Retraining as electrician - EAL or C&G? Prospective employers opinions on course-trained elecs? | Page 2 | on ElectriciansForums

Discuss Retraining as electrician - EAL or C&G? Prospective employers opinions on course-trained elecs? in the Electrician Courses : Electrical Quals area at ElectriciansForums.net

Joined
Sep 21, 2021
Messages
3
Reaction score
4
Location
Manchester
Hi all,

I'm thinking of retraining as an electrician, but I'm weighing up my options and need decent advice from experienced electricians.


Bit of background:

1 - Just turned 27

2 - Currently working as a chemical engineer - Only way to progress my career is to move country to country now.

3 - Moving is not an option for me anymore - I have a family + a business that is established in my local area (Not something I can just up sticks and take).

4 - Business is running fine without me, so I have way more time now - I wanted to try this before I pick up even more commitments.

5 - Ultimately my aim is to open a second business, but I need the correct experience.


My plans:

Knowing something in theory is totally different to knowing it practically, so I would never 'just' do a course.

1 - Study my Level 2 and 3, along the way volunteering and scraping together as much work as I possibly can in order to complete the NVQ and AM2.

2 - Study my level 2, find work as an electricians mate (Or related) and then continue with the rest of my course before hitting the NVQ & AM2.


I'm weighing up courses with the following:

1 - C&G

2 - EAL

I'm probably too old for an apprenticeship, even if I do feel its the better route. Since my options are already limited, I need to be more picky.


Questions: Course trained electricians seem to get a bit of stick from people who favour an apprenticeship. Opinions shouldn't matter, but that's stupid thinking as opinions always matter so I need to ask this anyway:

1 - Of EAL and C&G, which one do you feel is superior content provider/held in higher esteem with employers?

2 - If you were a prospective employer and your only option was to hire a course trained electrician, would you lean towards an EAL or C&G trained electrician (Providing that they had achieved work experience sufficient to pass their NVQ etc)?

In total, I'm looking at 2/3 years of course directed learning, but I'll be conservative and say I probably wouldn't be qualified for NVQ & AM2 until I'm in my early 30s say. With that in mind, any direction and help would be really appreciated.

Cheers,

Josh
 
Was it an easier exam? Multiple choice can be very straigtforward or can absolutely stink. We've done a combination of EAL and C&G exams and EAL have a habit of wording questions to make it appear as though more than one answer is correct, or none at all. I'm absolutely convinced that I've seen a couple of questions were their answer was wrong, but I would be inclined to think that way 😄



Seems improbable, don't you think?

There's a reason why I don't accept bold statements from unlikely sources and my cynicism is correct on this occasion. NICEIC provide a list of acceptable qualifications for those wishing to join their scheme, which is available for anyone to view.
Hi thank you for this reply. For some reason I just took that as gospel, can't even remember who told me that now, but its a huge relief to know that I can still eventually get NICEIC registered as I've been told NICEIC is the gold standard in terms of accreditation.

My only remaining question in that case, is whether I could do level 2 EAL and then level 3 with C&G. Reason being, it would save me about 3 hours commuting per week for a year, which is quite a lot of time. Do you think anyone (potential employers / accreditation bodies I suppose) look unfavourably upon me if I had level 2 EAL and level 3 C&G? Or in your opinion, would it be better to stick with EAL and suck up all the extra commuting for a year?
 
Upvote 0
Hi thank you for this reply. For some reason I just took that as gospel, can't even remember who told me that now, but its a huge relief to know that I can still eventually get NICEIC registered as I've been told NICEIC is the gold standard in terms of accreditation.

My only remaining question in that case, is whether I could do level 2 EAL and then level 3 with C&G. Reason being, it would save me about 3 hours commuting per week for a year, which is quite a lot of time. Do you think anyone (potential employers / accreditation bodies I suppose) look unfavourably upon me if I had level 2 EAL and level 3 C&G? Or in your opinion, would it be better to stick with EAL and suck up all the extra commuting for a year?

I can see no reason why you should have any issue doing level 3 through C&G. While your level 2 was completed through a different training provider, NVQs are all awarded by the same body.

As for NIC being the gold standard? Many would disagree with that statement. The qualifications required to join NIC, or any other similar body, will differ depending on which of their schemes you wish to join. For their domestic installer scheme, requirements can be found on this page.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Upvote 0

Reply to Retraining as electrician - EAL or C&G? Prospective employers opinions on course-trained elecs? in the Electrician Courses : Electrical Quals area at ElectriciansForums.net

News and Offers from Sponsors

  • Article
Join us at electronica 2024 in Munich! Since 1964, electronica has been the premier event for technology enthusiasts and industry professionals...
    • Like
Replies
0
Views
340
  • Sticky
  • Article
Good to know thanks, one can never have enough places to source parts from!
Replies
4
Views
877
  • Article
OFFICIAL SPONSORS These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then...
Replies
0
Views
1K

Similar threads

  • Question
Hi everyone, Quick background. 37, Employed Full Time working offshore in a mechanical role (zero electrical skills needed). Self funded and...
Replies
0
Views
101
  • Question
That's really helpful. Thank you so much, I will take a look.
Replies
2
Views
914

OFFICIAL SPONSORS

Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Electrician Courses Green Electrical Goods PCB Way Electrical Goods - Electrical Tools - Brand Names Pushfit Wire Connectors Electric Underfloor Heating Electrician Courses
These Official Forum Sponsors May Provide Discounts to Regular Forum Members - If you would like to sponsor us then CLICK HERE and post a thread with who you are, and we'll send you some stats etc

YOUR Unread Posts

Electrical Courses

This is the main Electrical Courses at ElectriciansForums.net. Find local recommended electricians courses. Avoid training "company" scams. Always go view the training centre before booking any electrical courses.
This website was designed, optimised and is hosted by untold.media Operating under the name Untold Media since 2001.
Back
Top