Lack of skill

[rantoftheday]

Whats with the extremely poor standard of sparky work these days?

Sorry but I really feel as if the craftmanship of an electrician has been sadly lost

The company I work for has around 30 sparks of which 23 or so are completely useless, maybe 4 are decent and 2 or 3 spot on

It just seems that people dont give a damn as long as what they are installing works, bugger the regs, testing results are fabricated rarely see a bit of containment installed properly do people really not take their jobs seriously or uis it just me?

 

[Engineer54]

Whats with the extremely poor standard of sparky work these days?

Sorry but I really feel as if the craftmanship of an electrician has been sadly lost

The company I work for has around 30 sparks of which 23 or so are completely useless, maybe 4 are decent and 2 or 3 spot on

It just seems that people dont give a damn as long as what they are installing works, bugger the regs, testing results are fabricated rarely see a bit of containment installed properly do people really not take their jobs seriously or uis it just me?

I wonder about that too... Maybe it has everything to do with the lack of training, meaning they don't have a clue about how to install containment, be it conduit all the way thru to PVC trunking.

 

[Octopus]

Lack of pride in their jobs, cutting corners, being allowed to cut corners, tight unrealistic timings for jobs, I could go on......

Maybe they should go to work without their phones and ipods and then concentrate on the job at hand 100%

 

[rantoftheday]

i agree that a lot has to do with unrealistic timings and cutting corners, also though I know what you mean every spark I see under 40 these days seems to be glued to the dog and bone

 

[Rockingit]

In a throw-away, magazine-culture world where nothing has to last forever, what point is there in pride in your work? What point is there in standing with a pint at the end of the day, looking back and thinking 'I'm proud of that, good enough to put my name on it'? etc etc etc. And so it's those blokes who don't care, just want to get in and out the quickest (as do their managers - ker-ching!) that get the jobs based on price whilst those of us who take the time to get the job done right will spend the man-hours getting things straight and neat and tidy and legit and looking good and not falling off the wall straight away and doing the tests right.... etc etc.

Do you know why I VOLUNTARILY offer a six year warranty on my workmanship? Because I've never had a single phone-call to fault it.

 

[rantoftheday]

In a throw-away, magazine-culture world where nothing has to last forever, what point is there in pride in your work? What point is there in standing with a pint at the end of the day, looking back and thinking 'I'm proud of that, good enough to put my name on it'? etc etc etc. And so it's those blokes who don't care, just want to get in and out the quickest (as do their managers - ker-ching!) that get the jobs based on price whilst those of us who take the time to get the job done right will spend the man-hours getting things straight and neat and tidy and legit and looking good and not falling off the wall straight away and doing the tests right.... etc etc.

Do you know why I VOLUNTARILY offer a six year warranty on my workmanship? Because I've never had a single phone-call to fault it.

Well why just a six year guarantee?

 

[Mad Spark]

I think I understand the reason behind it all.
The problem lies behind people learning from the books and not doing much manual work whilst learning. I have to admit I was the same I hadn't done a single days hard graft and decided, "I WOUILD BECOME AN ELECTRICIAN". I joined college and half way through my first year started to phone around through yellow pages to see if someone would have me, I was fortunate enough to find a descent bloke who was a stickler for the regs and quality.
The point is on the first day he got me to pull cable for him in some tray, when he said i want the cable ran in that tray i was looking around the room for a tray on a table or something along them lines, just to show that i had no idea what he was talking about as i, up untill a year before was a sales man. I was great at college got the best results out of the class, I had all the answers to technical stuff, but manual labour i stank at. The problem was that we hardley done any practrical work and the little we did do was just near the end of the year when it was time to get it sighned off, which was easy enough as weather you were any good at or not you WERE GUARANTEED A PASS
However 5 years on now I am still finding that no matter how much technical knowledge you have you will always be learning, and until you are not taught from the right man you are gonna continue to bang your head against a brink wall.
I cant understand how people can become a fully qualified electrician in a matter of months from not knwing anything at all about the game to going out and thinking they are the next whizz kid.

 

[Rockingit]

Well why just a six year guarantee?

Erm....good question!!! Probably because if you offer ten then you'll get some cheeky bugger trying to get their PIR off you for free after 9 years!!

 

[ian.settle1]

I'm going to have a few people having ago at me but I blame training companies who don't care a tosh about the standard about the people they turn out only the money they can make eg 5-Day wonders

 

[stansmith]

lack of money in the trade, badly priced jobs, just look at the old pyro jobs still in place after 20-30 years the workmanship that went into the trade was fantastic back in the day, everything is cheap these days materials are cheaply made nothing is of quality, bad training, unavailability of apprenticeships also, and the domestic installer cowboys lowering standards. also college standards are very low on the basic training the exams are all multi choice answers in front of you. my opinion anyway im the same as the original post most sparks in my firm are useless couple of good ones but because their so bitter about the trade now their attitude brings them down its a shame with the standards lowering it only makes me wonder whats going to happen to our wages?

