TradeSkills4U

[robeyw]

I have recently decided that I want to become an Electrician. There is a big company called TradeSkills4U that offer a 16 Week course that will enable me at the end to be a fully qualified domestic, commercial and industrial electrician. It is a paid course where I would invest a lot of money, however I am 21 years old and not keen on going down the 4 year apprenticeship route. I was wondering if any one has heard or had any good things about the company. I went to visit the gatwick centre and it all looked very professional and defiantly looked like the 'real deal'. If anyone has any information that would help me decide, it would be much appreciated.

 

[Paul.M]

After 16 weeks you will not be classed as a fully qualified electrician. It will be the first qualified stage/s of becoming a sparky, then you go onto other courses to become a fully qualified electrician.

 

[assegayer]

I have recently decided that I want to become an Electrician. There is a big company called TradeSkills4U that offer a 16 Week course that will enable me at the end to be a fully qualified domestic, commercial and industrial electrician. It is a paid course where I would invest a lot of money, however I am 21 years old and not keen on going down the 4 year apprenticeship route. I was wondering if any one has heard or had any good things about the company. I went to visit the gatwick centre and it all looked very professional and defiantly looked like the 'real deal'. If anyone has any information that would help me decide, it would be much appreciated.

LOOOOOL now thats funny

 

[Simonslimline]

I have recently decided that I want to become an Electrician. There is a big company called TradeSkills4U that offer a 16 Week course that will enable me at the end to be a fully qualified domestic, commercial and industrial electrician. It is a paid course where I would invest a lot of money, however I am 21 years old and not keen on going down the 4 year apprenticeship route. I was wondering if any one has heard or had any good things about the company. I went to visit the gatwick centre and it all looked very professional and defiantly looked like the 'real deal'. If anyone has any information that would help me decide, it would be much appreciated.

To be recognised by JIB ( Joint Industry Board) as a fully qualified installation electrician, you will need NVQ 3, a tech certificate at level 3 & the AM2.

Do not be fooled by these mickey mouse courses, they will rob you of your hard earned cash while they promise you the world in return. For them to suggest you would be a competent industrial sparky after 16 weeks is ludicrous to be honest.


If you are serious about becoming an electrician then the following routes are the way to do it.

City & Guilds 2365 L2 & L3. Followed by the NVQ3 & AM2. You will not need to be employed in the industry for this route until you start the NVQ.

City & Guilds 2357. This is the apprenticeship route and is all of the above combined. You will need employment in the industry to get on this course.

Please understand that to become a fully competent and qualified electrician takes time, it is a technical trade and there is lots to take in and learn. You will never stop learning either. Every day is a school day as they say.

At 21 you will not have to pay for the course as an apprentice i believe, unless it has changed since i started mine a few years ago.

Best of luck with it all.

 

[davesparks]

I have recently decided that I want to become an Electrician. There is a big company called TradeSkills4U that offer a 16 Week course that will enable me at the end to be a fully qualified domestic, commercial and industrial electrician. It is a paid course where I would invest a lot of money, however I am 21 years old and not keen on going down the 4 year apprenticeship route. I was wondering if any one has heard or had any good things about the company. I went to visit the gatwick centre and it all looked very professional and defiantly looked like the 'real deal'. If anyone has any information that would help me decide, it would be much appreciated.

You will not be allowed to set foot in an industrial environment with that qualification, they won't even consider you for interview if you do apply for any work in that sector.
Commercial work you might get some work as an elctrician a mate, but don't spect to be doing much more than labouring.
Domestic, there's a hell of a lot of people who have done courses like this and are now selling themselves as domestic electricians so there will be stiff competition for you. For properly qualified electricians this isn't quite as bad as it sounds because it generates a hell of a lot of work for us putting right the dangerous work carried out by these people, but at the same time it is downright scary to see people's lives being put in danger by them.

Personally I have worked with a few people who have done these courses so have some experience of the level of ability they come out with and quite honestly they were all a danger to themselves and if I had not been watching them they could all have easily killed themselves through their lack of understanding of basic electrical safety.

 

[Wonderwall]

I've been a sparky for 25 years, and I've still got a lot to learn. 16 weeks is your first day at nursery I think, but good luck, it's a start.

 

[newtothis]

It is my deeply help opinion based on personal experience.
That the claims some of these training centres make to sell these courses need to be tested in a court of law.

On the general proposition: Buy a highly skilled trade for 7.5 K in 16 weeks from zero knowledge or experience. Could someone please explain to me how this is anything other than criminal deception.

In my opinion, (which could be wrong). Competent Person Schemes are aiding and abetting for cash. They provide the vague cloak of respectability needed for these training centres to avoid facing criminal prosecution.

Don’t get me wrong these centres have a valid place – providing a venue and test rigs for people in the industry, to do their exams to underpin their knowledge and experience.

[FONT=&amp]To the OP, don’t make the mistake of disregarding the advice of experienced electricians on here. You might think it’s just the negative rumblings of people who’ve spent years learning a trade, naffed off that you are going to do it in 16weeks and be competition for them. I can assure you 100 % that it’s not the case. Research more, find out the facts from as many sources as you can. Speak to recruiters speak to local electrical firms about your prospects after a 16week course.[/FONT]

 

[AndyL]

To be recognised by JIB ( Joint Industry Board) as a fully qualified installation electrician, you will need NVQ 3, a tech certificate at level 3 & the AM2.

