ET4U - Domestic Electrician Course (15 days) - is it any good?

[Andrew Metcalfe]

Hi all....

I'm thinking of retraining as an electrician with the intention of going self employed immediately. The plan is to drum up my own business and also subcontract myself to other local electricians for days at a time to help them with larger jobs.

I live near the ET4U training centre near Burgess Hill, Sussex and was wondering whether anyone has been and has any comments on it! Domestic Electrician Training Courses, Domestic Electrician Course, Domestic Installer Training, Electrical Training 4U is 15 days really enough time to become a full electrician?

I have been told over the phone that the course will provide me with an ideal route to register with NAPIT. My last question is, is there any meaningful difference between the different Part P organisations? so NAPIT, NICEIC, etc....

 

[malcolmsanford]

15 days really enough time to become a full electrician?

Oh dear oh dear oh dear.

I'm sorry welcome to the forum and I do not want to be negative, and i'm certainly not going to berate you for wanting to better yourself, but as long as the sunshines and the earth revolves around it's axis ...............you will never be a full electrician in 15 days.

Before you part with thousands, look up in your area and see how many domestic installers/electrical contractors there are looking for work and then have a rethink

 

[supasparxs]

This course offers the electrical testing qualification C&G 2392. I did the full test course C&G2391 8 years ago and found it tough. That was with 18 years in the industry. The course teaches you about the current wiring regulations C&G 2382, which I did as a 4 day course which was intensive. It sells the fact that they will teach you what part P of the building regulations, which you can download and read for nothing. This could be useful.
But. It doesn't seem to offer electrical training and qualification!

 

[TaffyDuck]

After 15 days training you will come out with a basic idea how to choose the right cable for the job and a bit about testing although you wont now what your testing tbh and how one test result is often linked to another.. What you wont know however is massive. Day 1 on site will present itself with a lot of problems that you have no experience to deal with, then you will make yourself look really stupid. Its best not to fall for the marketing ploys just ask yourself one simple question, would you let an electrician into YOUR house with 15 days theoretical knowledge and little or no 1st hand hard earned experience and would you be happy to pay them?

 

[Octopus]

Hi and welcome.

Suggest you also peruse the business section of the forum as the Starting Up threads have been raised, again and again.

 

[Mark_Burgess]

Any training provider that has an image of a man with a NON VDE screwdriver in the back of a socket should be shut down.
What a joke.

 

[UNG]

I would suggest you look around the forum plenty of threads about training and qualifications to read before making your mind up as it is not the get rich quick trade it's claimed to be

 

[malcolmsanford]

I would suggest you look around the forum plenty of threads about training and qualifications to read before making your mind up as it is not the get rich quick trade it's claimed to be

Ain't it????.......................bloody hell wish I was told that 40 odd years ago

 

[Andrew Metcalfe]

Ha... thanks for the replies! I thought there might be a lot of criticism of a 3 week course..!

Whilst I appreciate that 2 weeks will never be enough time to gain a lot of experience, or even some experience. I am still interested. I myself have done electrical work in the past, I've rewired a house and done numerous other jobs as well. (I have always had the work tested & signed off where needed before anyone comments on the legality of doing this!). I'd call myself an experienced/expert DIYer atm as I am quite handy and last year completely refurbished a house, we look it back to the bricks and started from scratch inside, I even built a new back porch... I am quite happy with regards to what I can/can't do so would only take on work I was happy with until I could gain more hands on experience.


Obviously there are many other things to take account of when starting out as a spark but... 'on paper' would the qualifications I gain from doing this course enable me to work as an electrician? - are there any that I would not get that I should probably have?

The training centre says yes..! I spoke to them the other day and they said when I finish & pass the course I would need to do some wiring, have NAPIT inspect my work and then I would be a 'full scope domestic installer' with NAPIT. ...aparently! Does that sound right!

 

[UNG]

Ha... thanks for the replies! I thought there might be a lot of criticism of a 3 week course..!

Whilst I appreciate that 2 weeks will never be enough time to gain a lot of experience, or even some experience. I am still interested. I myself have done electrical work in the past, I've rewired a house and done numerous other jobs as well. (I have always had the work tested & signed off where needed before anyone comments on the legality of doing this!). I'd call myself an experienced/expert DIYer atm as I am quite handy and last year completely refurbished a house, we look it back to the bricks and started from scratch inside, I even built a new back porch... I am quite happy with regards to what I can/can't do so would only take on work I was happy with until I could gain more hands on experience.

