To note if sitting 2391 in March

[NMc]

For all you who are planning to sit the 2391-10 in March you should have a read of theChief Examiners report from the December exam which only had a pass rate of 37%. It highlights what people did wrong

http://www.cityandguilds.com/docume...ief_Examiners_Report_December_2011_Final2.pdf

Good luck

 

[spark 68]

I sat and passed this exam, I got one or two of the things wrong in section A mentioned in the report.

One of these I got wrong was testing the 25 Volt supply at 250V, it should be tested as LV at 500v, unless it is SELV, I made this mistake due to Their own bliddy Exam success book!

I thought it should have been tested at 500V, but then after reading the Exam success book mock exam practice 1 (page40) Q10 (has the answer as 250V), Thought that I had misunderstood this aspect, and consequently put the wrong answer in the real exam.

Another question I knew I got wrong (as I was leaving the centre, after the exam) was I mistakenly put that the Voltage drop should be verified at initial verification, it should have been during a PIR.

I no doubt made other mistakes, and got other parts wrong, but Iam just glad it is done and over with.

I feel one of the hardest parts of this exam is the wording of the questions.

I hope the info I have given helps those who are about to sit this exam.

The report is a pretty damning indictment, but is worth reading, so thanks for posting it Nmc.

 

[NMc]

In no particular order and not completely all here's a few topics themes that tend to crop up

info relating to DNO and the supply
statutory and non-statutory docs
use of human senses
things to look for on an inspection
different docs and when used
test instruments and test values/ranges
discribing the different tests
understanding and manipulating test results
conductor resistance
IR of parrallel circuits
difference IR test voltages and min acceptable values
adiabatic equation
RCD tripping times drawing and labelling Zs on each earthing system

 

[ian.settle1]

It's not just Decembers pass rate which is so low most of the previous ones have this same pass rate, in previous reports he has stated that candidates are not ready for the exam and also the use of incorrect terminology.

 

[NMc]

Not for me to say but are the candidates putting the effort in that is needed to pass

 

[chronyx]

Got my 2391 exams in March, thanks for this.

 

[morph]

very basic stuff being cocked up !

 

[combilau]

I passed too, not sure how after reading that haha, hope they dont make the new one to easy!

 

[spark 68]

Hi NMc,

Not for me to say but are the candidates putting the effort in that is needed to pass

I put the revision time in alright, and I have a lot of T&I + filling certs in experience, and I only did a 4 day course for this, there was a lot to take in, in 4 days, mainly the correct terminology and the correct naming of the statutory documents (for me anyway).

Some of my simple mistakes were partly due to severe exam nerves, partly due to poor exam time management on my part, and self doubts creeping in (I too thought I might have failed this).

Even though I passed this exam (first time), if I had to do it again I think it would have been easier to do over ten weeks at college, rather than over 4 and a bit days from a training centre!

I think the assessor was broadly correct in that a lot of candidates are not ready (certainly on my course, some weren't), I don't see how you could pass this via a 4/5 day course unless you already were fairly heavily involved testing and inspecting, and generally clued up and experienced electrically, the 4/5 days simply is not long enough!

Part of the blame I feel for this, is the recruitment people (agencies in particular), who usually state that you need the 2391 for just about any job now, whether you actually need this qualification or not for the actual job being offered.
In other words they are using this qualification to 'ease' their own number of shortlist candidates.
So a lot of people who are not quite ready for this course are entering it in order to increase their job prospects

 

[Silly Sausage]

Hi NMc,



I put the revision time in alright, and I have a lot of T&I + filling certs in experience, and I only did a 4 day course for this, there was a lot to take in, in 4 days, mainly the correct terminology and the correct naming of the statutory documents (for me anyway).

Some of my simple mistakes were partly due to severe exam nerves, partly due to poor exam time management on my part, and self doubts creeping in (I too thought I might have failed this).

So you're perfectly normal then.

Even though I passed this exam (first time), if I had to do it again I think it would have been easier to do over ten weeks at college, rather than over 4 and a bit days from a training centre!

Most definitely, see orange above.

I think the assessor was broadly correct in that a lot of candidates are not ready (certainly on my course, some weren't), I don't see how you could pass this via a 4/5 day course unless you already were fairly heavily involved testing and inspecting, and generally clued up and experienced electrically, the 4/5 days simply is not long enough!

