves would be greatly appreciated tooAdvice on tools would help (Fluke, test equipment or any suggested favourites bits of kit)Thanks in advance of any or all responses, truely grateful of your time.Wayne

 

[telectrix]

beware of these fast track courses. they may get you the qualifications, but practical experience NOT!. they will gladly take your £1000's with the promise that you can earn £50k/annum, and there is a shortage of skills. in actual fact, there is a shortage of work for qualified sparks. employers are deskilling our trade by using unskilled labour. see related threads on the subject.

 

[Clarkster04]

Telectrix thanks for your candid reply. I agree that the sausage machine technique to qualification is not going to give me the practical experience i require to hold my head up as a tradesman. I have 2 years to retrain in the South Wales area (Swansea) and aim to work through the qualifications in stages and trade my free time for experience on a work placement basis (one day a week or as and when i can get released from work). I take your point entirely and will approach a few tradesmen in my extended area and canvas their opinion on work availibility and demand.. Thanks again

 

[hammerwell08]

If its any help , I have just signed up for a learn at home course. I went with train4skills as they have a training center not to far from my area.
I too am completly new to all this electrics , apart from the general stuff change a plug , replace a shower like for like etc.

I am just trying to gather as much learning material and different experiences , tips anything i can to help my learning. I did see on the forum a site that i will sign up to called the learning lounge. Some people say it will help and i think the videos will be the biggest help of all . I have already watched a few on Utube & thats helping me understand more. (Look for Tony Cable. )

Good luck with your learning and i do hope you get on well. Rememmber no one was born a sparky we all have to learn it to become one & imo you will always be learning in this trade.

 

[Clarkster04]

Thanks mate! I have a plan and as best possible intend to give it a go.. The way i see it is, if I dont try i will never know.. Good luck yourself buddy and your right everyday is a school day if your ears work! lol

 

[rfears]

I was made redundant in October after 40 years in the computer / software industry. I signed up with Train4skills as I have been involved in electronics and electrics all my life and thought proper qualifications in the sparks industry would be right up my street and give me an occupation and income before retiring fully.

I'm very happy with the course and support provided even though it is mainly online - I have yet to attend one of the practical sessions and can say I'm really looking forward to it.

In this part of the country (Hertfordshire) I'm having to turn down work - as soon as our friends / neighbours / people in the pub found I was studying they started offering me all sorts of work, usually because they couldn't find a local tradesman to take on small low value jobs (replacing a kicked in patt box, extra light in the garden shed, etc).

I suspect that once I have qualified, and have to charge proper rates if only to pay for the various registrations, I will find the small jobs drying up rapidly.

We'll see.

Anyway, enjoy the training and good luck with certification.

 

[Clarkster04]

I made some enquiry's about the distance learning method with the staged practical assessments but thought i might benifit better from a full time course? Got a 3 week course at a domestic level to get my feet wet and see how i get on early Feb. Glad to hear you are being considered in the community already, promising signs for future work!! Good luck yourself..

 

[GLENNSPARK]

If its any help , I have just signed up for a learn at home course. I went with train4skills as they have a training center not to far from my area.
I too am completly new to all this electrics , apart from the general stuff change a plug , replace a shower like for like etc.

I am just trying to gather as much learning material and different experiences , tips anything i can to help my learning. I did see on the forum a site that i will sign up to called the learning lounge. Some people say it will help and i think the videos will be the biggest help of all . I have already watched a few on Utube & thats helping me understand more. (Look for Tony Cable. )

Good luck with your learning and i do hope you get on well. Rememmber no one was born a sparky we all have to learn it to become one & imo you will always be learning in this trade.

shrewsbury college....(up past the memorial)
would have been a better play for you here ....as it aint far from telford......or you may have been able to get into Sankeys.....who would have been able to give you an apprenticeship....with their maintinence team....or even Perkins diesel.....up harlescott in shrewsbury...another one there.......

 

[hammerwell08]

shrewsbury college....(up past the memorial)
would have been a better play for you here ....as it aint far from telford......or you may have been able to get into Sankeys.....who would have been able to give you an apprenticeship....with their maintinence team....or even Perkins diesel.....up harlescott in shrewsbury...another one there.......

Hi Glenn, cheers for the heads up on a few of them places above mate.
I have already phoned Shrewsbury college and was told they aint running the level 1& 2 papers, they onlu do the level three now due to funding . I also tried Telford college, basically said the same.

As for the other couple of places you
said , i might just give Sankeys a ring in the morning . Will also try perkins , i guess there is no harm in askin.

Cheers once again mate !