Seeking qualified spark Leicester area to guide me!

[Blimeyme]

Hi,
i am seeking some help from a generous spark in the Leicester area ( how many have stopped reading now I wonder)!
i have almost completed the domestic installer scheme and have been given a gift of a job towards my part p registration, but need some guidance and help with it.
The job is for some very understanding acquaintances and involves their ongoing extension/kitchen project. Basically they want some new sockets at various points along walls, need a new 17th edition Ccu fitting, some light fittings, cooker/extract fan and new smoke alarm on a new circuit. It is currently a bit of a building site, holes in ceiling, floorboards lifted several times, new breezeblock plastered wall, uneven floors etc you get the picture and is on a three phase supply ( which is the scarey bit for me ).
To this end I had hoped that there would be an experienced spark in the Leicester area who would like to be my mentor/guide through this project. I would do all the work myself so nothing physically needed but to proceed with this I do know that I need some help and guidance from an experienced professional as some of this ( particularly the 3 phase ) is beyond me. having someone to bounce things off and seek advice from to ensure this job is done 100 percent right would be amazing, without that I will have to pass up the opportunity at the moment which I really wouldn't want to do.
so, anyone local feeling charitable and up for helping a newby to the trade out ? As I am investing in my future I would be willing to negotiate some payment for this support if required.
let me know if you can help.
Thank You for reading this far.

 

[trev]

Good luck with your request mate but what I think would be a better option for you to take would be for you to trawl through the "Find an electrician in your area" thread and offer this job to someone better qualified and more experienced than yourself on the basis that you would be his/her labourer/mate free of charge for the duration of the project. That way you would get a bit of site experience at the really sharp end and gain a lot of knowledge at the same time. Your "Gaffer" would get the benefit of a willing pair of hands and a brain willing to soak things up.
Please note, I'm not trying to pee on your fireworks here it's just that this job sounds like it's way above your head. The good thing is, you have realised this and asked for help at the right time

 

[PC Electrics]

Now you've told us something about the job, how about telling us something about you.

What area of Leicester are we talking about?
How old are you?
What's your background (work-wise)?
How much sparking experience do you have?
What are you hoping to achieve?
What sort of time scales are we talking about here?

"nothing physically needed ", seriously? you expecting a spark to just come and stand and watch you, telling you what to do? It would be very difficult for a spark not to want to get stuck in.
Also, what's in it for this "mentor"? I think you need to realise you are not going to get this kind of service for free.
Then there's the question of sign off - who's expected to do that, you or your mentor?

I think too that you're going to have to look at someone out of your immediate area. Whoever helps you is helping to set up their own competition, why would anyone close to you do that?

None of this is insurmountable. But you need to think a bit more about what you're offering and what you're expecting to get back.

 

[Blimeyme]

Thank you trev1, some good helpful idea's and advice here given with the right intent, it is appreciated I will give it a go! thanks again.

 

[Blimeyme]

Not a fan of this then?
ok, I can appreciate that , and could go on to respond to each point you have taken the trouble to raise but feel there would be little point, I have seen too many --- for tat exchanges on the forum, which is a pity really as the advice that is given in a genuine effort to help others is all the testimony the forum needs really. I appreciate you will not be able to offer any help with this, I only hope you are able to understand that if I receive just 1 offer or piece of advice that leads to me being able to undertake this work then it will have been worth it. I guess people use the forum with many varied motivations, mine is simply to start to build a career in the electrical installation trade. I wish you well and a successful new year and yes it is quite possible that there will be a new competitor on the block in 2012, if not me then there will undoubtably be others, good luck to those too, may the best man win!

 

[PC Electrics]

All we know about you and this job is what is written in your OP.

Did you clock my location? I was leading up to maybe making an offer of assistance, but by throwing it back in my face you've blown that away.

I raised some valid points, which is why two of the regulars here have 'liked' the post already.

The signing off point for example. You say you're going to use this as an assessment job. So, someone else is going to put their effort and intellect into this and then you are going to present it to a scheme as your work? Some might say that's dishonest.

As I said, this is not insurmountable, but there are many fine points to be negotiated here and you will have to enter into some kind of contract. If you can't see that, then you are going to struggle.

I'm out!

 

[Specialist]

Thank you trev1, some good helpful idea's and advice here given with the right intent, it is appreciated I will give it a go! thanks again.

Actually mate: P.C's questions were asked & comments given with good intent as well from what I read & are the questions that needed asking. Especially the Sign off 1.

 

[Blimeyme]

Crickey, email forums really are not the best medium for communicating , first one I have used and already getting into trouble!
ok I will try and set the record straight if nothing else for my own sanity
- what I was after, and obviously failing to articulate was that what I ideally required was someone with whom I could talk through what I was planning to do in relation to the work required who would be able to question my thinking if required, not do the work for me. I would then seek permission to do the work, complete it and test and if required pay a building inspector to sign off the work. I had stated that I would be willing to negotiate to pay someone to help me with this and by that all I meant was be a sounding board for me and perhaps inspect my work prior to seeking a sign off.
hope that clarifies, not after upsetting anyone on the forum I'm too old for that game! Anyway, not expecting an in rush of replies but please please accept this for what it is with my apologies.

