OLCI...any advise plz

[Vassy]

Hi, I have been working in the telecomms industry for the past 5 yrs as a contractor and am looking to widen my horizons so to speak. I was wondering if anyone has heard of OCLI construction training? They are offering me a course that gives me, at the end:
C&G level 2 (2330),
C&G level 3 (2330),
17th edition IEE wiring regulations C&G 2382-10,
Inspection & testing C&G 2391,
Applicable building regs (part P),
level 3 Certificate for in service inspections and testing of electrical equiptment- portable appliance testing (C&G 2377)
EAL level 2 certificate for domestic electrical installers.

They offer this as a study at home course where visit training centres for practical work when can. The course costs £5500. What i want to know is will i be fully qualified to work as an electrician, either on pay roll or self employed and are the qualifications the right ones. I've heard about people doing this kind of course and employers not recognising the qualification. £5500 is a lot to spend if going to be a waste.

Any help is welcome.
Thanks

 

[govindk]

Hello Think carefully about joining olci . I am a current student with them and have had nothing but problems from the start. The level 2 and level 3 folders where littered with mistakes. Such as equations spelling mistakes and loads of other stuff. Teaching was good there i cant knock that but the admin side and the the teaching material was useless.

There are companys out there which offer electrical courses and guarantee job placement, so i urge you too look around because i came across one the other day.

OLCI guarenteed job placement, help starting a business, and lots of other stuff, but they let me down so i can only tell you off my experience. Its a lot of money to pay for a lot of hassle

 

[LarkySparky]

HI guys, i've recently completed my C&G 2330, part p, 17th at OLCI did the course with them from scratch - they offer a quick means of doing their modules if you have experience there is not much guidance in terms of the course material when you attend the college on your 'prac' days.
Its taken me 6 months to complete all the above, with just my NVQ3 left to complete, suppose it depends on how much work you willing to put in and whether you already are working in the industry, if not i wouldn't bother and rather enrol in a 'lecture' based course of which there are many on affer.
Good luck though guys, and i wish you all the best!!

 

[mccreath5]

DO NOT DO IT, I want down the olci way and trust me it's a total waste of money. they never return your calls and it can take 3 mouths to get a course at a center. there so-called support doesn't exist.

 

[robbo87]

Hi im a newbie on here, been checking some of the threads and saw this.

Im just coming to the end of L3 at the London centre. Ive been pretty happy with olci to be honest, few small hiccups along the way but nothing that couldnt be sorted out and admin were really helpful to me. I know a few guys who had to wait for practical dates but you can sign up for regular updates now so you know when you can book new dates, my advice is book them as soon as possible!

Now Im nearing the end Ive started talking to the job support service they’ve got, sent in my cv and got my fingers crossed for something to come up. They told me they couldn’t guarantee me a job but would help me as much as possible which is fair enough I guess, at the end of the day its up to me to make an impression and show employers ive got the right skills and experience for the job at hand.

It’s a shame not everyone has a good experience with these guys, Ive had a great time and now I just want to get out there and start using what Ive learnt.

 

[andy.smithy]

Hi all
I'm in the same place as robbo87 sort of - I've now finished my level 3 and just waiting for my certificates to come through. Did most of the practical sessions at the Mansfield centre which was brand new when I started so was really great and some of the workshops weren't filled up so it meant we could have more time with the trainer who really knew his stuff. Gave us a bit of offhand advice and tricks of the trade too which always helps!
Its taken me a fair while to get to this point but thats due to me not always putting the effort in which I only have myself to blame for. I never had problems with support myself. Haven't tried the job service but thinking about it, want to get certificates first then look for a job when I can prove I'm qualified.
Good luck to everyone!

 

[Marcs1]

Hi just new to the site. I was about to go into my 3rd year as an apprentice electrician, however since 2009 I have struggled to get an employer to take me on, the colleges, SECTT as well were doing nothing to help, I kept thinking at this rate I'll still be unqualified at 60. I started looking into private training and found OLCI, it is very expensive and I had a lot of doubts as to whether or not it was legit. Found out it was gonna cost me £6000!!! I had to make sure that it was gonna be worth my time and money. I contacted them again and asked them a lot of questions. The course sound very good as it is giving you the exact qualifications you need in-order to become a fully qualified electrician and the best bit is once you have finished you are eligible to apply to JIB for your electricians grade card. For everyone who is taking the ---- out of these kind of courses you need to stop and realise sometimes the only way to get something done is to do it yourself, right now nobody is taking on and nobody is bothered except yourself so you need to do something, even if it costs you otherwise you will be waiting forever.

 

[david.higgins]

Hi guys. I have just finished the 2330 level 2/3 course with Olci. Anyone thinking of joining them better not want any tuition with the theory side of things because I thought it was virtually none existent! When I first starting revising I soon found out that the people in the call centre in London are absolutely useless. The only way to get through it is by putting a lot of blood sweat and tears into it on your own. Forget most of the Ill written course material and buy the Trevor Lindsey books. on the other hand the practical sessions are quite good but you need to go through theory first as it is fast moving and you will get found out. As someone who has never worked in the electrical field before I thought that it progressed too quickly. Just stick with it and it will all fall into place eventually. I must stress that the exams are very hard and you will do well to pass all of them first time round. I'm now in the position that I can't find someone to take me on with out any on site experience even though I have more credentials than some 3/4 year apprentices! Joke. Hit the books and bite the bullet, I'm am testament to the fact it can be done. Another thing Olci are the best fast track training provider out there which is why they are accredited by barclays bank.

