Resumption of career hopefully.

[Andy C]

I am returning to the trade hoping to become self employed and work 2 or 3 days a week. I have an occupational pension so luckily I don't have to work all the time.

I have C&G 236 parts 1 & 2 and Electrical Installation Work Course C and 15th Edition regs.

I intend to take the following courses in early new year so I can start up in the new financial year.

17th Edition regs
2394 initial testing
2395 I wasn't going to do as don't intend to do periodic testing.

I already have offers of small scale work from two small businesses.


What advice in general or specifically on the courses, venues, good training companies can you give me.

Thanks in advance

Andy Carter

 

[SJD]

You can do courses like 17th ed.regs, 2394, 2395 at many local colleges (e.g. I did mine at Basingstoke some years ago), costs tend to be much lower than some of the more commercial training providers.

There is a lot of overlap between 2394 and 2395, you might well find a venue that offers them both for a much reduced cost compared to doing them separately, which is worth checking if you think you might later want the 2395. Even if you don't intend to do periodic testing right now, you might find you get asked, I'm increasingly finding customers moving house wanting this because of work "they can't find the certificate for".

 

[Andy C]

You can do courses like 17th ed.regs, 2394, 2395 at many local colleges (e.g. I did mine at Basingstoke some years ago), costs tend to be much lower than some of the more commercial training providers.

There is a lot of overlap between 2394 and 2395, you might well find a venue that offers them both for a much reduced cost compared to doing them separately, which is worth checking if you think you might later want the 2395. Even if you don't intend to do periodic testing right now, you might find you get asked, I'm increasingly finding customers moving house wanting this because of work "they can't find the certificate for".

Thanks SJD, i might just bite the bullet and do both. Just need a good trainer in the North West with decent pass rates.

 

[SJD]

Thanks SJD, i might just bite the bullet and do both. Just need a good trainer in the North West with decent pass rates.

The 17th Edition is pretty easy, you'd have to try hard to fail that.

However, the 2394 & 2395 are not so easy, not sure if the format has changed since 2012 (I did the very first 2395), there was an easy multiple guess paper (common to both exams), then a somewhat harder written paper and a practical where is was easy to run out of time. Look up on the C&G website the examiner comments from past exams, it tells you the points people mostly get wrong.

As I'd not done too much testing at that point, I found it very useful to build my own test board at home (looking somewhat like the one encountered in the practical, though without the 3-phase) for practice, that was time very well spent.