TradesCollege.org electrical training

[Ealdor-Bana]

Hello i had an interview with a trade college for renewable energy and i have C&G qualifications in domestic electrical installation. (Tradescollage.org which is also tradescollage.co.uk )
I’m new to doing trade colleges and dont know if these places are scams as they all talk about NVQ qualifications instead of C&G which is strange as college offers these qualifications at a fraction of the cost.

my worry is the website has two sites. One .org & the other .co.uk. The Facebook page was only active this year and i cant find the company registration number on the site.
they claim i can have full funding but it will cost me £7k over 3 years? Seems steep for NVQ qualifications when my C&G electrical domestic was around £5k at a adult college.
oh, also a £60 register fee for joining the college.

thanks for anything help and advice.

 

[Mike Johnson]

I sincerely hope you are right, Good Luck.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Hi Marcus, I don't need any information thanks, but found it strange that you asked for this information prior to the prospective candidate signing up to your course, this rings all sorts of suspicion bells in anyone who knows about identity theft or online fraud.

 

[Mike Johnson]

Wriggle all you like, you asked for this information before the prospective candidate signed up to your course, making them think they had committed themselves, a very hard sell concept on your part.

 

[DPG]

Marcus, I still don't see why you need driving license number when someone is enquiring.

 

[David Anthony]

I decided to back away from them in the end.
*they don’t list where the training centres are... that’s really weir because other professional training centre do.
*didn’t send any documents out or email anything that was discussed over the video call and would only Concentrate on getting me to sign the agreement. (Should be given documents to show how it all works and what to expect & the training school locations)
*the website is shockingly low on basic information. If yo want to know anything it’s ”talk to the sales team”... err you could post basic FAQ on the actual website like every other normal business does.

I’m trained already in electrical but need update regs etc. I was trying to get into renewable sector but they kept talking about plumbing as the renewable sector.... ok so we all know renewable energy is not solely in plumbing and they are starting to sounding very ill informed.

what made me laugh was they said they are trade recognised but everyone I talked to in training trades said they have not heard of them.
also this company will only offer a NVQ... that will NOT get you qualified enough to earn a proper wage. (I have NVQ & C&G in electrical installation... you need C&G to get a full time job

With colleges offering City and Guilds level 2 and 3 courses (without NVQ) a lot of new "electricians" have no practical experience other than building little circuits in the college workshop, there is a need for NVQ's added by accredited training centres. Unfortunately this opens the door for all kinds dodgy scams.

 

[Mike Johnson]

You do not need to check on the financial situation of a prospective student prior to then committing to the course, and why don't you have a contact telephone number?

 

[David Anthony]

Everything about this is screaming scam.

i have a hobbie of stringing them along for fun as long as possible. I give them false information and ask loads of aukward question.

it takes a long time for them to give up.

as long as they are attempting to scam me they are not scamming someone else.

I once kept a so called investment company hooked for 3 months. They said they could double my investment in just 2 weeks. I eventually got tired of them and told him I was a scam. He really wasn’t very happy.

I also enjoy engaging with unsolicited calls of any kind. As soon as they take the bait I tell them to hold on and play music while get on with something else. Usually holds them for about 10 minutes or so.

 

[UNG]

With colleges offering City and Guilds level 2 and 3 courses (without NVQ) a lot of new "electricians" have no practical experience other than building little circuits in the college workshop, there is a need for NVQ's added by accredited training centres. Unfortunately this opens the door for all kinds dodgy scams.

This level 2 and 3 has no credibility as it seems it is applied to most courses to give them some status, all courses should be given some sort of career pathway progression so you start with the core courses and move onto the add on courses like the 2391 as you progress through your training. All the courses these training companies offer only seem to short circuit the proper training without informing them a short circuit is dangerous

The NVQ system is flawed, I know of someone who was turned down for a job because of no NVQ yet at the time she was a level 4 NVQ assessor

 

[DPG]

Kimmy1307 - did they definitely ask for your driving license details?

 

[David Anthony]

This level 2 and 3 has no credibility as it seems it is applied to most courses to give them some status, all courses should be given some sort of career pathway progression so you start with the core courses and move onto the add on courses like the 2391 as you progress through your training. All the courses these training companies offer only seem to short circuit the proper training without informing them a short circuit is dangerous

The NVQ system is flawed, I know of someone who was turned down for a job because of no NVQ yet at the time she was a level 4 NVQ assessor

I quite agree that the NVQ system is flawed, mostly by dodgy assessors. The one you spoke to misrepresented herself because there is no level 4 assessor qualification. Assessors are Level 3 after that an Level 4 Interal Quality Assurer, formerly called Internal Verifier who is responsible for ensuring that the assessment process is thoroughly performed.