 

[fuzzydunlop]

Hi guys. I have just finished the 2330 level 2/3 course with Olci. Anyone thinking of joining them better not want any tuition with the theory side of things because I thought it was virtually none existent! When I first starting revising I soon found out that the people in the call centre in London are absolutely useless. The only way to get through it is by putting a lot of blood sweat and tears into it on your own. Forget most of the Ill written course material and buy the Trevor Lindsey books. on the other hand the practical sessions are quite good but you need to go through theory first as it is fast moving and you will get found out. As someone who has never worked in the electrical field before I thought that it progressed too quickly. Just stick with it and it will all fall into place eventually. I must stress that the exams are very hard and you will do well to pass all of them first time round. I'm now in the position that I can't find someone to take me on with out any on site experience even though I have more credentials than some 3/4 year apprentices! Joke. Hit the books and bite the bullet, I'm am testament to the fact it can be done. Another thing Olci are the best fast track training provider out there which is why they are accredited by barclays bank.

Got to agree with the above I'm halfway through lvl2 and have found it a mixed bag

The course materials are a joke, bin them and get the Linsley books far more detailed, also agree about the theory side i.e. it's non-existant.

The practical sessions are ok if you understand what's required/being asked of you but, as students can book up the whole course without passing any exams you get far too many people who haven't a clue what they're doing (which I understand happens) and seem intent on annoying everyone else

A couple of people who have been on the same sessions as me have got less than 20% in 201, 202 and 203 and are booked up to do the practical assessment next week when they have no chance of passing where as others who do, have to wait. I'm hoping by the time lvl 3 comes around all the wasters are filtered out

The tutors are hit and miss if you don't get it, you wont be told anything bar read your materials (which explain nothing theory side). If you do show competence the tutor will be willing to sit with you for a bit and talk about things outside the materials

In the London centre the tools are beyond bad, probably as they don't sign in/out tool boxes so you either have an incomplete toolbox or screwdrivers that have been battered (usually a combination of both) have also never seen a wire stripper (yes it's possible with cutters but hardly good practice).

As above you'll only get out of it what you're willing to put in

*edit* I should add that the "call centre" has been nothing but helpful - I'm guessing 2330 lvl 2 has a high intake and the churn will mean that lvl 3 should be a lot more accessible

 

[Ellie]

hello mate,

just paid a £500 quid to OLCI, thinking about cancelling my training course what a joke!!!!!!! i noticed you post saying the best why to get the certs is to do a 10 day training course, i trying to get offshore! would this 10 day course help me out? if so what's the best company to join with?

cheers
Ellie

 

[Alana Fox]

Hi david.higgins

Alana here from OLCI Construction Training. I can see that that you are looking for on site experience. You can contact our job placement advisor, who may be able to assist you. Although we cannot guarantee work, we will do all we reasonably can to help you. Please call us on 0800 316 8100. Alternatively you can email me on [email protected] with a phone number and suitable time to call you back.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes, Alana Fox

 

[Alana Fox]

Hi fuzzydunlop

Alana here from OLCI Construction Training. I’d like to help you through your studies.

We can give you additional support, such as one-on-one tutor sessions, as we do with many other students.

Please call me on 0800 316 8100. Alternatively you can email me on [email protected] with a phone number and suitable time to call you back.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes, Alana Fox

 

[Alana Fox]

Hi Ellie

Alana here from OLCI Construction Training. I’m happy to clarify the number of training days for our courses, which are all fully comprehensive.

Please call me on 0800 316 8100. Alternatively you can email me on [email protected] with a phone number and suitable time to call you back.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes, Alana Fox

 

[jomcl67]

Hi all.
Just completed 2330 level 2&3 with OLCI and have now been told that the
'extra' qualifications eg 2391, 17th Edition,2377 are all over and above the £6500
already spent.
When I signed up for this course I was told that I would be fully qualified and be able
to sign off my and others work. Eh... without the 'extras' you cant even get
a job in this industry.
Not sure what I'm gonna do now, feel a bit stupid.
Anyway the moral of this story is steer clear from OLCI. Just expensive
broken promises with no backup.

 

[fuzzydunlop]

Hi all.
Just completed 2330 level 2&3 with OLCI and have now been told that the
'extra' qualifications eg 2391, 17th Edition,2377 are all over and above the £6500
already spent.
When I signed up for this course I was told that I would be fully qualified and be able
to sign off my and others work. Eh... without the 'extras' you cant even get
a job in this industry.
Not sure what I'm gonna do now, feel a bit stupid.
Anyway the moral of this story is steer clear from OLCI. Just expensive
broken promises with no backup.

What did you think you were signing up for (not a dig but what was you told? I've just dug out my enrolment stuff and the booklet makes no mention of anything bar 2330 lvl 2+3 as a course but says you may wish to achieve an NVQ (can mail it to you if you want)

From memory when I signed up the course itself was 2330 2+3 and 2356 NVQ3 then they threw in 17th and solar pv for free, also when I went to the college for the first time the interview was recorded and I was told would be placed with my file, also check your enrolment form

 

[jomcl67]

I signed up for the maintenance 2330 levels 2 & 3. Stated at the time that
given my background in mechanical engineering within a production environment
that 17th edition was a requirement that I needed. I was then told that and the
others mentioned was part of the complete course anyway and not to worry about it.