New here

[reduitman]

Hi all, This is my first post here. I am trying to make up my mind about which course to do to get ivolved with domestic electrical installations. I have heard that there are college courses but because of my age, in my 40's now I think this will be to long winded. I did a City and Guilds in computer engineering about 15 years ago and passed the level 3 in about 3 months crash course, which would have taken 2 years at college. I worked in IT for about 10 years but had to stop to become the full time carer for a family member.
Anyway jump forward 5 years and I want to retrain as an electrician because I think I will have an aptitude for it and need to be earning soon again. I also think it is a skill I can take abroad with me and is not just for the younger people as is the case with a lot of IT. Believe me once you have reached 40 in IT you are considered old.

Anyway I have contacted Trade Qualified £5995 and RF Training £5995, both say I will be a qualified domestic installer in about 8 weeks to 3 months if I do it full time intensive with them.

Bare in mind I have been a carer for the last 5 years and this is a lot of money to me, do you think this will be money well spent or a pipe dream ? Trade Qualified is part correspondence and 4 weeks at their centre. RF is 7 weeks full time with them.

Both give you a tool kit and help you through the exams, however Trade qualified says they offer CG 2391 which they say is highly prized.

Any help will be much appreciated because I have only one shot at making the right decision and will most probably will have to take a loan for this.

Thanks for listening.

 

[reduitman]

There is an age group of 20-50 on the mature courses so don't worry about that. It will be a lot less than £6k in total and in my opinion you receive a mush better education.

Hi Paul, is this a full time or part time course ?
I don't mind being the oldest, but it is nice if there is a mixture of ages. Things are suddenly looking a bit brighter !!!

 

[brucelee]

If you do the courses at college they will be cheaper and may be mostly funded mate if your on benefits such as housing benefit , income support etc
2330 lv3 at my college should have been about £800 i have paid £120 this is for the cost of the exams with C&G and the course i believe is free

the 2330 can be done daytime or evening, full time or part time as i am doing the lv3 evenings

Able Skills in dartford kent do the full range of courses inc 2330 which can be done 2 weeks on 2 weeks of or weekends put they cost the earth and as it was LONDON to far for me with travel and costs of staying over for the week for the 2330 they want over £6K which at college would cost no more than about £1500

 

[IQ Electrical]

Hi IQ, do you need any qualifications to get the ECS labourers card ? You are right I have recieved so many glossy brochures and everyone seems to be smiling and happy. The guy even said I could be writing my own pay cheque in a couple of years which seemed very dubious. An ECS labourer and a college course would be brilliant, mind you I suppose competion will be pretty stiff to get in this way. I will give it a shot.

You do the ECS test which is a basic (very) health & safety exam based on questions that you are provided with about 1 week before.

You can then apply to the JIB for an ECS labourers card and I still feel it has more value than the bog-standard CSCS card, especially to an electrical contractor.

It's all here: http://www.jib.org.uk/index.htm

 

[reduitman]

Brucelee, thank you so much. I have been searching for someone who has done the RF course and could give me their feedback. You have done just that. You are so right, set your business 8 weeks after doing course ? where do they get the testimonials and success stories from. You know being a carer 6K is a lot of money, but they don't seem to care, just want the cash irrespective of your circumstance. Like you, it is about wanting to better myself and yes they expect you to be a carer, but you know the standard of living drops right down and savings are soon eaten up. I think I like the idea of trying as a mate and going to college. I am tired of all the salesmen talk now. At least luckily I found this forum before I took the loan and gave it to them. However after being at home for so long I really feel the need to get back out there. I think I will meet some positive people at college to and I am not 40 something years old anymore, I am 40 something years young, so will just slow things right down and think things through more rationally. thank you so much everybody, I feel all these new avenues have been opened up to me.

 

[reduitman]

You do the ECS test which is a basic (very) health & safety exam based on questions that you are provided with about 1 week before.

You can then apply to the JIB for an ECS labourers card and I still feel it has more value than the bog-standard CSCS card, especially to an electrical contractor.

