Confused about ECS Card.

[NewElectrician]

Hello everybody,
I am 22 and I'm not long out of college (I passed in 2011)
I have recently had to look for a new job due to redundancy and everywhere that i'm looking in around my area is asking for either an ECS or CSCS card, I have looked into an ECS card as this is what my old company recommended of the two.
I currently hold:
NVQ 2330 Level 3 in Electro-technical Services – Electrical Installation (Building and Structures)
AM2 Assessment of Electro-technical Occupational Competence
16[SUP]th[/SUP] to 17[SUP]th [/SUP]BS7671:2008 Edition Update
I am also currently doing a 2391 course
Do I have to take the ECS Health & Safety Assessment?
Also is there anything else I have to do in order to apply for one?
Thank you,
Stuart.

P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

 

[telectrix]

get in touch with eca on the web. the h&s exam is, IMO £35 for the ecs card. there is a booklet available for revision, if needed at £15.

 

[ebow72]

I have the CSCS card, I have a site operative card and is a general site card, the ECS is more an electricians card.
I would opt though for the ECS card. Both based around H&S, although the ECS card is more of a competence card.
Electrotechnical Certification Scheme (ECS) card

Have a gander here in case I haven't explained it correctly.
In my opinion though the CSCS is a waste of time if you have the ECS, or plan on getting one.

 

[telectrix]

and another tip would be to either increase the size of your font when posting, or buy me some new reading glasses. LOL.

 

[Guest123]

Do you hold any of the underpinning knowledge courses, 2360, 2351, 2330 etc????

Your recent gaining of the NVQ L3 exempts you from taking a further H&S assessment to satisfy the ECS/JIB so providing you have one of the above quals, you will get an ECS card with your JIB grading on it.

 

[Engineer54]

Hello everybody,
I am 22 and I'm not long out of college (I passed in 2011)
I have recently had to look for a new job due to redundancy and everywhere that i'm looking in around my area is asking for either an ECS or CSCS card, I have looked into an ECS card as this is what my old company recommended of the two.
I currently hold:
NVQ Level 3 in Electro-technical Services – Electrical Installation (Building and Structures)
AM2 Assessment of Electro-technical Occupational Competence
16[SUP]th[/SUP] to 17[SUP]th [/SUP]BS7671:2008 Edition Update
I am also currently doing a 2391 course
Do I have to take the ECS Health & Safety Assessment?
Also is there anything else I have to do in order to apply for one?
Thank you,
Stuart.

P.S. Sorry if this is in the wrong section.

Makes a welcome change to see an electrician that's seems to have come through a recognised training scheme!!
Did your training also incorporate the core C&G 2330 pt 2/3??

 

[NewElectrician]

Thank you for all of your help so far, My training did incorporate the City and guilds 2330. I hadn't realised that the 2330 and NVQ L3 were separate things?

 

[highspark]

You haven't got the 2356 (NVQ3). You need to enroll on this before July in order to match your 2330 with the current 2356 as it is ending in July 2012. If you don't enrol on this by July you will need to merge the newer qualification 2357 with the 2330. Which I hear can be a pain in the butt................... With the current qualifications you will probably only get a "SENIOR GRADED ELECTRICAL TRAINEE CARD" This is what I recieved even though I have the 17th edition, 2391, 2330 2&3. i'm currently doing NVQ3 and it isn't the most enjoying course. It takes a long time and can be abit of a headache.

 

[NewElectrician]

Looking at the costs of the course I know I won't be able to afford the 2356/2357.

 

[highspark]

Do you ahve an employer?, will they pay for this. You could try and get some kind of funding.

 

[NewElectrician]

As stated I have recently been made redundant and everywhere is asking for an ECS card or a CSCS card.
What is the purpose of the 2356/7 as today is the first time I have heard of it?
Why do I need it if I already have the 2330 at NVQ L3 and the AM2?
At the time of the course selection this is all that was offered to me when I started the course in 2007.