 

[UNG]

I quite agree that the NVQ system is flawed, mostly by dodgy assessors. The one you spoke to misrepresented herself because there is no level 4 assessor qualification. Assessors are Level 3 after that an Level 4 Interal Quality Assurer, formerly called Internal Verifier who is responsible for ensuring that the assessment process is thoroughly performed.

TBH that was what I was told for me NVQ = not very qualified

 

[David Anthony]

You have not answered that question.

Every reputable college has a "Contact Us" link with full details. Marcus at Trades College should teach dancing instead, looking at how he skirts around simple straightforward questions

 

[SJD]

I'd guess there is no phone number given either because there would not be anyone dedicated to answering it (which wouldn't look good) or they simply don't want people ringing up who might have problems or complaints.

Requiring everyone to be phoned back means you can only talk to the organization if said organization actually want to speak to you.

 

[DPG]

I personally wouldn't sign up for a course with anyone who wasn't willing to give either a telephone number or an address. These are basics.

 

[nicebutdim]

Companies Act 2006 is the legislation that must be complied with by all businesses that operate a website and it makes specific reference about contact information that must be supplied in an easily accessible manner.

 

[nicebutdim]

Does that include the business address and telephone number, or just registration details?

I'm not going to make bold statements when I can not be certain of grey areas that might exist. Personally I tend to avoid conducting business with companies who aren't transparent about where they are located and how I might go about contacting them by phone. Contact forms are all very well, but my experience is that response times can vary from almost instantaneous to never and I don't care for such uncertainty.

I've previously refrained from commenting in this thread, but feel that it's worth adding that I'm someone who is currently in the process of trying to secure training in this industry and my comments above would apply equally to training providers as they do to any other business.

 

[David Anthony]

I'm not going to make bold statements when I can not be certain of grey areas that might exist. Personally I tend to avoid conducting business with companies who aren't transparent about where they are located and how I might go about contacting them by phone. Contact forms are all very well, but my experience is that response times can vary from almost instantaneous to never and I don't care for such uncertainty.

I've previously refrained from commenting in this thread, but feel that it's worth adding that I'm someone who is currently in the process of trying to secure training in this industry and my comments above would apply equally to training providers as they do to any other business.

I hope you find the training you need from a decent college at a fair price. There are some.

 

[nicebutdim]

I hope you find the training you need from a decent college at a fair price. There are some.

Holding out for a local college course in Spetmeber, but that hasn't worked out for two successive years. If this year makes a hattrick, I'll have to resort to a training provider in GB as I'm not getting any younger.

 

[David Anthony]

Holding out for a local college course in Spetmeber, but that hasn't worked out for two successive years. If this year makes a hattrick, I'll have to resort to a training provider in GB as I'm not getting any younger.

Don't worry about your age. I came to the UK twenty years ago. I went into a college in middle England and said I wanted to do the Regs. The lady said I need to speak to the trainer. He asked if I had 2330 parts 1 and 2.
I asked what that was and he told me so I said I didn't need that as I was an electrician. He said " You want to be an Electrician so you need etc."
I listed some of my varied experience and asked if he had done any of them. He said no so I told him he "wanted to be an electrician" and walked out.
Came to a London college asked about the Regs and she said £100 so I asked if I needed an interview and she said "no, just come on Tuesday evening "

Point I'm making is know what you want and don't let them up sell courses you don't need

 

[Mike Johnson]

XS training on here seem to get good review and have been around for some time, look in the right hand side bar, I don't know anything about them, just their presence and some previous comments.

 

[nicebutdim]

Problem with any GB training provider is the cost of travelling back and forth from NI, along with accommodation. If I can secure a local college course, it would be significantly less expensive and would allow me to continue earning at the same time as gaining experience. It would be nice to complete my portfolio at the same time as C&G 2365 (more likely EAL equivalent at local college), rather than completing a course and then start working towards it.

I'm determined to get started by September, one way or another, and the next few months will determine what route that has to take. This forum has been great for putting regulations into context, but I'm ready for mathematical challenges and whatever else training throws up. The practical side of the industry is probably least concerning, but there are quite a few areas that will be new to me and I'm champing at the bit right now.

 

[DPG]

I see the guy never came back and answered the question then. Speaks volumes to me, and hardly makes the place look like a credible option.

