Looking at retraining and need advice

[PaulM]

(copied from gen forums, think posted in wrong place there!)

Hi all!

First post so please be gentle

Basically I've worked in IT/Retail Management for around 12 years, company went under 2-3 years ago and I've been seeing out the recession the last couple of years in a 20k "it'll do" job (mortgage has to be paid sadly!).

However, at 36, I recognise that I do not want to be doing this for the next 20yrs and nor do I want to return to my previous career in management or even IT Support (was looking at progressing to MCSE level but I'm really sick of computers!).

So, one love I've always had is of all things electrical, it's something I've always had in the back of my mind but through lack of focus at school/college, never got the chance to pursue (and didn't really have anyone there to give me the guidance/advice/kick up the backside I needed).

Having spoken to my local college today, who first suggested doing an HNC in electrical/engineering, one of the tutors suggested going for the basic installer qualy (think was the 2330 - Southampton City College : 2330 Electrotechnical Technology (B00948)). I'll be looking at doing evening/day release through college although understand this course has now changed to a newer vers.

I'm really looking for advice (I've read many other posts on here but wanted something more personal if that's ok) on where to start. I'm not expecting to go into this just to earn great money, I want to do it because I want to enjoy the rest of my career in a field of work I genuinely respect and have a passion for. Can anyone give an impression of what type of what to expect when starting out? (other than making the sparky tea all day!

Whilst I think that age may count against me to a degree (with regards to employment) I also think it is a benefit in terms of my professional background and in todays day and age I'm sure there would be employers willing to take on someone slightly older, hard working & professional with direct customer service experience and business/operations experience too. Coming from an IT background I'm very technical down to component level/installations so hope that will also go in my favour.

Your advice is greatly appreciated

Paul​

 

[alarm man]

I didn't say it was your attitude, it was your post I was referring to - but you obviously resent people wanting to retrain into your field of work.

I'm not looking for some crash course domestic installers "EASY WAY TO SET UP A BUSINESS AND BE A MILLIONAIRE" course - and just because I didn't put 3-4 years into studying this when I was 16/17 - doesn't mean I can't spend the same amount of time getting the same qualification now.

i dont mind anyone training to better themselves,all im saying the spark game is going down hill,look at all the posts on this site,you have sparks with x amount of experience looking for work,you have newly qualified sparks willing to work for free..i wish you well but i wont encourage you to part with good money for work that's not there,it wouldn't sit right with me that's all.it may change in the future who knows..

 

[PaulM]

no worries i do appreciate what you're saying, all i'm saying is for myself - it's going to be 2yrs before I'm in that position and by then i'm betting the economy will be back on the upturn, so now is the best time to train.

it's like buying a house - you can't guarantee what will happen to the market, but you take the chance on buying when it's bottomed out so that you can then sell 5yrs later when it's booming again. things might be tough now, but the world will always need qualified and skilled tradespeople.

and it's not just the electrical sector that is suffering - all industries are very bad right now, so there isn't one thats better than the other to train in (even the people you think would be busiest at the dole office are getting laid off!)

and re the officeboy comment, it's something i never wanted to become or get involved with. im a creative person and it goes against every fibre of my being to be sat behind a desk working all day, absolutely hate it.

however, as a regional manager, i was out in the field every day, on the road going from showroom to showroom, working with people and not just a spreadsheet/word document, driving performance and encouraging others to develop their skills and progress themselves.

 

[alarm man]

no worries i do appreciate what you're saying, all i'm saying is for myself - it's going to be 2yrs before I'm in that position and by then i'm betting the economy will be back on the upturn, so now is the best time to train.

it's like buying a house - you can't guarantee what will happen to the market, but you take the chance on buying when it's bottomed out so that you can then sell 5yrs later when it's booming again. things might be tough now, but the world will always need qualified and skilled tradespeople.

and it's not just the electrical sector that is suffering - all industries are very bad right now, so there isn't one thats better than the other to train in (even the people you think would be busiest at the dole office are getting laid off!)

and re the officeboy comment, it's something i never wanted to become or get involved with. im a creative person and it goes against every fibre of my being to be sat behind a desk working all day, absolutely hate it.

however, as a regional manager, i was out in the field every day, on the road going from showroom to showroom, working with people and not just a spreadsheet/word document, driving performance and encouraging others to develop their skills and progress themselves.

very good.

