For us that are older, how qualified do you wish to become?

[DavidM]

As the title says. I'm 27 and would give anything for an opportunity to start and get the relevant NVQ and C&G certs that will allow me to work without hindrance - in addition to the invaluable experience of course.
But for others that are looking to enter the industry (especially the older guys) would you be happy just to acquire the C&G certs as far as qualifications go? What about NVQs or the AM2 trade test? Obviously, if you needed to find work with other companies they may stipulate certain qualifications. Anyone have any experiences of this nature, especially over the last couple of years?

 

[bugsy]

Well I am 51 and i am timed served in what used to be th Electrical B course (14th edition yes 14th)

A was electrician
B was approved electrician
C was technician

I did the same , plus courses on home automation with Lutron and C-Bus
Then went on to contract management.
But any young bud's wanting to specialise and get in the money should look at doing an EIB course

 

[johnboy6083]

whats EIB matey?

 

[bugsy]

European installation bus, this will become the european standard for building control and it's a closed shop.
Most manufacturers have signed up to it and you can only access the job's if your a registered installer

 

[johnboy6083]

so its BMS?
ive just typed in european installation bus in wiki pedia, and thiscame up:

KNX is a standardised (EN 50090, ISO/IEC 14543), OSI-based network communications protocol for intelligent buildings. KNX is the successor to, and convergence of, three previous standards: the European Home Systems Protocol (EHS), BatiBUS, and the European Installation Bus (EIB or Instabus). The KNX standard is administered by the Konnex Association.

From this, it seems that EIB is previous! is this just the maker of KNX talking bull?

 

[Craigie]

I am 52 left the trade very early to work in the emergency services, now its time for retirement from that I hope to take up my first career again, I have done 2391 and passed and will do 2382 in July. Then I hope to register as domestic installer.

 

[bugsy]

so its BMS?
ive just typed in european installation bus in wiki pedia, and thiscame up:

KNX is a standardised (EN 50090, ISO/IEC 14543), OSI-based network communications protocol for intelligent buildings. KNX is the successor to, and convergence of, three previous standards: the European Home Systems Protocol (EHS), BatiBUS, and the European Installation Bus (EIB or Instabus). The KNX standard is administered by the Konnex Association.

From this, it seems that EIB is previous! is this just the maker of KNX talking bull?

KNX / EIB it's basically the same thing, but it's not just bms, Jung, lutron and many others have signed up to EIB, in 5years time this will be a common protocol intstalled in smart homes , and if your on the geeky side you'll love it and make premium money ask any sparky working in partneship with CEADIA installers

EIB will become a common protocol to replace RS232, C-Bus , Lutron to name a few

 

[Jonesy83]

ive got my 2330 lv3 and just found out today that my nvq l3 has been passed should get the certs next week then im being put in for my 17th edition

want to get my 2391 then may look further into following quals im wiriring industrial shutters up at the moment and its boring work

thing is even with the 2391 and 17th edition cant see much hope getting a decent job for a while

 

[confused-fuse]

I'm not sure if I would reccomend the teaching route, as that is what I am doing at the moment. Adult education is one thing that is going to get hit real bad once we get that 'emergency' budget and colleges and councils start to rein in their spending.

I teach for a council in south London and they have already started talking about cutbacks, large class sizes and higher number of students enrolled before the course will even run.
Couple that with the inordinate amount of paperwork and you've got a recipe for misery.
I get paid roughly £21 per hour to teach, but probably have a 1-2 hours prep per lesson and then have the course paperwork and 'Individual Lesson Plans' to contend with. After all the time I spend, it works out not much better than minimum wage. Then I've got the local psych patients that they put on my courses for 'therapy' but convieniently forget to tell me about

Further education is not what it was, I was teaching IT back in the 90s getting more money and without the paperwork.

I know this seems a bit of a downer, I just wanted to make you aware of the reality of what seems like a good job, but can turn out to be a nightmare.

Cheers

just been told about 70 job cuts at local collage 4 are in the IT & electrical dept oh poor .. looks like wifey as to do more nights at nursing home ... or look after more kids in the day ...

 

[JamesBrownLive]

just been told about 70 job cuts at local collage 4 are in the IT & electrical dept oh poor .. looks like wifey as to do more nights at nursing home ... or look after more kids in the day ...

Look to the future....

BBC News - Fifty colleges in England face closure - report

 

[DoBBY]

My advise.....

Simple route......

2330 Parts 1 & 2 (Level 2 & 3)
17th Edition
2391

Forget the JIB its useless (only my opinion). If you wish to work on sites, yes, go for the ECS card you'll need it, but other than that unless you're employed by a JIB registered company its just a piece of plastic.

With the 4 qualifications mentioned above you are technically fully qualified and may apply to a governing body to start your own company. Thats the way to go in my opinion.

 

[ringer]

KNX / EIB it's basically the same thing, but it's not just bms, Jung, lutron and many others have signed up to EIB, in 5years time this will be a common protocol intstalled in smart homes , and if your on the geeky side you'll love it and make premium money ask any sparky working in partneship with CEADIA installers

EIB will become a common protocol to replace RS232, C-Bus , Lutron to name a few

Thanks for the heads-up on EIB, Bugsy. I am what you may call a more mature starter (48), currently only qualified to do PAT testing, looking to get qualifications then registered and start practising as a domestic installer. I will admit to being a bit geeky and EIB sounds very interesting. Can you suggest a route into this?

 

[bugsy]

Thanks for the heads-up on EIB, Bugsy. I am what you may call a more mature starter (48), currently only qualified to do PAT testing, looking to get qualifications then registered and start practising as a domestic installer. I will admit to being a bit geeky and EIB sounds very interesting. Can you suggest a route into this?

Yes go to bre.co.uk the initial course will cost about £ 1,500 / £ 2,000 but there are some pre qualifications