 

[UNG]

I think at some point he or someone else from the company has to respond as it only takes a Google search for prospective customers to find this thread and draw their own conclusions

 

[BridolMandy]

I think at some point he or someone else from the company has to respond as it only takes a Google search for prospective customers to find this thread and draw their own conclusions

Which is exactly what I have just done. Thank you electriciansforums.net you have just been the nail in the coffin to my other searches and saved my son £7,800

 

[eldest93]

I just wanted to say that I got the exact same experience today as everyone above has described (spoke to a guy called Jag/Jack today) who asked me a lot about my personal situation, education etc but didn't disclose anything around the course apart from being NVQ level 3 trained which would take between 9-12 months to complete domestic and commercial parts for. He wanted to do a follow up call on Friday with me and my wife, but it got the alarm bells ringing as he didn't talk about money and seemed too good to be true. I did some digging (which led me to this thread) and found that the company is registered under GET ON THE TOOLS LIMITED, which was incorporated in December 2020. The director has another company under his name, which was incorporated in Jan 2021. I don't think I'll be progressing with this company as there is a lot of unanswered questions here and nothing concrete to rely on (their Facebook page 'community' section has one post, and no other reviews).

So my question is, where does a guy who wants to train, but can't give up work, go?

 

[Msteee]

Omg my partner had interview with a r dhania and he wanted to speak to me, he spoken to me and wanted to know if my partner really serious about the course and if he elegiblenfor some payment system. He made me watch a trade college 10min video whilst on the call and today he going to call again to do a course guide conference and he wants me to be apart of it also. This is very strange, ive never had anyone do interviews this way and i dont under why i need to apart of so much interviewing.

http://

Hi there,

I had a webcam interview with someone that represents this college and I must say it was all very unorthodox. We spent 50 mins just talking about me and my personal situation and absolutely no information regarding the college or their courses was divulged.

We now have another 'interview' scheduled for next week in which he wants my partner to also be in on the call. I find this all very strange. They're supposedly offering training courses, so why do they need to speak to my partner??

Can anyone shed any light on this organisation? Are they even legit? My cynical mind is screaming out 'SCAM'

I would love to hear from others and their experience.

Thanks

 

[Mike Johnson]

I think it was established quite early on that this organisation has no credibility, they where asked a few pertinent questions re, company address and training centres to which there was never any reply, I would feel you would be throwing money away with them, let alone wasting your time, look for posts from someone calling themselves "Marcus" who contradicts himself and is very evasive, came onto the website saying he was a trainer in his profile and then denied it when challenged.

 

[David Anthony]

The safest option is to use recognised colleges and don't be encouraged to take a level 2 to begin with. Start at level 3, it's a steeper learning curve but will save you time and money

 

[AaronHarvey]

Didn't realise this thread had picked up so much traction since my post about TradesCollege.

I decided to ignore them and walk away in the end. They also wanted a video call with my partner involved. Other details weren't very credible as discussed already.

I've had no contact with them for 6 months but in the past week they have started calling me from various similar mobile numbers upto or more than 5 times a day, every day.

Answered 1 call and they went straight into pushy personal questions about my work/personal life. Details of my job, if I rent, live with patents etc..

 

[Rfnutta]

Evening All. I have just had a meeting with "derek" from trades college. I thought it sounded really good, promising me that completing the nvq level 2 would mean I was a domestic approved electrical engineer (providing I was able to put the hours in approx 15 hours a week) after 1 year, I could sign off my own work ? They said as they are an engineering / construction company I could use their facilities over the UK to perform the nvq level 3 practical experience for my portfolio and that the nvq assessors often attend their sites.
Obviously sounding really good at this point (and the saying if its too sound to good to be true ....) suited my requirements and committments to the ground. However nothing has been discussed regarding money at this point.... I have the scheduled online meeting on saturday with my wife.... after googling what they can offer that others cant. (after I said I couldn't attend college full time and my only option was online learning at this point). I have checked this website straight away and looking at their website and companies details.... very very fishy if you ask me. The training company only registered in December 2020 and the directors construction company only registered in Jan 2021.... yet they have customer / student video reviews on their website which are a year old...... how is this possible when the company didn't even exist then (according to companies house). I am going to be very interested in what he has to say on Saturday morning when I real off my questions and findings on a video call and see what his response is going to be. Looks like its back to the drawing board for the training provider.

