Electrical engineering or electrical installation course

SLM8149 · 2025-01-06T00:17:10+0000

My son is leaving school this year and is very keen to start an apprenticeship.
Having visited the training sites and colleges, we feel we have not been fully informed.
Colleges have spoken about electrical engineering courses and so we believed this was the next and only step. However, we have since been advised it will be more beneficial to
Complete the electrical installation courses.
What is everyones opinions please?

MikeM3 · 2025-01-06T09:17:22+0000

SLM8149 said:
My son is leaving school this year and is very keen to start an apprenticeship.
Having visited the training sites and colleges, we feel we have not been fully informed.
Colleges have spoken about electrical engineering courses and so we believed this was the next and only step. However, we have since been advised it will be more beneficial to
Complete the electrical installation courses.
What is everyones opinions.

I would suggest the Engineering Course, somewhere along the
way during the course, installation will be included, I assume that
you mean domestic installation.

looking around, I don't know of any or many engineering courses,
so in the future there won't be too many industrial electricians to
go around.

I started in the coal mines, went to the RAF, came out to installation,
went into construction, big jobs, supplying electricity, for the builders,
many of the sites were High Voltage, then I ended up in maintenance.
Unfortunately, all of my mates of long ago have, retired as I have, but
there are probably a few electricians working in factories, who could
become engineers, although I don't know anywhere else that would
do the same.

Get the right training and you can go anywhere.

Mike.

littlespark · 2025-01-06T10:31:33+0000

There’s a big difference between an “electrical engineer” and an “electrician”

Is it working for the big national companies, dealing with industrial infrastructure and more specialist projects, or the more common installation in houses etc? Which is the course that most colleges will provide.

Hakuhou · 2025-01-06T12:36:45+0000

SLM8149 said:
My son is leaving school this year and is very keen to start an apprenticeship.
Having visited the training sites and colleges, we feel we have not been fully informed.
Colleges have spoken about electrical engineering courses and so we believed this was the next and only step. However, we have since been advised it will be more beneficial to
Complete the electrical installation courses.
What is everyones opinions please?

I’m assuming your son isn’t thinking of going to uni for an electrical engineering degree, so I’ll focus the post on the trade side of things.

The simplest path is to apply for an apprenticeship in the field he wants to pursue.
There are a multitude of these posted throughout the year on various sites, as an example I’ve linked a post for a carpentry one:

Carpentry Apprentice – Find an apprenticeship – GOV.UK

We’ve introduced a new way to find and apply for an apprenticeship in England.

www.findapprenticeship.service.gov.uk

This will then be linked to a local college where he’ll do his classroom work, and then have release days for his practical training.

If he can’t immediately get an apprenticeship he can enroll on an FE college course, example, which he won’t have to pay for since he’s under 19. Going through a college can also get him a JIB card as long as he’s going to a preferred provider.

I would strongly suggest avoiding private providers.

While he’s doing the course he can still keep applying for apprenticeships, and if possible fit in some work with an electrician (this can be hard to find).

Good on you for asking for advice, training for the trades is a minefield and it’s nice to see you looking out for your son.