"Trade Qualified", "New Career Skills"

[lawriedee]

Hi, My name's Lawrence, I'm a 50 year old able bodied man looking to get back to work after a spell as a house husband. To that end I wish to train as an electrician. I have approached both the above training bodies who paint a very rosy picture of both employment prospects and earning potential after the appropriate qualification is achieved. Both will readily take £5000 -£6000 from me and assure me it's a worthwile investment.
Can any of you who are currently in the trade give me an idea as to the state of the employment market for domestic electricians and tell me if "Trade Qualified" and "New Career Skills" are being completely honest about things? Thank you very much for your help.
PS. I may have posted this in the wrong section of the forum?

 

[Welchyboy]

Well to give you an idea of what its like out there currently....i am a small contractor/1 man band with an apprentice in the south east, i have around 15 years exp in the trade, 9 years self employed, JIB Approved electrician and an NICEIC approved contractor, i like to think i am pretty well established, i work with 2x plumbing and heating firms and around 8x different building companies, a couple of property management companies and my own private work and i am pretty quiet at the moment working 5 days a week just, general small works, maintenence and testing mostly, the cost of running my business goes up and up and the price people will pay is going down, and probably once a month i seriously think about throwing it all in and moving to thailand!

Up until about 2009 i had 3 other sparks working for me on and off and was getting plenty of big contracts of all sorts reguarly and i thought things were really taking off and within around a year it tailed off


When the work is there i would say a decent and established self employed spark could easily earn £50-60K a year on his own, maybe more if he employs others, at the moment would say you,d be doing very well to get that, more like £40k

Before this recession i would say go for it as the good times were good, but coming into the trade fresh at 50 years old and expecting to make a living....i would think carefully and do plenty of research before laying out all your money on training, it will be a hard mountain to climb! fact is most people dont have much money to spend right now or if they do they are keeping hold of it.

Also dont believe anyone who tells you, you will be a qualified electrician after doing a few multiple choice exams in a few weeks, after passing my 3 years C&G2360 course on day release i was still as green as grass and only experience with time will make you any good!

I dont mean to be too depressing just giving you my own current situation maybe others have some more encouraging news??

 

[lawriedee]

Thanks Welchboy,

should have netioned I'm in Southampton in my post. Thanks very much for your reply. As I research the possibilies and pit falls I'm finding more people advice caution and are more negative than possitive, no pun intended. Still, haven't commited to anything as yet. The more feed back I get the more research I have to do. Thanks again mate.

 

[Welchyboy]

Please dont think im trying to put you off, that is just a totally honest account, hopefully things will be good again sometime(maybe not too soon though) : )

 

[sparkiegaz]

save your money feller get a driving job,,u dont want to be wasting time or money doing this ,,,go work at tesco stacking shelves ,this games had it, i know far more sparks in bad times then any that are doing well,,,those aving it off are bull****ting,,,

 

[lawriedee]

Not at all Mate. Eyes wide open here. I dont want to do the wrong thing. Honest comment much appreciated.

 

[lawriedee]

Thanks Sparkiegaz, I'm begining to get the feeling my money would be better spent elswhere or saved for a better opportunity. Thanks again.

 

[telectrix]

might be a good idea to ring round some local firms, see if you can get taken on as an electrician's mate, then do the studying/qualifications night school at local college. that way, you're funding training through working, and not shelling out oodles of cash for something that may not get you future employment.

 

[lawriedee]

Thanks Telectrix,
I think you may be right, it can't hurt to put my face out there. Some might disagree but it's worth a shot.