Electrician Training - clarification needed!

[edrobbo8]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but have spent a good hour or so reading various threads and having a good look around. There's some very useful information on here but I am still struggling a bit.

I'm 24 years old, have had some jobs where I used my basic electrical knowledge such as Traffic Light engineer, Telecoms engineer, and automotive electrics.

I am looking to do my basic electrical training, and am thinking very seriously about the 4 week intensive course at Clarkson Evans in Gloucestershire.

http://www.clarksonevanstraining.co.uk/electrical-courses/intensive-electrical-course-4-weeks/

I am from Cheltenham but recently moved to London. I know Clarkson Evans have an excellent reputation.

I would like to know what people's thoughts are about the course, and whether this is a good way of going about trying to start my career as a Sparky. I really don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 years doing the apprenticeship, but can see the benefits of doing this, as I will be massively lacking in my experience but hopefully the knowledge will be there!

With the way the world is at the moment, do you think it will be very difficult getting work after I have completed the course? Is there much demand for sparkys in London?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give.

Ed

 

[IQ Electrical]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but have spent a good hour or so reading various threads and having a good look around. There's some very useful information on here but I am still struggling a bit.

I'm 24 years old, have had some jobs where I used my basic electrical knowledge such as Traffic Light engineer, Telecoms engineer, and automotive electrics.

I am looking to do my basic electrical training, and am thinking very seriously about the 4 week intensive course at Clarkson Evans in Gloucestershire. I am from Cheltenham but recently moved to London. I know Clarkson Evans have an excellent reputation.

I would like to know what people's thoughts are about the course, and whether this is a good way of going about trying to start my career as a Sparky. I really don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 years doing the apprenticeship, but can see the benefits of doing this, as I will be massively lacking in my experience but hopefully the knowledge will be there!

With the way the world is at the moment, do you think it will be very difficult getting work after I have completed the course? Is there much demand for sparkys in London?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give.

Ed

Hi, welcome!

I think I shudder at the thought of how little you can possibly learn in 4 weeks, my apprenticeship was a very busy 5 years.

I just can't imagine standing in front of a customer, faced with one of the many problems that we come across on a regular basis and only being able to rely on my 4-weeks of training, how can that work?

Is there no way you can do the new 2357 course, maybe across a couple of evenings?

 

[Paul.M]

Welcome. Because of your electrical background you will be a prime candidate for a fast track course. This dosent mean that obtaining employment will be easy, to get s start from the qualifications you achieve in 4 weeks versus a similar person that has done a full time 3 year course, which one would you choose? Loads of people looking for work and part of the problem is the amount of people coming out of the fast track courses. We have nothing against anyone trying to better themselves but reality, its very hard out there.

 

[IQ Electrical]

I hope I didn't come across as too negative there, I'm always in the mindset that training providers sell training and as such, the future employment prospects of the trainee aren't always high on the list!

That's why my training involvement is solely based around the 2391-10 course, there's no question of the ethics on that one!

 

[Phil]

fast track vs college.
well if we break it down to hours in the clasroom first;
fast track 120 hours ish over four weeks vs 420 over 3 years at college over two nights a week.
i know many lads in college who after the three years who still where far from being able to go out into the trade and safely do the job. also college gives you the underpinning knowledge that this course is not offering. even after the three years in college it is far from offering what the trade can give you if you combine it alongside.
when you look at the quals you come out with;

pat testing qual, 2382 (17th ed) and then the part p so called qual?
"This course is suitable for those who hold no formal qualifications. Ideally, candidates should have some practical skills. A basic knowledge of electrical installations would be advantageous. "
i shudder to think at what level people are walking out of the door with.
if I was you i would really think twice before spending that sort of money on quals you could get for a 1/4th of the price.

 

[edrobbo8]

Thanks for the help so far. I know exactly what you are saying IQ Electrical, and that obviously time served will always be better than learning as much as possible in a few weeks!

I would look at completing the 2391-10 and 2391-20 which is the Design, Erection and Verification, as I love the design side of things and feel this would be very suitable for me.

I know that getting employment won't be easy, I have been looking for a job in London for a bout a month, and it is a complete nightmare! However, hopefully with the 4 week course I will be able to stay on with Clarkson Evans and do some work experience, which hopefully will help broaden my skills.

 

[tonys]

All looks good on paper but a word of warning money can't buy a trade that simple and there's a lot of very highly qualified and experienced electricians out there who are struggling to find work.

 

[edrobbo8]

All looks good on paper but a word of warning money can't buy a trade that simple and there's a lot of very highly qualified and experienced electricians out there who are struggling to find work.

Why is that? Is it because there are simply too many people in the industry?

 

[IQ Electrical]

Why is that? Is it because there are simply too many people in the industry?

That's one way of looking at it, there's currently an oversupply of labour, the reasons are many and I really can't see an end to it.

 

[tonys]

Why is that? Is it because there are simply too many people in the industry?

Yes I think there's to many people in this area of the electrical industry. No disrespect but if you was to do the course say, you wouldn't be a threat to me if we went for the same job.