 

[Deleted account]

Evening All. I have just had a meeting with "derek" from trades college. I thought it sounded really good, promising me that completing the nvq level 2 would mean I was a domestic approved electrical engineer (providing I was able to put the hours in approx 15 hours a week) after 1 year, I could sign off my own work ? They said as they are an engineering / construction company I could use their facilities over the UK to perform the nvq level 3 practical experience for my portfolio and that the nvq assessors often attend their sites.
Obviously sounding really good at this point (and the saying if its too sound to good to be true ....) suited my requirements and committments to the ground. However nothing has been discussed regarding money at this point.... I have the scheduled online meeting on saturday with my wife.... after googling what they can offer that others cant. (after I said I couldn't attend college full time and my only option was online learning at this point). I have checked this website straight away and looking at their website and companies details.... very very fishy if you ask me. The training company only registered in December 2020 and the directors construction company only registered in Jan 2021.... yet they have customer / student video reviews on their website which are a year old...... how is this possible when the company didn't even exist then (according to companies house). I am going to be very interested in what he has to say on Saturday morning when I real off my questions and findings on a video call and see what his response is going to be. Looks like its back to the drawing board for the training provider.

Can you record that video call. Would be very interesting.

 

[Rfnutta]

Can you record that video call. Would be very interesting.

yeah no problem I will give it a go... I have a feeling that with my first 3 questions to him which will be in the few minutes into the call, I have a feeling his "connection" will have a problem ?

 

[Mike Johnson]

Why waste your time with them? there are enough negative comments on these six pages for anyone to know they are a dodgy company that can't produce what they promise.

 

[JESSBU]

I decided to back away from them in the end.
*they don’t list where the training centres are... that’s really weir because other professional training centre do.
*didn’t send any documents out or email anything that was discussed over the video call and would only Concentrate on getting me to sign the agreement. (Should be given documents to show how it all works and what to expect & the training school locations)
*the website is shockingly low on basic information. If yo want to know anything it’s ”talk to the sales team”... err you could post basic FAQ on the actual website like every other normal business does.

I’m trained already in electrical but need update regs etc. I was trying to get into renewable sector but they kept talking about plumbing as the renewable sector.... ok so we all know renewable energy is not solely in plumbing and they are starting to sounding very ill informed.

what made me laugh was they said they are trade recognised but everyone I talked to in training trades said they have not heard of them.
also this company will only offer a NVQ... that will NOT get you qualified enough to earn a proper wage. (I have NVQ & C&G in electrical installation... you need C&G to get a full time job

 

[JESSBU]

I decided to back away from them in the end.
*they don’t list where the training centres are... that’s really weir because other professional training centre do.
*didn’t send any documents out or email anything that was discussed over the video call and would only Concentrate on getting me to sign the agreement. (Should be given documents to show how it all works and what to expect & the training school locations)
*the website is shockingly low on basic information. If yo want to know anything it’s ”talk to the sales team”... err you could post basic FAQ on the actual website like every other normal business does.

I’m trained already in electrical but need update regs etc. I was trying to get into renewable sector but they kept talking about plumbing as the renewable sector.... ok so we all know renewable energy is not solely in plumbing and they are starting to sounding very ill informed.

what made me laugh was they said they are trade recognised but everyone I talked to in training trades said they have not heard of them.
also this company will only offer a NVQ... that will NOT get you qualified enough to earn a proper wage. (I have NVQ & C&G in electrical installation... you need C&G to get a full time job

Hi, how did you back out of it all in the end? I have recently signed up however i am now having serious doubts- i was reassured there was a "14 day cooling off period", I am unable to find information about how i can withdraw my application as the college has not provided any contact details. apparently going through the "training advisor" is invalid, however they have not provided any other details? im 99.9% certain this is a complete sham and not how genuine legit colleges work. Any advice on how you got out is very much appreciated. Thankyou

 

[Darkwood]

These sites/schemes have a legal obligation to give you all the details of an exit strategy, email them or record any phone calls you have when you request the information if it isn't contractually made clear, if they fail to inform you you may have a position to bring the ombudsman in.

 

[Dobbo97]

I signed up to the course and the credit agreement and luckily I decided against it after researching a bit further into it. I rang the credit company and backed out of the agreement as the terms allowed me to back out before 14 days prior. I’m glad I did this and I would recommend no one to start this course, go a better route.

 

[Colley352]

Hi, how did you back out of it all in the end? I have recently signed up however i am now having serious doubts- i was reassured there was a "14 day cooling off period", I am unable to find information about how i can withdraw my application as the college has not provided any contact details. apparently going through the "training advisor" is invalid, however they have not provided any other details? im 99.9% certain this is a complete sham and not how genuine legit colleges work. Any advice on how you got out is very much appreciated. Thankyou

Please let me know if you find out any information on how to back out. I’m in the same situation as you.

 

[Colley352]

I signed up to the course and the credit agreement and luckily I decided against it after researching a bit further into it. I rang the credit company and backed out of the agreement as the terms allowed me to back out before 14 days prior. I’m glad I did this and I would recommend no one to start this course, go a better route.

What credit company do you have to call? I’m in the same situation as you can Cabot afford to loose money!