Confused about qualifications

[Lenr15]

If someone could help me I'd be eternally grateful. My husband is looking to train as an electrician. He's 27 so an apprenticeship is all but impossible. We are finding it inordinately difficult to work out what training he needs to do.

He wants to work on a self employed basis as he needs to choose his hours as he also earns money writing music for TV etc. However this is far from regular or consistent pay. A lot of the information we've found is either contradicted elsewhere or from an old Web page and I'm not sure it's relevant. Is it possible to do a course to get qualified as a domestic electrician? Or does it have to be NVQs on the job? If he can do a course could he then work on a self employed basis and have an external assessor for NVQs? Finding it very confusing as to whether all training is on the job or not. Obviously there's loads of websites with long names like lookelectricaltraining4ugetpaidbigbucksin3hours dot com which I don't find particularly trustworthy!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts.

 

[Adam W]

Becoming an electrician who drives around in a van on his own will take years of training and learning on the job in real life situations. You can't walk out of a training centre after a few weeks and into self-employed work picking and choosing your hours; to assume that's all there is to the trade is frankly quite insulting.

Perhaps your husband could become a window cleaner?

 

[ian.settle1]

It just shows how the perception by Joe Public of becoming an electrician is, that you just walk into a training centre do a little course and walk out as electrician.

After 40 plus years in the game from apprentice and post apprenticeship am totally insulted an discussed that people think it is that easy, it is about time something was done about it but with the way it has gone it will never change.

 

[Martyc]

Probably better off plumbing or pat testing tbh


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[7029 dave]

Becoming an electrician who drives around in a van on his own will take years of training and learning on the job in real life situations. You can't walk out of a training centre after a few weeks and into self-employed work picking and choosing your hours; to assume that's all there is to the trade is frankly quite insulting.

Perhaps your husband could become a window cleaner?

Yes BUT there are Electricians and Electrical Trainee, the side of the times. Who is to blame?, only this industry they created it. Splitting it all up.

 

[David M]

All the training in the world will not make him a competent "self-employed" electrician. He needs on site experience, Ideally working along side a time served very well experienced person.

I would advise he gets some part time work on site as a mate, if he can find somebody who is willing to set him on, on that basis. But he will have to accept that he will be expected to do the jobs that a first time apprentice would undertake. Which means getting his hands very dirty! But this experience is absolutely necessary as if/or when he goes alone then he will have to do everything himself.
This means - onsite evaluations, assessing, advise to customers, customer relations, pricing & quoting, material ordering, book keeping, van-tool & equipment maintenance, testing & certifying. All this on top of all manual labour!!

Being self employed is not a bed of roses, being a self employed electrician is probably one of the most hard grafting, under appreciated highly skilled trade there is.

 

[David M]

I didn't intend to sound negative with what my previous post said - (#7)

But I just want you and anyone reading it to realise the enormity of what is involved to become a competent self-employed electrician.

Hope this helps

 

[Lenr15]

Based on other threads I've read on here, I'm not surprised at some of the responses. My husband has worked on a self employed basis or in skilled manual jobs since 18. He is under no illusions that it's easy. We were under the impression that to get the NVQS you had to be on site learning under someone else for a good period of time. He's not seeking to walk out self employed, but that is the eventual goal and I was hoping for some constructive and helpful advice about how he would meet that goal. Thank you those who offered that, it is highly appreciated. To those of you who replied just to moan, grow up. Well done for doing your apprenticeships. Bully for you. Based on how apprenticeships are currently funded for employers seeking to offer them, do you want to explain to me how he might go about getting one at his age? It would be a preferable option but a highly unlikely one. Bravo that you managed to get one and knew what you wanted to do at a younger age. That must make you a better person. You've come on here and made an assumption about the level of work my husband is prepared to put in. If your job is so hard and makes you so bitter perhaps you should be the on looking to retrain. What harm is there in someone wanting to learn a trade? I said nothing about him being in a hurry, I'm fact I specifically mentioned the dodgy looking short term courses.

Anyone who doesn't come on here just to moan about how great they are, are the diplomas enough to seek work on a domestic basis or do you need the nvq too to be fully qualified?