Part of the blame I feel for this, is the recruitment people (agencies in particular), who usually state that you need the 2391 for just about any job now, whether you actually need this qualification or not for the actual job being offered.
In other words they are using this qualification to 'ease' their own number of shortlist candidates.
So a lot of people who are not quite ready for this course are entering it in order to increase their job prospects

I wasn't working at the time I did mine, the practical tutor (we did 2 nights a week, 1 theory, other practical) says to us all 'Get as much practise in at work as you can, cos you'll need it' Me thinks, 'Well that's me knackered' Pracitised at home and loads of reg/GN3 memorising...success! Not easy though, it's a tough one to get.


Well done on getting it!

 

[UNG]

I put the revision time in alright, and I have a lot of T&I + filling certs in experience, and I only did a 4 day course for this, there was a lot to take in, in 4 days, mainly the correct terminology and the correct naming of the statutory documents (for me anyway).

Even though I passed this exam (first time), if I had to do it again I think it would have been easier to do over ten weeks at college, rather than over 4 and a bit days from a training centre!

I think the assessor was broadly correct in that a lot of candidates are not ready (certainly on my course, some weren't), I don't see how you could pass this via a 4/5 day course unless you already were fairly heavily involved testing and inspecting, and generally clued up and experienced electrically, the 4/5 days simply is not long enough!

So how are the short course wonders passing it then, when I did it I did a 12 week evening course and drew on many years of experience doing inspection & testing during the exam and feel without it I would have struggled to pass it first go

 

[spark 68]

Without starting an argument about Electrical Trainee's as in another thread already on here.

So how are the short course wonders passing it then

They are clearly not!, are they ?, did you see the pass rate for this exam ?, and read the chief examiners report ?.

A lot of 'older hands' were on my course as well, and they struggled as much as anyone else.

I wouldn't expect a purely domestic spark to pass this, as they would not be familiar with 3 phase etc...etc.,which is why a lot of DI's do the much easier 2392 initial verification exam, I didnt do this one (2392) as it is a useless qualification for anything in industry/recruitment purposes.

This is probably why C&G are cutting this course in two for the new exams

 

[UNG]

I wouldn't expect a purely domestic spark to pass this, as they would not be familiar with 3 phase etc...etc.,which is why a lot of DI's do the much easier 2392 initial verification exam, I didnt do this one (2392) as it is a useless qualification for anything in industry/recruitment purposes.

This is probably why C&G are cutting this course in two for the new exams

There a quite a few on here claim to have the 2391 from these quick training providers

As for cutting it in two doesn't the 2391 & 2392 do that already or are you talking about the 2391 -10 & 2391-20 which are completely different exams

 

[spark 68]

As for cutting it in two doesn't the 2391 & 2392 do that already or are you talking about the 2391 -10 & 2391-20 which are completely different exams

I know the 2391-10 and 20 are two different exams, this 2391-20 > 2396 would make up the third exam in the new series (now L4 qual.)

• C&G 2394 Level 3 - Initial Verification of Electrical Installations
• C&G 2395 Level 3 - Periodic Inspection, Testing and Reporting of Electrical Installations
• C&G 2396 Level 4 - Design of Electrical Installations

So I suppose yes, as you were lol

 

[firemanowl]

I passed the december exam but when i came out wasn't feeling to confident on passing. Having just read the examiners report I probably managed to pass quite comfortably. I started training just as the new regs came out so only know all the current terminology which makes the the exam a bit easier as you don't have to change a life times habits.

Best advice I can give is, know how to write the different tests out in bullet point fashion. Having looked at past exam papers you are going to get at least 2 tests to explain, so that is 20 odd marks. It looks like where people are coming unstuck forgetting to write down something critical i.e null the leads, select a setting etc and you are losing big marks for it. I wrote out all the tests in the same format so the first 3 or 4 stages were almost the same, then there was no chance of missing something crucial that lost you marks. I also went straight to the scenario and highlighted all he relevant points and read the the long answer questions so I could be mulling them over when doing the short answer ones, you would be surprised how some of the short answer questions correspond to the long answer ones and vice versa.

I hope this all makes sense, if anyone one wants any help PM as I've got some good study notes, past papers, bullet pointed test sequences etc.