 

[JD6400]

We have all got to start somewhere , but strait in to running a job is not the place .Can you not try and get a start with someone local to learn some of what is so evidently lacking in your knowledge of the job ?
You could even pass this job on to your new employer as a bit of a sweetener for taking you on !
Now if this is not possible then just keep on asking your questions and i would suggest posting pictures with them as well ( A picture can say a thousand words as they say !) if i can i will help if and when i see one as i am sure others will too .
As with any animosity you will probably receive while you are doing this just ignore it , at least you are trying to go about it the right way !
In defence to all of the posters on here that have ago at anyone that dares to try and better their selfs by becoming a sparks in which ever guise they decide , i can see why this is to be honest so much of a bone of contention.
It is no way your fault , but by being given the opportunity to side track all of the learning , hard ship , the years needed to gain the respect of your Seniors , (these are just few of the many many reasons) you are inadvertently belittling the ones that have gone through the what now seems to be obsolete traditional routes .
And we do come across truly scary installs on a reasonably regular basis done ever so more often by a fully certified ( as long as you have the membership fee but the knowledge is optional ) scheme members .
I actively encourage fresh blood in to the trade and have lost count of how many like yourself we have now given the chance
to work with us and learn .
I hope this post has been of some help to both yourself and others as to understand maybe why some get a bit excited .
Hope you get it sorted and welcome to being a sparks .:crazy:

 

[egginyourface]

I was in your position once upon a time and i made alot of mistakes. Thankfully I was under a qualified electricians supervision who was there to show me everything i was doing wrong and put things right.

I advise you get a good few years under your belt before you go practicing on someones home without full time supervision.

 

[Blimeyme]

Thank you for your words of wisdom it is appreciated. I have seen many comments on this forum and they range from genuinely helpful to the other extreme. I do appreciate that as things change and new routes become available that this is unsettling for some, I am desperately attempting to gain some real hands on experience, I know that It takes many many years to gain the experience and knowledge that some others have, if only This was easy to gain! That said I am now in touch with a local spark who I am hoping to work with on this project in the manner that trev1 kindly suggested. You genuinely seem to have a generous view of new entrants into the trade and I Thank You

 

[trev]

That said I am now in touch with a local spark who I am hoping to work with on this project in the manner that trev1 kindly suggested. You genuinely seem to have a generous view of new entrants into the trade and I Thank You

Well the way I see it is we were all apprentices once and as you have done the right thing, You're going to get a good bit of slack cut your way (by me anyway)
You wouldn't believe the way some in your position come on here with the "I know everything" attitude.

 

[UNG]

I do appreciate that as things change and new routes become available that this is unsettling for some, I am desperately attempting to gain some real hands on experience, I know that It takes many many years to gain the experience and knowledge that some others have, if only This was easy to gain!

The new routes unsettle some, myself included, as they don't fully prepare yourself and others for the dangers and problems that can be present on site that are not taught in the short courses that mass produce "electricians" when the reality is they are only improvers
How long will it be before trading standards investigate these training providers for mis selling these courses

If you are finding three phase scarey and need to ask questions regards the simpler parts of the job then you need to ask yourself are you sufficiently qualified and ready to be going out on any site without supervision. Membership of a scheme does not imply that you have sufficient experience it only checks you meet the minimum criteria for membership.

I hope having gained some experience you go on to be a good spark sorry to be negative but your safety and that of your customer and potential customers has to be considered over your desire to be self employed while you have little or no experience

 

[Blimeyme]

Thanks UNG and others for the replies to this post. I absolutely agree with much of what has been said and for that reason I am very much in learning mode, my primary reason for joining the forum initially as much can be learnt from just reading some of the posts regularly. I do agree that any retraining has to coupled with experience for which there is no substitute and I have never disagreed with that or thought otherwise, I cannot speak for others but those I have met on these career change training courses share the same concerns as to how to get the practical skills and knowledge and cement the learning into a real life situation. Interesting comment about whether some of these training providers are mis-selling or not, I don't take any of these comments as negative as the same thouts have certainly crossed my mine and no doubt that of others;certainly exaggerating claims to say the least but I always knew this would not make me or anyone else an electrician in the true sense of the word, perhaps an improver or 'competent person' but not a fully fledged spark. So Thank You all for your comments, whatever your views, nothing like a good debate and if any feathers were ruffled along with this I hope you can see your way to being forgiving for a no longer in his thirties year old bloke just trying to carve out a different and rewarding career than I have done in the previous twenty years or so. thanks again.