It's all here: Joint Industry Board for the Electrical Contracting Industry

Thanks so much, I will apply for the test.

 

[High Tower]

I agree High Tower, if only I could be 30 again !!! Can I ask how much does it cost to do the course at college and are there any older students like me ?

Age on avaerage is in the 25-45 bracket, some younger and some as od as 60

costs are roughly as follows:-

2330 lvl 2 - £1000
2330 lvl 3- £1100
2382- £350
2391 - £450
2356 - £750

Most of these are not included in the short courses, but its these 5 quals that you need to get a gold card and be a fully fleged spark.

3 years and less than £4k and your there.

 

[reduitman]

Age on avaerage is in the 25-45 bracket, some younger and some as od as 60

costs are roughly as follows:-

2330 lvl 2 - £1000
2330 lvl 3- £1100
2382- £350
2391 - £450
2356 - £750

Most of these are not included in the short courses, but its these 5 quals that you need to get a gold card and be a fully fleged spark.

3 years and less than £4k and your there.

Can you spread the cost over the three years ? Is this full time. Also can you recommend a good book I could be reading up on before I start the course as I will ne new to electrics ?

 

[reduitman]

If you do the courses at college they will be cheaper and may be mostly funded mate if your on benefits such as housing benefit , income support etc
2330 lv3 at my college should have been about £800 i have paid £120 this is for the cost of the exams with C&G and the course i believe is free

the 2330 can be done daytime or evening, full time or part time as i am doing the lv3 evenings

Able Skills in dartford kent do the full range of courses inc 2330 which can be done 2 weeks on 2 weeks of or weekends put they cost the earth and as it was LONDON to far for me with travel and costs of staying over for the week for the 2330 they want over £6K which at college would cost no more than about £1500

The gutting thing is a college just down the road was doing this course but they said as of this year they have stopped. I will have to look a little further afield, but this definately seems the way to go.

 

[High Tower]

Can you spread the cost over the three years ? Is this full time. Also can you recommend a good book I could be reading up on before I start the course as I will ne new to electrics ?

yes you can spread the cost.

The gutting thing is a college just down the road was doing this course but they said as of this year they have stopped. I will have to look a little further afield, but this definately seems the way to go.

Ask again, as there has been a change of heart in the last couple of weeks regarding the 2330, and the govenment has done a u-turn.

 

[CRAGS]

Hi and welcome I personally went down the college path glad I did its easier if someone is there to explain and its not forced down your throat in a few weeks but suppose its the individuals choice and if you feel you can do it then go for it and good luck

 

[brucelee]

Brucelee, thank you so much. I have been searching for someone who has done the RF course and could give me their feedback. You have done just that. You are so right, set your business 8 weeks after doing course ? where do they get the testimonials and success stories from. You know being a carer 6K is a lot of money, but they don't seem to care, just want the cash irrespective of your circumstance. Like you, it is about wanting to better myself and yes they expect you to be a carer, but you know the standard of living drops right down and savings are soon eaten up. I think I like the idea of trying as a mate and going to college. I am tired of all the salesmen talk now. At least luckily I found this forum before I took the loan and gave it to them. However after being at home for so long I really feel the need to get back out there. I think I will meet some positive people at college to and I am not 40 something years old anymore, I am 40 something years young, so will just slow things right down and think things through more rationally. thank you so much everybody, I feel all these new avenues have been opened up to me.

your welcome mate

yes as a carer £6k is a lot of oney and it has eaten most of our savings as well as paying for books course material etc it soon its into what you dont have I must have spent £300 on electrical books
for the various courses and revision guides to get more and more a Knowledge and understanding of everything electrical thik I will be still learning when I have retired lol
you will pass the courses they say but for £6k its a great deal of money for some basic Quals and as you have probably read in most posts the people with businesses dont look favourably on Quals gained like this If you want to work for yourself just doing domestic its possible but better as others have said to try to get a labourers job with a sparky then that will help to fund you through the various courses at college
to be Fully Qualified Approved Electrician you will need
C&G 2330 lv2 and 3 technical certificate
C&G 2382-10 in the requirments of electrical installations
C&G 2391-10 LV3 inspection and testing of electrical installations