No matter how much I look around the net I cannot find any detailed info on what is actually being taught on these courses. The 2 weeks you do will I assume be all theory, experience is gained on site

Obviously there are many other things to take account of when starting out as a spark but... 'on paper' would the qualifications I gain from doing this course enable me to work as an electrician? - are there any that I would not get that I should probably have?

In short No as these courses are Domestic Installer courses as to what qualifications you won't get and probably should have is open to debate in other threads on this forum

The training centre says yes..! I spoke to them the other day and they said when I finish & pass the course I would need to do some wiring, have NAPIT inspect my work and then I would be a 'full scope domestic installer' with NAPIT. ...aparently! Does that sound right!

It does it's the level the electrical industry has stooped to

My opinion of these training companies is "If it sounds to good to be true then it probably is to good to be true"

 

[stan794]

Hi all....

I'm thinking of retraining as an electrician with the intention of going self employed immediately. The plan is to drum up my own business and also subcontract myself to other local electricians for days at a time to help them with larger jobs.

I live near the ET4U training centre near Burgess Hill, Sussex and was wondering whether anyone has been and has any comments on it! Domestic Electrician Training Courses, Domestic Electrician Course, Domestic Installer Training, Electrical Training 4U is 15 days really enough time to become a full electrician?

I have been told over the phone that the course will provide me with an ideal route to register with NAPIT. My last question is, is there any meaningful difference between the different Part P organisations? so NAPIT, NICEIC, etc....

Hi mate,

I have been there on that course, fell for the sales talk etc etc - being honest now, if you do that course then you will be fine for very very simple stuff. I was lucky that i had a spark who i could work alongside afterwards. If you dont have someone who you can work with then i would think again before spending your hard earned dosh there are so many things that you will not know after the course that you can only get learning on the job alongside someone. The key skills week is very poor and time on the tools is not long enough IMHO.
Nigel down there is a nice guy mate but he is a salesman and paid to tell you want you want to hear.
If you need any detailed info PM me.

 

[UNG]

Hi mate,

I have been there on that course, fell for the sales talk etc etc - being honest now, if you do that course then you will be fine for very very simple stuff. I was lucky that i had a spark who i could work alongside afterwards. If you dont have someone who you can work with then i would think again before spending your hard earned dosh there are so many things that you will not know after the course that you can only get learning on the job alongside someone. The key skills week is very poor and time on the tools is not long enough IMHO.
Nigel down there is a nice guy mate but he is a salesman and paid to tell you want you want to hear.
If you need any detailed info PM me.

Got to applaud your honesty and the fact you understand were taken in by the big sell and where left wanting after the course

It's more than some can do on here

 

[morph]

although i did a full aprentiship i do think that the average person can become a competent house basher in 3 weeks , domestic electrical work is far from rocket science, you will do about a week of practical stuff and 2 weeks theory ie 2392 and 2382 and some building regs stuff, you wont be a qualified spark as such but you will be competent to house bash, makes me laugh when so called sparks think you cant learn house bashing in a few weeks , it really is simple stuff.look at the time of the replies you got all during the day! out of work sparks moaning that someone has the drive to change their life while they are too lazy to go to work

 

[stan794]

While you are correct that house bashing is not rocket science, this course in particular on the first week key skills is woefully inadequate.
They state that you will be equipped with the skills after the 15 days to fully rewire a house, cu changes etc etc, no no no, not without supervision. I cant comment on other short course centres but if they have key skills with "very little tool time & lots of tea breaks" then it will be the same result. The 17th is easy to pass means nothing though lets be honest all it proves is you can reference a book. The 2392 is also an easy course to pass, they need to end this multiple choice b*llocks its just to easy so if you have no key skills, well....

 

[UNG]

makes me laugh when so called sparks think you cant learn house bashing in a few weeks , it really is simple stuff.look at the time of the replies you got all during the day! out of work sparks moaning that someone has the drive to change their life while they are too lazy to go to work

You can learn 2up 2 down house bashing rewires in a few weeks whether you can test and fault find is a different matter

When the houses get a lot bigger it becomes more complicated and for me it's beyond the short course brigade

Yet more assumptions on here that those who post during the day and put down the Electrical Trainee's are out of work and too lazy

I don't call having drive to change their life a 5 week course when they moan because doing it properly and getting the core qualifications takes too long