 

[David M]

Based on other threads I've read on here, I'm not surprised at some of the responses. My husband has worked on a self employed basis or in skilled manual jobs since 18. He is under no illusions that it's easy. We were under the impression that to get the NVQS you had to be on site learning under someone else for a good period of time. He's not seeking to walk out self employed, but that is the eventual goal and I was hoping for some constructive and helpful advice about how he would meet that goal. Thank you those who offered that, it is highly appreciated. To those of you who replied just to moan, grow up. Well done for doing your apprenticeships. Bully for you. Based on how apprenticeships are currently funded for employers seeking to offer them, do you want to explain to me how he might go about getting one at his age? It would be a preferable option but a highly unlikely one. Bravo that you managed to get one and knew what you wanted to do at a younger age. That must make you a better person. You've come on here and made an assumption about the level of work my husband is prepared to put in. If your job is so hard and makes you so bitter perhaps you should be the on looking to retrain. What harm is there in someone wanting to learn a trade? I said nothing about him being in a hurry, I'm fact I specifically mentioned the dodgy looking short term courses.

Anyone who doesn't come on here just to moan about how great they are, are the diplomas enough to seek work on a domestic basis or do you need the nvq too to be fully qualified?

That's absolutely fine, sounds like he has plenty self employed experience. Forgive us if you felt like we jumped down your throat with nothing but moans and groans. But please understand that we experience a lot of people who seem to think that being a competent electrician is easy, that a few qualifications are all that's required to achieve this. I think you may find you are correct in thinking that the NVQs require onsite experience as part of the qualifications. But I'm not up on the current requirements so will leave that to those that know better.

 

[DuaneMHunt1976]

the 2365 level 2 and 3 are class room, (hands on is VERY IMPORTANT, being able to see it being done and doing it, guys learn more that way, if they can keep it in their minds is a different matter lol)
The 2357 would be the FULL NVQ 3 and dose need to show work (get told a LOT of different stories about what kind of work and if you can be self employed to do that, got screamed at for even asking that) If you can get the 2357 all the better.

I did the ADULT route myself but mine was the 2330, (pre-2365) done all my testing courses and others, but still feel that if you aint done the Apprentership you are LOOKED DOWN upon (i am electronics background, only to A-Level sadly i had to drop out of my HND in Electronics and Computers)

MAIN THING DRIVE for a BETTER LIFE and STABLE, there is a lot of Doom and NO MONEY here, but you got to dive in as there is NO LIFE on a Production line sucking up to someone who will use you till you die.

As for the apprenticeships had on my course.. they BOTH FAILD the course and had to resit it
one nearly blow up the Test Meter and the other had to re take Level 2 exams .. they f about and where on their phones more times when they could be BOTHED to turn up. but hay thats some youths for you.
I am trying to help out one apprentice, pointing out he has to learn and pick up on things quicker, be on the ball and ready with things before asked.
That there is NO WAY IN HELL he would be able to do a production line or work in factory or even a wearhouse, never seems to be off the phone GLUED to it. Lent me the dam phone to go in to the left for a light and the thing was going off that much i gave it back.

BE POSITIVE .. Take EACH STEP at a time .. and SET your Targets
Tag on with others to see how the job is done, help out.

 

[7029 dave]

Based on other threads I've read on here, I'm not surprised at some of the responses. My husband has worked on a self employed basis or in skilled manual jobs since 18. He is under no illusions that it's easy. We were under the impression that to get the NVQS you had to be on site learning under someone else for a good period of time. He's not seeking to walk out self employed, but that is the eventual goal and I was hoping for some constructive and helpful advice about how he would meet that goal. Thank you those who offered that, it is highly appreciated. To those of you who replied just to moan, grow up. Well done for doing your apprenticeships. Bully for you. Based on how apprenticeships are currently funded for employers seeking to offer them, do you want to explain to me how he might go about getting one at his age? It would be a preferable option but a highly unlikely one. Bravo that you managed to get one and knew what you wanted to do at a younger age. That must make you a better person. You've come on here and made an assumption about the level of work my husband is prepared to put in. If your job is so hard and makes you so bitter perhaps you should be the on looking to retrain. What harm is there in someone wanting to learn a trade? I said nothing about him being in a hurry, I'm fact I specifically mentioned the dodgy looking short term courses.

Anyone who doesn't come on here just to moan about how great they are, are the diplomas enough to seek work on a domestic basis or do you need the nvq too to be fully qualified?

All I can say is, started at this game when I was 15 . 37 years later still learning, there is no short cut , you grow up lady and get real.!!

 

[ian.settle1]

All I can say is, started at this game when I was 15 . 37 years later still learning, there is no short cut , you grow up lady and get real.!!

They always say that the truth hurts and this is what I think the original op is hurt because she has been told the truth.

 

[7029 dave]

They always say that the truth hurts and this is what I think the original op is hurt because she has been told the truth.

Yeah What has wound me up Ian, she has rubbished every time served Electrician on here, not taken that.!!