and a Lv 3 NVQ C&G 2356 in electrotechnical services

if you just want to work as a mate get the ECS card like the other members have said ad slowly build up try to just either get the 2330 lv 2 and 3 if you want then you can work in any area of the electrotechnical areas then get the 17th edition 2382 or whatever they call it next
the 2330 and 2356 NVQ last date of registration is now next July
so you will need to get it done this yr enrol for lv2 and see if they are fast tracking or if you will complete lv2 in time to enrol for LV3 next july

I am considering now trying to do the same or just do the LV3 in september and forget the LV2

speak to a few colleges as they are helpful well some are lol

good luck mate I wish i had phoned the colleges before i enrolled on the private course but at the time i didnt think they would let me due to age or funding as I am 40 yrs young like yourself well nearly 41 lol as this is what they always told me over the last 25yrs of trying to get a apprentice type course all the dole said was you dont need to work your exempt here is £53.10 to look after your MRS for the rest of your days and see you in 3 yr to waste your time for another half hour or so,
took me 6 months to get a appointment they are a waste of space I even offered to geve up my carers for help with training and setting up self employed ad she looked at me like I was speaking a ALIEN language all I know there is no help for CARERS
and my local college were i first started my apprenticeship and went to college dont respond to emails or telephone calls so i wen the private route and now the college route

like you i was wary of being the older end but every c ourse I have done so far Private or college has been a good experience and was a mix of young and old
RF are ok but a bit pushy i waited 1 yr before signing and only when they knocked £1k off
they were good but rush you not got time for many questions just want to get you through the exams which 6 out of the 7 completed and all passed 1 dropped out but she was out of her depth and i dot think she new what wuld be involved I tried to help her but she didnt study at home
I studied every day for the duration of the course same when i did the 2391 I studied every day upto 12 hrs a day and 8 evening courses to ensure I passed first time it was the hardest of the exams i have done as you have to have all the knowledge and terminology in your head for the written answers to the exam the rest are just multiple choice and are passable of you put the effort in
just as the 2391 is
and hopefully the 2330 will be for me on this course it looks as if you will learn a great deal more knowledge than 6 week quick training dont get me wrong I learned what I needed from it and Know i could carry out the work in domestic properties with ease and could do before these courses but some couldnt after completing them

try to get work with a sparky and do the ecs enrol for a course mate and good luck hopefully it will pick up for the both of us and the rest on here

 

[brucelee]

The gutting thing is a college just down the road was doing this course but they said as of this year they have stopped. I will have to look a little further afield, but this definately seems the way to go.

try them again mate its been extended i found out after i enrolled on the last day of registration as the replacement is not fully ready but i believ some are runig the new C&G 2357 which is the 2330 and 2356 NVQ in one with a extra unit for renewables but for this you have to be employed in the industry and funding for that is aimed at 16-18 yr olds apprentices

i didnt know you could get funding for some of the 2330 at college
the lv2 can be done part time or full and same for the lv3
some colleges do the lv2 over 2 yrs some 1 yr and the lv3 is 1 yr also daytime or evening depends onthe college and if you do over 21 hrs at college its classed as full time and you will have to give up your carers allowance like i did for the private course and your NI contribution
try to do it evenings then its part time and you keep your carers unless your working then you lose it anyway
enrol for the course before getting a job that way you will get the funding
plus potential employers will see how determined you are which will give you better chance of employment

 

[Des 56]

You seem to have the sensible attitude of finding out facts for yourself and not being overwhelmed by higher than expectation claims of training providors

If you do a basic domestic course that enabled you to register as a competent person for part p ,then perhaps entering the trade in the sector of renewable energy installations, it may open opportunities that could be very difficult otherwise
Training courses are available and the sector is relatively new,so you may not be at such a dis advantage regards time in the job and the growth of the sector is at odds with the work thats available elesewhere