learning to be an electrician

[-stubby-]

i'm interested in becoming an electrician and i've been looking into it for a while now! been looking at training with one of those training companies (tradeskills4u,train 4 trade skills) but i don't know if this is a good idea??? the price's vary from company to company.......
and what you can learn and gain qualification wise varies from company and the price you pay. i'm quite a hands on bloke and put my hand to most things and not afraid to work and certainly not someone to sit behind a desk all day long. so i think this could be a good career choice if i'm able to do it?

any advice or help would be greatly received and appreciated!

 

[telectrix]

if you are going down this route, no matter if the course is 5 weeks or 5 years, you need at least 2 year's worth of working as a mate with a "proper" sparks to learn how it is in the real world. also the qualification you get counts for jack diddly in the industrial world of sparking.

 

[-stubby-]

ive looked at being an electrians mate but they only ever want "experienced people"

 

[shagbite]

i'm interested in becoming an electrician and i've been looking into it for a while now! been looking at training with one of those training companies (tradeskills4u,train 4 trade skills) but i don't know if this is a good idea??? the price's vary from company to company.......
and

what you can learn and gain qualification wise varies from company

and the price you pay. i'm quite a hands on bloke and put my hand to most things and not afraid to work and certainly not someone to sit behind a desk all day long. so i think this could be a good career choice if i'm able to do it?
any advice or help would be greatly received and appreciated!

what you learn from these different course providers is pretty much the same - very little.

if you want to do it properly, sign up with your local college and do the long course.

 

[telectrix]

coleeges will usually offer the courses as night school, usually 2 evenings a week. this way you can either continue in your current job or start looking for work as a mate.

 

[-stubby-]

i'm 31 mate and i have to work full time aswell. but if the course is worth it then i will be able to sort something out but i dont want to be spending 5 years going back to school

 

[telectrix]

3 years is about the norm. if that's too much, go for a plumbing course.

 

[telectrix]

plumbers course. 5 days.

day 1. how to push fit 2 plastic pipes together.
day 2. how to stop yesterdays pipes from leaking.
day 3. how to carve huge holes out of joists thus weakening thw structure.
day 4. how to find the local timber yard to replace all the floorboards youv'e buggered.
day 5. how to thread hot pipes through the spark's cables.

 

[-stubby-]

i certainly don't want to be a plumber. to many of them about and doesn't interest me in the slightest

 

[iamelectric]

what are you working as at the moment

 

[telectrix]

well then, if you want to become a "proper spark" it's going to take at least 3 years and hard work, with practical experience thrown in. don't for a moment think that a 5 week course to be a domestic installer will make you a spark. hopefully, i 3 years time, there will be jobs for qualified sparks advertised a better wages than mcdonalds.

 

[DNS1]

Stubby,

Firstly, welcome to the forum.

Secondly, don't expect too much help from most people on here if you're not doing the whole 3 years apprenticeship route. People are very against the quick courses as they promise the world and lots of people are fooled by them.

Doing a quick course will not make you an electrician, it will make you a domestic installer. If you're happy with that it's fine.

Other thing to bear in mind is that if you've got no general experience with tools and building work, then the quick course will be no good at all. The quick courses are only good for teaching the electrical side of things to people who already have a lot of experience with so called "house bashing".

Don't get disheartened though. I'm a domestic installer and haven't done an apprenticeship. I did a quick course BUT I already had many years of experience of electrics (stage/theatre technician) and a lot of experience with building work picked up from years as a mate for family and friends.

Take a few bits of advice:

1. grow a thick skin and learn to ignore the people who have a go at domestic installers.
2. Accept that (for now at least) the most you'll be is a domestic installer.
3. Don't be fooled by the fast track courses promising you'll be a full electrician earning £50k a year as soon as you're done.
4. Know that at the end of the quick course you'll have learnt about 10% of what there is to know about the trade.
5. If you've got no practical experience already, accept that you MUST get some before you should realistically be out working alone.

 

[guest119]

. Know that at the end of the quick course you'll have learnt about 10% of what there is to know about the trade.




Not even 10% of what a final year apprentice knows never mind a 31yo jib spark.

Boydy

 

[-stubby-]

if i was to go back to college,what qualifications would i need to look for,course wise?

this is a list of what they do at a college near me.

Electrical Installations Technical Certificate City & Guilds 2330 Level 3
Achievement Measurement 2 J.I.B. Qualification
BPEC Electrical Competence Scheme (ECS) Level B
Electrical Installations (Buildings and Structures) Diploma City & Guilds 2365 Level 2
Electrical Installations (Buildings and Structures) Diploma City and Guilds 2365 Level 3
Electrical Installations Technical Certificate City & Guilds 2330 Level 2
In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (PAT) 2377-22
Level 3 Award in Requirements for Electrical Installation BS7671: June 2008 (2011) (2382-12)
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing) Practical Course
Pre-Assessment Training for Achievement Measurement 2 J.I.B. Qualification

 

[telectrix]

if i was to go back to college,what qualifications would i need to look for,course wise?

this is a list of what they do at a college near me.

Electrical Installations Technical Certificate City & Guilds 2330 Level 3.
Achievement Measurement 2 J.I.B. Qualification
BPEC Electrical Competence Scheme (ECS) Level B
Electrical Installations (Buildings and Structures) Diploma City & Guilds 2365 Level 2
Electrical Installations (Buildings and Structures) Diploma City and Guilds 2365 Level 3
Electrical Installations Technical Certificate City & Guilds 2330 Level 2
In-Service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (PAT) 2377-22
Level 3 Award in Requirements for Electrical Installation BS7671: June 2008 (2011) (2382-12)
Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing) Practical Course
Pre-Assessment Training for Achievement Measurement 2 J.I.B. Qualification

2365 is what you want. forget PAT (2377) it's only a 1 day course. also take the 2382-12 , the 17th ed. wiring regs, open book.

after that there/s NVQ and 2394/5, inspection & testing.