 

[imago]

The lack of practical training, and/or the poor quality of training aren't the reason IMHO. It's not just electricians, it's the same across all of the trades. I think it comes down partly to money, "the quickest easiest way to get paid is the best way". A lack of 'proper' apprenticeships (also down to money as they're deemed too expensive) and by proper I don't mean the training so much as some crusty old bugger giving you a right bol... er, ticking off when you take a short cut. Then there's the availablity of a lot of cheap labour. However, I think, and this is just the opinion of a nearly-old bloke, it's mostly down to the all pervasive I-don't-give-a-****-I'm-out-for-myself-and-screw-the-others attitude in society as a whole now. The way people drive, work, throw sickies, treat their neighbours etc etc is bad from the government down.

So basically, this trade like all the others and wider society is now reaping what it has sown for the last two or three decades.

 

[alarm man]

lack of money in the trade, badly priced jobs, just look at the old pyro jobs still in place after 20-30 years the workmanship that went into the trade was fantastic back in the day, everything is cheap these days materials are cheaply made nothing is of quality, bad training, unavailability of apprenticeships also, and the domestic installer cowboys lowering standards. also college standards are very low on the basic training the exams are all multi choice answers in front of you. my opinion anyway im the same as the original post most sparks in my firm are useless couple of good ones but because their so bitter about the trade now their attitude brings them down its a shame with the standards lowering it only makes me wonder whats going to happen to our wages?

he's right..

 

[Robinson]

I am still finding that no matter how much technical knowledge you have you will always be learning, and until you are not taught from the right man you are gonna continue to bang your head against a brink wall.
I cant understand how people can become a fully qualified electrician in a matter of months from not knwing anything at all about the game to going out and thinking they are the next whizz kid.

I totally agree, i thankfully had that guy or couple way back who although were pushed for time and money they took those moments to show me practical skills, little ways around things namely in the construction side of things. People forget that there is alot of building and construction involved to adapt ion. As someone mention keys skills in trunking, pipe work, tray. But also what you might see as everyday things such as simply using a blinking screw driver or drill correctly and confidently. Amazing amount of times i see people using tools like wet lettuces. I know a kiddy just done am2 full CTG2330 and yet like a snail has no idea how to get him self out of trouble, using different products. I mean they lose the thread on a box and then just stare at you to say what do i do now. dont think to re tap the box. sounds silly but all things that get you moving. Guess it does come down to experience. i know i fall on my tech knowledge sometimes. sooooo always a area we can all improve...

 

[Engineer54]

The lack of practical training, and/or the poor quality of training aren't the reason IMHO. It's not just electricians, it's the same across all of the trades. I think it comes down partly to money, "the quickest easiest way to get paid is the best way". A lack of 'proper' apprenticeships (also down to money as they're deemed too expensive) and by proper I don't mean the training so much as some crusty old bugger giving you a right bol... er, ticking off when you take a short cut. Then there's the availablity of a lot of cheap labour. However, I think, and this is just the opinion of a nearly-old bloke, it's mostly down to the all pervasive I-don't-give-a-****-I'm-out-for-myself-and-screw-the-others attitude in society as a whole now. The way people drive, work, throw sickies, treat their neighbours etc etc is bad from the government down.

So basically, this trade like all the others and wider society is now reaping what it has sown for the last two or three decades.

It has an awful lot to do with the training one is given. Those that have gone thru indentured apprenticeships and had ongoing training on the practical side of things, tend to remember what and how to do things as they were taught by the skilled electricians. Those that are coming into the industry these days, have no practical training or experience to bring with them into the work place.

Those here that have stated there are just one or two good sparks in their company, will probably be talking about well trained sparks that have been under proven supervision by qualified sparks/technicians during there training. They are/will be, far more reluctant to be responsible for shoddy work, than those that know no better!!

And yes i do agree with you, that there is this syndrome of ''i don't give a s***e'' attitude these days and that doesn't help any situation in any trade or industry!!

 

[La Poste]

All the customer looks at is price these days.
They know nothing about electrics just go for the cheapest option.
A customer that actually agrees to pay a bit more for a decent job must be an endangered species.
I really like the guarantee idea though.
I still think there is a lot to be said for having a good name and word of mouth recommendations, well I hope so.