I think I am in the same boat as you Dawson77 which is the reason why I registered to be fair. I to have completed my C&G 2330 level 2 + 3 but as I was only able to find work as an electricians mate in the domestic sector (peoples houses) I was unable to attain the scope of instilation methods and what not required to complete the actual NVQ. I was able to complete some of the units as working in peoples houses enabled me to meet the criteria of some. Others however could only be completed in you were working in the industrial/commercial side of things. This was somewhat frustrating as although I tried my best to find someone that might be able to help me I never did. Subsiquently I have been unable to better myself as it is one of those situation I cant seem to see a way out of.
I am 30 now and most of you guys who are proper electricians probably qualiffied well before that. At 30 I cant really get a job as an apprentice as these are generally designed for 16 -21 year olds. Without the apprenticeship I cannot complete the nvq. And without the nvq I cant obtain my gold card which would open so many doors for me as although I wouldnt be the finished article it would at least allow me to practice the art of an electrician in an electrical environment whilst honing my electrical skills.
Can anyone relate to being in my position and maybee share how they got to where they are assuming the didnt do what I have done for the last 2 years which was a career change.
Can anyone give me any advice on what they would do if they were in my position as it may just spark an opportunity (through a new idea) for me to get to where I want to get to as i really do feel as though I am stuck in a bit of a hole.
what makes matters worse is that the nvq is a whole new thing now from what I have read above and it doesnot run allong side the 2330 which has also been changed.
Sometimes i think there must be so many people like me out there who have found themselves in a similar position just becasue the supply of apprentice jobs in the electrical industry especially ones that really do see you through from start to finish are far outnumbered by the demmand and as was the case for me, the ones who do manage to find themselves a position that will see them become fully trained in a variety of electrical scenarios and sectors arent necasarilly the brightest, most hardworking or keen but sometimes the lucky ones who have family friends or family already in the profession.
I wonder if it would be acceptable to start a business that helps these people out that are over the desired age of a apprenticeship and whilst completing there electrical qualifications were not able to provide proof of the scope of work required in the nvq simply because they were never lucky enough to have it. In effect if I had a warehouse with a load of bays like colleges and learning centres do then i could take them in providing them with real life scinarios that would meet varios unit reuirments set out by the nvq. It sould all be bay work admitably but you would just scale things up when on a real job ( eg a 3 ft length of conduit in a bay may = 20 meter in a real world scenario). As once youve got the key skills its just a matter of getting out there and getting the experience.