 

[alarm man]

no worries i do appreciate what you're saying, all i'm saying is for myself - it's going to be 2yrs before I'm in that position and by then i'm betting the economy will be back on the upturn, so now is the best time to train.

it's like buying a house - you can't guarantee what will happen to the market, but you take the chance on buying when it's bottomed out so that you can then sell 5yrs later when it's booming again. things might be tough now, but the world will always need qualified and skilled tradespeople.

and it's not just the electrical sector that is suffering - all industries are very bad right now, so there isn't one thats better than the other to train in (even the people you think would be busiest at the dole office are getting laid off!)

and re the officeboy comment, it's something i never wanted to become or get involved with. im a creative person and it goes against every fibre of my being to be sat behind a desk working all day, absolutely hate it.

however, as a regional manager, i was out in the field every day, on the road going from showroom to showroom, working with people and not just a spreadsheet/word document, driving performance and encouraging others to develop their skills and progress themselves.

you've been seduced by the 50k adverts and plenty of work guff,your going to be disappointed like ive said.

 

[PaulM]

no i haven't - and you know why? because i've not even looked at any adverts! :2guns:

i made a decision to do this because i love the idea of being a sparky, i've always admired the job and those that do it, i made this decision off my own back and without any dreams of earning `50k` but just doing something that i love even if i'm earning the same money or even a little less.

if i wanted to earn more money, i'd take my 10-12years in management, do some more IT courses as i also have 10-12 years IT technical experience, and push for a high level cisco or microsoft qualification to then become a network manager or even set up my own business as an IT Support Consultant, this would be a LOT easier for me to achieve - but it's not what i want.

it is my ability to focus on the positives that will get me there, and that will allow me to pass by those that are tied up with negative thoughts, it is wasted energy to think about things you cannot possibly achieve when you could be using that energy positively to get what you want.

To quote Rocky (because this statement is so damn true):

"Somewhere along the line, you changed. You stopped being you. You let people stick a finger in your face and tell you you're no good. And when things got hard, you started looking for something to blame, like a big shadow. Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place and I don't care how tough you are it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard ya hit. It's about how hard you can get it and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done! Now if you know what you're worth then go out and get what you're worth. But ya gotta be willing to take the hits, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you wanna be because of him, or her, or anybody! Cowards do that and that ain't you! You're better than that! I'm always gonna love you no matter what. No matter what happens. You're my son and you're my blood. You're the best thing in my life. But until you start believing in yourself, ya ain't gonna have a life."

You can believe what you like about the market, the adverts, the seduction - but you can go stick that finger in someone elses face

 

[alarm man]

when you go round quoting films as a means to life,youve got issues man.i thought i was mad...you seem to have this romantic idea of being a spark and life will be great,you get the girl and live happy ever after...its a job man.

 

[PaulM]

haha, I'm just being silly, and no I don't go around quoting movies everyday, but the point was relevent.

you sound like you've been in the game too long and become disolusioned with the "job" either that or you/your business is having a tough time right now (which I can sympathise with).

I guess that's the difference though, I want to do it because I know I will enjoy it - not because I want a "job" - I have one of those already and I hate it. :winkiss:

I'm planning 2-3-5 years ahead, not now, and thats they key thing, as I said, I'm not looking to earn "mega bucks" - simply just do something that I love for the remainder of my career.

 

[sbrown2]

What I would add its tough out there at the moment, as alarmman has said, but part of the gripe with so called real sparks is new people come into the trade with better marketing skills and take a share of what little work there is available.
You can use what ever route you want to get yourself to call yourself competent. If you have access to friends relatives who are electricians, depending on your craft skills and mathematical knowledge, you would be better off going down the competent persons route. This will get you to the point where you can earn money and get work notified. You can then embellish your technical knowledge doing a HNC/2330 etc later on. I think you can get to the competent person scheme without a NVQ3 I think but others on here can correct me on this.