If I could get a job to retrain and get into the proper commercial/industry maintenance side of electrics I would. I found some course at the 2.5K mark, but I know even then I wouldn't have enough experience to get the jobs on offer.

You need to be working in an industry to make the most of it by gaining practical experience, anyone can pass theory exams like the multi choice 17th edition exam, its open book referencing.

Ive been in the industry for 27 years from an apprentice and its becoming more and more watered down, therefore less credible imo

 

[ian.settle1]

Why is that? Is it because there are simply too many people in the industry?

Industry has been flooded with 5 day wonders who think they know everything

 

[malcolmsanford]

Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum but have spent a good hour or so reading various threads and having a good look around. There's some very useful information on here but I am still struggling a bit.

I'm 24 years old, have had some jobs where I used my basic electrical knowledge such as Traffic Light engineer, Telecoms engineer, and automotive electrics.

I am looking to do my basic electrical training, and am thinking very seriously about the 4 week intensive course at Clarkson Evans in Gloucestershire.

Electrical Training - Intensive Electrical Training | Clarkson Evans Training

I am from Cheltenham but recently moved to London. I know Clarkson Evans have an excellent reputation.

I would like to know what people's thoughts are about the course, and whether this is a good way of going about trying to start my career as a Sparky. I really don't have the time to spend 3 or 4 years doing the apprenticeship, but can see the benefits of doing this, as I will be massively lacking in my experience but hopefully the knowledge will be there!

With the way the world is at the moment, do you think it will be very difficult getting work after I have completed the course? Is there much demand for sparkys in London?

Thanks in advance for any help or advice you can give.

Ed

I'm not trying to sound demeaning but the 4 week course as far as employers go will not be worth the paper it is written on. If you come into the industry as of now every job you will go for will have possibly 10-15 other candiates, maybe even more and as a former company owner when looking at Cv's the first thing I look for is qualifications and experience, yours I'm afraid would not get a second glance.

There are too many more qualified and more experience men out there that will be a better option. I'm sorry if this sounds blunt but I'm trying to stop you wasting your money. If your going to do the 4 week course and then become a DI, then again just check your area see how many there are already there and who will be going up against you.

My advice is if your determined to get into the industry do as full as course as you can.

 

[edrobbo8]

I'm not trying to sound demeaning but the 4 week course as far as employers go will not be worth the paper it is written on. If you come into the industry as of now every job you will go for will have possibly 10-15 other candiates, maybe even more and as a former company owner when looking at Cv's the first thing I look for is qualifications and experience, yours I'm afraid would not get a second glance.

There are too many more qualified and more experience men out there that will be a better option. I'm sorry if this sounds blunt but I'm trying to stop you wasting your money. If your going to do the 4 week course and then become a DI, then again just check your area see how many there are already there and who will be going up against you.

My advice is if your determined to get into the industry do as full as course as you can.

Thank you for your advice Malcolm. It is much appreciated, as it is from all of you experienced guys.

I understand that the short course is going to give you nowhere near the amount of experience as a full apprenticeship would, and I realise there are lots of people looking for work. I was unemployed when I moved to London in October and if I could get my foot in the door for an interview it was against people with a lot more experience in that particular job/industry (I wasn't going for electrical work then!)

IQ Electrical, as far as I can see you run your own business? Do you have lots of these 5 day course people coming to you for jobs?

 

[edrobbo8]

Yes I think there's to many people in this area of the electrical industry. No disrespect but if you was to do the course say, you wouldn't be a threat to me if we went for the same job.

If I could get a job to retrain and get into the proper commercial/industry maintenance side of electrics I would. I found some course at the 2.5K mark, but I know even then I wouldn't have enough experience to get the jobs on offer.

You need to be working in an industry to make the most of it by gaining practical experience, anyone can pass theory exams like the multi choice 17th edition exam, its open book referencing.

Ive been in the industry for 27 years from an apprentice and its becoming more and more watered down, therefore less credible imo

No disrespect taken! It is all very useful information, and I understand exactly what you are saying! You say about becoming more watered down, and I have read that commercial and industrial is 'real electrician's work' elsewhere on this forum, I would not just want to go about doing domestic installations for the rest of my life, and I think that like you say getting enough experience to get into the commercial and industrial would be a real challenge. What sort of work do you do tonys?

 

[IQ Electrical]

Thank you for your advice Malcolm. It is much appreciated, as it is from all of you experienced guys.

I understand that the short course is going to give you nowhere near the amount of experience as a full apprenticeship would, and I realise there are lots of people looking for work. I was unemployed when I moved to London in October and if I could get my foot in the door for an interview it was against people with a lot more experience in that particular job/industry (I wasn't going for electrical work then!)

IQ Electrical, as far as I can see you run your own business? Do you have lots of these 5 day course people coming to you for jobs?

Not a lot, I think they tend to go down the self employed domestic installer route but our employment criteria is JIB approved with 2391-10 so whether it was a 10-day or 10-year course, that's what I need to see.