Do not be fooled by these mickey mouse courses, they will rob you of your hard earned cash while they promise you the world in return. For them to suggest you would be a competent industrial sparky after 16 weeks is ludicrous to be honest.


If you are serious about becoming an electrician then the following routes are the way to do it.

City & Guilds 2365 L2 & L3. Followed by the NVQ3 & AM2. You will not need to be employed in the industry for this route until you start the NVQ.

This is the bit that the 16 weeks course will give you, you will still need to do NVQs and AM2. So not actually a "mickey mouse course" its just part of wants needed. It gives you the underpinning knowledge, there will still be lots of experience required, which is the idea of the NVQs and AM2

 

[Tradeskills4u]

Hi Robeyw,

I just spotted this and wanted to let you know that Simonslimline is spot on with the routes which is exactly how we present it on our website. However before people start having a go at us maybe they could look at what we actually say than assuming we are telling everyone they will be fully qualified after 16 weeks, I quote:

"This is the very latest course for those wanting to become an electrician. It is run 2 weeks on 2 weeks off over 30 weeks and covers the training elements required to work on both domestic and commercial installation. This course has now replaced the City & Guilds 2330's. To become fully qualified you will need to complete an NVQ and AM2 in industry."

I should also add this is not a "mickey mouse" course and in fact you will receive the same amount of training to the same course syllabus as you would at a college.

The difference is that we deliver it full time, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off rather than 1 day a week over a few years. There are lot's of benefits to doing it this way including less time re-capping and more time spent learning.

So you will be doing the same course but will complete it in a shorter period of time.

You will also take a 17th edition exam and a bridging unit that means when you are ready to take your NVQ you can transfer into the 2357 with no hassle.

I hope this clarifies the situation.

Regards

Chris

 

[Andy78]

Hi Robeyw,

I just spotted this and wanted to let you know that Simonslimline is spot on with the routes which is exactly how we present it on our website.

However this is not a "mickey mouse" course and in fact you will receive the same amount of training to the same course syllabus as you would at a college.

The difference is that we deliver it full time, 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off rather than 1 day a week over a few years. There are lot's of benefits to doing it this way including less time re-capping and more time spent learning.

So you will be doing the same course but will complete it in a shorter period of time.

You will also take a 17th edition exam and a bridging unit that means when you are ready to take your NVQ you can transfer into the 2357 with no hassle.

I hope this clarifies the situation.

Regards

Chris

There are of course a lot of downsides too.

A compressed course means less time to actually absorb the knowledge and turn it into learning rather than temporarily retaining the information for just long enough to pass exams.

A compressed course does not give opportunity for application of learned theory in the workplace over several years. The longer approach consolidates knowledge and contributes to actual learning further to my point above.

The cost is horrendous. Your course that is the subject of this thread costs nearly double what I paid at college for my 2330 level 2 and 3, AM2, and NVQ3. Your course does not even include the NVQ3 and will therefore require further outlay to gain the JIB grading that the OP is aiming for.

 

[Tradeskills4u]

There are of course a lot of downsides too.

A compressed course means less time to actually absorb the knowledge and turn it into learning rather than temporarily retaining the information for just long enough to pass exams.

A compressed course does not give opportunity for application of learned theory in the workplace over several years. The longer approach consolidates knowledge and contributes to actual learning further to my point above.

The cost is horrendous. Your course that is the subject of this thread costs nearly double what I paid at college for my 2330 level 2 and 3, AM2, and NVQ3. Your course does not even include the NVQ3 and will therefore require further outlay to gain the JIB grading that the OP is aiming for.

I guess it depends on how you prefer to learn. Many people prefer to front load their training and then apply what they have learned on the job.

For mature learners doing an apprenticeship just isn't an option. It's all very well and good to say apply what you learn in the workplace but that doesn't work for people who don't have a job. So we find for the hundreds of students who train on this course with us every year this model is an excellent way to break the cycle and get a job in the industry.

The cost is not horrendous, colleges receive funding, we do not so actually you will find that many colleges receive more for delivering this course than we do.

Apprenticeships are a great way to learn, however the biggest issue with apprenticeships is that no one seems to recognise is that without a job you are stuck and without the training you can't get a job. So how are people, especially mature students supposed to get their foot in the door?

The only way is to front load their training.

 

[Andy78]

I guess it depends on how you prefer to learn. Many people prefer to front load their training and then apply what they have learned on the job.

For mature learners doing an apprenticeship just isn't an option. It's all very well and good to say apply what you learn in the workplace but that doesn't work for people who don't have a job. So we find for the hundreds of students who train on this course with us every year this model is an excellent way to break the cycle and get a job in the industry.

The cost is not horrendous, colleges receive funding, we do not so actually you will find that many colleges receive more for delivering this course than we do.

Apprenticeships are a great way to learn, however the biggest issue with apprenticeships is that no one seems to recognise is that without a job you are stuck and without the training you can't get a job. So how are people, especially mature students supposed to get their foot in the door?

The only way is to front load their training.

You can't say absolute statements like the ones highlighted and pass them off as fact. Many mature students may find your route easier and more convenient but you can't insinuate that is the only way forward.

When I studied I was working as a mate, and working alongside 2 others that were going the same route. The college had so many mature students, all in relevant work, they had to create a separate group for us.

Just because a college may receive funding and therefore make more money does not change the fact that you are more expensive to the student does it ?