Short course trained operatives

[GMES]

You knew it had to come.
Mike and Tony have done the Electrician and Industrial so it is only fair we do one for the short course members, Mods this is not for Bashing them or taking the Michael but it will be good to see the results.
I am off to work now, but look forward to the results this evening!!

 

[GMES]

You started it? oops, sorry about that, can't wait to see what I will be sorry about though

You asked for it!!!!

 

[jimmymac]

Hi Ung,

many net thanks for your comments

if you reread my post again you will see that it says I used to hold that opinion, I am not saying I now believe that short courses don't have there place but I do now understand some of the concerns people have.

Regarding the qualifications for entry to short courses I would say that it should be a minimum of a qualification in electrical engineering at an equal or greater level than that of the C&G quals which I assume these day would either be an HNC or HND ( I did my qualS 20 years ago so not sure how they map across these days). That way the candidate should be able to exhibit a sound knowledge of electrical principles and an understanding of what should be happening in a circuit and the dangers if it isn't behaving as expected. In terms of experience only, I would assume a time spent as an electricians mate - the assumption being that they would pick up some of the knowledge along the way by working with the more academic aspects without necessarily knowing the why's and wherefore's.

the individual is a long term friend of my wife and I know the install is as it was left by the previous electrician. The company involved have actually put very lovely sticky labels all over the cu with their logo on them and some simple googling of that company and companies house searches confirms they have been in business for 25 years plus.

Re the highlighting of work done by "supposedly time served" electricians I think this is a reciprocal of the " you'll never guess what some Electrical Trainee has done now" type posts that appear on the forum - probably neither type of post is positive but it seems the --- for tat isn't likely to stop anytime soon - unfortunately

regards

paul

Why would anyone do a HNC/HND with the aim of becoming a domestic sparky? The short courses should be for individuals who have worked in the industry for many years without having completed an apprenticeship or NVQ/SVQ (I believe this is the reason that the awarding bodies introduced this type of qualification). The entry standards should be based on the experience which the individual has gained, then that individual would have the certificate to back up his or her hands on experience

 

[dave274]

I agree that nobody can learn nearly enough on a short course, my only objection to the thread is that I am labeled a numpty by someone who has never met me.

 

[GMES]

Dave I think sometimes our frustration gets aimed at the wrong ones, for me My anger is aimed at the scams and quick courses, not the guys who get tricked into it, That said though I don't think anyone should do a 5 week course and then immediately start trading and charging the public to practice on them!!!

 

[Guest77]

I agree that nobody can learn nearly enough on a short course, my only objection to the thread is that I am labeled a numpty by someone who has never met me.

I apologise, you are obviously not a numpty, I was speaking about my experiences with people who turn up on site after taking a short course who have no kit and no idea and who has been conned by a skill centre, I should have chosen my words better and apologise to you personally because I have obviously offended you, sorry again and thanks for your service to the country.

 

[jimmymac]

I apologise, you are obviously not a numpty, I was speaking about my experiences with people who turn up on site after taking a short course who have no kit and no idea and who has been conned by a skill centre, I should have chosen my words better and apologise to you personally because I have obviously offended you, sorry again and thanks for your service to the country.

Who are you and what have you done with Mike?

 

[Guest77]

Who are you and what have you done with Mike?

I am in a very good mood today, I have just had my corporation tax bill for last year and it is not as much as I expected lol

 

[Spoon]

Just out of curiosity, where does this 6 to 8 thousand come from, to do the course? The only figures I've seen by people who have taken it are about 2.5K.

 

[dingledong]

I am in a very good mood today, I have just had my corporation tax bill for last year and it is not as much as I expected lol

Oh in that case lend us £50 best mate

 

[Guest77]

Just out of curiosity, where does this 6 to 8 thousand come from, to do the course? The only figures I've seen by people who have taken it are about 2.5K.

The last lad I spoke to came from a secured job in tesco and he decided to change career, he was charged 6,000 for his course which ran 6 weeks not 5 weeks and the costs were to cover his course, materials for the course, lecturers fees and then examination fees, he got a white card with "ELECTRIC" written on it when he finished, he turned up on site with no tools, no high viz vest and no idea what he was doing, he was out of his depth and didn't last very long, 6k down the drain.

 

[Spoon]

Thanks MDJ. Someone got seriously screwed there then...

 

[HappyHippyDad]

The last lad I spoke to came from a secured job in tesco and he decided to change career, he was charged 6,000 for his course which ran 6 weeks not 5 weeks and the costs were to cover his course, materials for the course, lecturers fees and then examination fees, he got a white card with "ELECTRIC" written on it when he finished, he turned up on site with no tools, no high viz vest and no idea what he was doing, he was out of his depth and didn't last very long, 6k down the drain.

He got a week for free!!!!

The 6 week course makes you an on-site supervisor Mike :smiley2:

 

[D Skelton]

because I served seven and half years as a Royal Marines Commando. Not that many stupid people in there I can assure you.

Really?! Don't think I've ever met a bootneck with more sense than an amoeba?

 

[trev]

Only one thing for it...FIGHT!!!!

 

[D Skelton]

I know a chap that worked on nuclear ships for 7 years as an electrical engineer in the M.O.D. Came out of his time and under took a short course for the qualifications required for a domestic installer. No need to teach him about ohms law, IP ratings, cable grouping, ambient temperature etc etc etc. He needs to know about the part P stuff and the DI courses to become a competent domestic installer. That is what these short courses were designed to do, get people with knowledge of the industry and teach them the ways of the domestic side of things. He is an excellent Electrician and runs a very successful business.

"get cables from one end of the house to the other" The do it on ships, a 3 bed semi is not a big deal.

"...without any visible signs after they have left". That is just very good DIY skills. How many electricians have been on a course to learn how to lift and replace floorboards or fill in chase?

I agree, the short courses were originally designed for a specific purpose. Now they are just being abused left right and center!