 

[PaulM]

well i'm looking at moving into say, highway electrical installations/lighting - not to work on a building site or try to setup a local firm to take business away from existing sparkies, so no worries there

if 5-10yrs down the line i want to do that, then i've spent the time working as a sparkie to be entitled to do so.

i'm sure older sparkies looking for work resent young new apprentices coming in from college etc, taking jobs when they may be struggling to find their own, just as much as those retraining.

at the end of the day, no one owns the rights to be a sparkie (or any trade) or can dictate who should/should not be allowed to pursue that career path.

i'm currently working for one of the UK's largest energy suppliers, and am hoping my experience & knowledge of the energy market along with a relevent qualification, will allow me to progress to other more technical areas of the industry.

 

[sbrown2]

I was just suggesting a quick way into the industry

 

[PaulM]

oh ya wasn't having a dig but there's a lot of threads regarding these fly-by-night sparkies etc which I can understand.

don't know anyone on the electrical side, but know quite a few carpenters and gas fitters (perhaps i should do that lol)

 

[OllieNotts]

I wish I could live in this world paulm is posting from
I have seen lots of snobbery on this forum from 'time served/experienced' sparks who seem to resent anyone joining 'their industry'. I too am going down the college route and hopefully in two years I'll have the level 2&3 2330 and see where it gets me. I can run a pub, and drive an artic. Both industries are on their arse much like the electrical world but there's still people spending thousands on joining the transport industry thinking they'll earn 40k a year. A few do, and some can't even get a job as they have no experience and no one will give them a start in a 60-80k motor carrying £100000's worth of load. But it ticks over, and the ones who want it the most get it. I hate the job, every day going to work is an effort and putting in 70 hour weeks is no fun for me or my family. I'm not looking forward to the negativity in this industry already. I hope it's not as bad in the real world as it comes across on here. Us newbs come for advice on the best way to do things and very often folk get put down before they've even started. I understand you going on about there being no work but open those eyes and you'll see the whole country is same!! You're not the only ones suffering and you never had to live in a truck 5-6 days a week on your own wondering if someone is gonna drag you out of bed in the night and leave you stranded like I has to. Just because you have a trade doesn't mean you are entitled to all the work and no one new should be allowed in until you will give us permission ffs you're nothing special just cause you made tea for four years before getting your certificate!
I hope this down turn up-rises again and there'll be plenty of work to go around without the moaning and snobbery from the old timers. I'm not saying it's all of them cause it's not there's some bloody good help and advice on here but there's also a lot of un-balanced negativity to.
Good luck Paul, we are both gonna need lots of it! But it's hardly an impossible thought that in 5 years we'll have a career we enjoy being part of. And at that time all the haters will still be moaning about lack of work....modern sparkys are just no good....bla bla bla
Rant over.

 

[Des 56]

Its not all doom and gloom ollieNotts
Quite a few will be getting their pension books soon,then the opportunities will blossom

I think you are taking the views that sometimes are expressed as anti new entrants

Its not "new entrants" that most find hard to accept,its the quality of the available training that is the issue
Thats not the fault of new entrants,rather the way the electrical industry is panning out

Even with moans and groans the forum is still a very handy learning tool

and maybe could be appreciated as such, even when the perception is negative

 

[OllieNotts]

Of course I would never knock this place it's a fantastic place. I just think sometimes the doom and gloom mob are un necessarily negative. I agree with the negativity against the 5 week courses and believe they should be banned from new entrants like myself. I will aim for the highest marks through college and aim to provide a very high quality work when I'm given a chance to but as is the way of the world these days a lot of people just don't bother. Sparkys are no different to any other trade in that some will be of excellent quality and some will be crap. It's a shame but that's life, got any jobs going for a newb?

 

[sbrown2]

Its the way all trades are going and also none of the trades have enough apprentices for when an upturn comes. Therefore there will be a GENUINE need for people reskilling and crossing over to the trades. I think the OPer has IT skills which if brought over must be desirable to some employers. I've posted on here before and looking at all the property maintenance vans you see it seems correct, multiskilling seems the way to go.