 

[vernam616]

2330 isnt a NVQ if i recall correctly

2356 lvl 3 nvq is what you need to be an " electrician "

 

[NewElectrician]

This Is what I have and was given at the end of it, I know that I have done the 2330 and this says JiB at the top which is even more confusing.

 

[cdavies33]

For shame on you...... You don't even know what qualifications are needed to be a qualified Electrician! But Eyy on the bright side it seems to me that you are! The photo you just posted in the NVQ Level 3. If you completed the 3 years of college, that will give you the 2330 level 3 and like you've said you've done the AM2.

Top man, now you need to complete a health and safety test recognised by the Jib and spend off the form. 8 weeks later your pretty face should be on the front of a gold card!

 

[VoltzElectrical]

no he doesn't. as has already been explained, the recent passing of the NVQ exempts him from the test for two years.

Get a form from the JIB, get your old employer to sign it, and send it off with your quals (copies) a photo and £35.

You'll get your gold card.

goood luck and well done.

 

[ezzzekiel]

Think the nvq exempts you from a hs test for 3 years from membership so you got it all covered just complete and send in forms

 

[vernam616]

It actually says 2356 on that cert

You completed a level 3 nvq and didnt even know it

 

[NewElectrician]

Thank you very much for all of your help and patience, I hadn't realised that the NVQ 2356 was separate from the 2330.
I have one last question, I know I'm not quite ready to do the 2391 just yet and want to gain some more experience before I do I have been studying the revision material regardless though, If and when I do the 2391 do I need to wait until I have to renew the card to add onto the card that I have the 2391 or can I add that whenever?
Sorry if this isn't very clear.

 

[Yooj]

If you are not working at the moment, then if I were you, I would not bother with the ECS card right now (though you could still apply for it now), as you will be sitting around for at least 8 weeks waiting for the JIB/ECS to pull their fingers out. My experience of them, is that they are a nightmare.
I would be looking at a way to get to work asap. The agencies are asking for a CSCS/ECS... so the quickest way you can get to work, is to DO the ECS H&S exam, and just make sure that the agencies' clients are happy for you to use the H&S ECS Certificate at the site induction instead of waiting for your card to arrive. If you ring around the ECS H&S exam providers, you should be able to get a test within a week somewhere, and the turnaround for the cert is generally around another week. This way you could be working within a week or two, instead of waiting for two months for the JIB/ECS to pull their fingers out.

In terms of whether sites accept the paper copy of the cert, the answer is yes, as I have done it like this numerous times. Like you, I have an NVQ3 etc... and if I am ever asked to prove qualifications (which I have not yet) then I would just take a copy of the certs.

Yooj

 

[Adam W]

You can add stuff to your card whenever, but you have to pay each time.
I had to wait over a month before I could even sit the ECS test, then a further month before I got my card.
The CSCS on the other hand seems more informal - you get a date a week or so ahead, turn up, press a few buttons and you get your result and certificate straight away.
If you're just looking to get on site I'd get a CSCS card because it's quicker and time is money.

 

[Yooj]

Ringing around some of the approved providers of the ECS exam worked for me. I used Unite. I did the exam within a week of booking, and the cert was on my doorstep 3 days later.

Yooj

 

[Adam W]

I called Unite about sitting an ECS test - after being transferred to 'the correct department' the woman on the phone proudly announced that she'd never heard of it.
By the time she'd gone away and asked someone who knew what they were talking about, I'd downloaded the form, printed it out, written out the cheque, posted it off and walked into town.

 

[Adam W]

... So I did it with the ECA - from the way they'd never heard of an ECS test I figured it would be quicker to do it with someone who had at least heard of it.

 

[Yooj]

I guess it's the same with all these bloated organisations... bit of pot luck really... though my motivation to get it done within the week was that I had 2 months work waiting for me on the basis of having the bit of paper.

Yooj

 

[Adam W]

True, it just seems to me a bit like phoning the DVLA and being told they've never heard of a driving licence.