UK Some advice needed

[John12345]

Hi all I’ve just started as an apprentice electrician for a company who do modular buildings I was just wondering after my time will people want to take me on elsewhere after only working here as it’s all just working to a diagram?

 

[telectrix]

it's a startof a journey. go with it, learn what you can, once you have advanced a little, move on to a broader field of experience.take whatever courses youremployer can be stitched for paying.

 

[David Prosser]

" just working to a diagram"? If you can do that correctly then you are light years of some apprentices !

 

[telectrix]

might even educate them in the use of enclosures around their downlight joints, and the fact that cpc's are not just stripping cords to be cut off after.

 

[John12345]

Cheers for that guys, just a bit stuck as couple of the lads have sed there are certain things I won’t learn other than in college because I won’t be doing them day to day such as armoured cable, 3 phase, intermediate switch and tray and steel conduit

 

[littlespark]

That’s always been a problem.
Luckily my apprenticeship was varied to the point I carried 3 extra pairs of shoes in the van.
Clean trainers for houses, steel toecapped boots for sites and wellies for farmyards. was fine, but some days you’de be knee deep in a 10,000 strong chicken shed in the morning, then in a posh country house hotel in the afternoon…. Still smelly

Is there any big electrical firms that your company can loan you out to to get some experience?
Intermediates are easy enough… if you understand two way switching… but the SWA, 3 phase, conduit and tray you really need hands on experience.

 

[James]

If you can read an electrical drawing with ease and are used to interpretation of them, multi point switches will be no problem because you will understand what is going on.

I have met electricians that can do them but can’t deal with unusual layouts and fault finding of existing lighting circuits.

if you can test and draw out an existing circuit, you are 80% through finding and repairing a fault.

 

[Mikegh]

Cheers for that guys, just a bit stuck as couple of the lads have sed there are certain things I won’t learn other than in college because I won’t be doing them day to day such as armoured cable, 3 phase, intermediate switch and tray and steel conduit

A lot of those things mentioned of course you can practice in your free time

Conduit not so easy without a bender unfortunately,but of you had access to one you could perfect all the measurements and offsets and jumps

 

[John12345]

Cheers for the reply’s guys this is already a big firm I’m with so I can’t see them letting me go somewhere else for experience, I’ll just have to try get experience maybe outside of work