Why so big a difference in price?

[steve_jones]

Hi All,

Just wanted anyone's views on why electricians prices are so different, had a few quotes for wiring in a kitchen, quotes came in at:

£1200
£950 (reduced to £850 when I questioned it)
£460

Went with the £460, did a great job, safety certificate the lot. I know none of you will have seen the job in question but how do people quote up for jobs and why the vast difference?

 

[Spoon]

Me thinks a plumber is having fun with the electricians again!

Well someone is.... It's all ok thought... It's good to talk...
"We want to be together......"

 

[pirate]

Electricians with different skill sets...all electricians, just in different ways?
Some electricians may have every possible qualification, but not actually be particularly skillful in some installations/practice/theory.
I guess we can all agree on that?
My dad went to uni and got his degree in medicine, so he was Doctor.
My mum went to uni and got her degree in medicine, so she was a Doctor.
He was a consultant in chest medicine, she was an anaesthetist. Neither could do the job of the other, clearly! Different skill sets.

 

[Anthony S]

I know what you and Andy are getting at and I know you need a JIB card to get on certain sites.
I know there is a big world out there, you have to know this as well.... That's why we have electricians with different knowledge bases. (As I have mentioned before)... Again, at the end of the day "There is no legal definition of 'electrician'." everyone has their own opinion. Mine is more open minded..

The opinion of a very large % of employers who request a JIB Gold Card or don't apply for the job tells me they prefer someone who as actually completed some sort of training with core qualifications.

People who feel they are qualified Electricians shouldn't have an issue completing the required qualifications, nvq, am2.

 

[Anthony S]

duplicate post

 

[RWJ]

I'm a apprenticeship served spark that had a JIB gold card since qualifying. It was up for renewal when I (for personal reasons) for a short time wasn't sparking and working in another industry. I didn't bother to renew it, when I came back to sparking about 14 months later I never bothered to get a gold card.
That was 10 years ago, I've only just got a new Gold Card.... Why?

Because I needed a CSCS card to work on some antennas (RF not electrical) on the roof of a high rise tower, as well as other related qualifications. This is the only time I've EVER been asked in the last 10 years for a card, I've worked on small & medium commercial , and domestic new developments, been air side of a heliport, been sea side of a port and a varying range of jobs in between.

 

[Octopus]

My dad went to uni and got his degree in medicine, so he was Doctor.
My mum went to uni and got her degree in medicine, so she was a Doctor.
He was a consultant in chest medicine, she was an anaesthetist. Neither could do the job of the other, clearly! Different skill sets.

Hit, nail and head spring to mind ............... especially when you include all the "IT" type related skills that are needed with more and more of the products coming to the market these days ...............

The only "split" that would make ANY sense would be between single phase and multi phase .........................

Got me tin hat on.

 

[andyb]

My dad went to uni and got his degree in medicine, so he was Doctor.
My mum went to uni and got her degree in medicine, so she was a Doctor.
He was a consultant in chest medicine, she was an anaesthetist. Neither could do the job of the other, clearly! Different skill sets.

But both would of done the same 5 year degree course in medicine before they specialized pirate, same as electricians doing their c&g level 3 before specializing.

 

[andyb]

The only "split" that would make ANY sense would be between single phase and multi phase .........................

How would that work Murdoch? would you create another level of exam?

 

[David M]

I know a very good electrician who does nothing but domestic. I also know a very good electrician who does nothing but industrial. Both are electricians.
"Electrician" is a broad term for many skill sets within the industry. We all have our own opinions on what we would class an "electrician" to be. I believe an electrician is a person who has the knowledge, experience and skill set to carry out installation, testing and fault finding within the "electrical industry". I don't believe anyone can gain those attributes without time and adequate qualifications.

 

[Deleted member 105166]

As with the "doctor" analogy, there are so many specialist disciplines where the term "electrician" can be legitimately used. None of this takes anything away from, or makes one a lesser electrician than another. So long as every electrician knows their own limitations and shares the one common respect for the energy that we cannot see, hear nor smell, and promotes the one common aim of practising safe systems of work, then all is good in my book.
But don't get me started on misuse of the title "engineer"! One is only an engineer having obtained an engineering degree, end of. Otherwise you're a technician, or similar. For the record, I don't have an engineering degree, it's just a bugbear of mine, when all and sundry seem to believe they are engineers nowadays.

 

[Octopus]

How would that work Murdoch? would you create another level of exam?

Yes - because different numbers who increase clarity ....

 

[Spoon]

Here is my point of view. Using a different analogy. "scuba diver"..
Now with this you can take a short course 'Open Water' and become a "scuba diver". There are other courses you can take which increase your knowledge and work you way up to 'Dive Master'.. Now a Dive Master can do a lot more than an Open Water person but they are both "Scuba Divers" with different knowledge bases and experience.

 

[Spoon]

But don't get me started on misuse of the title "engineer"! One is only an engineer having obtained an engineering degree, end of. Otherwise you're a technician, or similar.

A guy at work said this to me... I don't have a degree in Engineering but my title states 'Engineer' and I class myself as one... Been doing it for 30 years...
Again, everyone to their own views.

 

[Gavin John Hyde]

Go on then, I'll be the awkward one that says "They are not electricians in the eyes of the JIB which is the unofficial standard by which the industry at large grades and employs workers. Just because the advent of part P encouraged the short course qualified worker enabled by the schemes does not mean that the traditional definition of electrician has been broadened or diluted"

thing is even the jib are diluting and getting into bed with the schemes as now if you get ac status with niceic, which we know they bend over backwards to give you if the cheque clears... you can get the gold card after a couple of annual assessments, you can sit equivalent courses with niceic instead of the nvq etc to get QS status, admittedly the gold card is only valid so long as you stay at that business... but its changing...
Interesting observations though, I have 2365 L2 and 3, 2394 and a couple other qualifications i took when i left the forces for health reasons.Spent several years doing commercial refurbs and social housing rewires before I went out on my own due to family commitments. technically i am not a qualified electrician, i only joined NICEIC to be able to sign off the part p stuff, the light commercial stuff i do normally doesn't need it. admittedly I wouldn't know where to begin in an industrial setting. However I would also think an industrial spark wouldn't automatically be able to jump right into house bashing. I have worked with domestic installers who have more knowledge, experience and skills than a supposed qualified time served apprentice with a pretty nvq portfolio. its all about mindset, approach to work and experience, but also knowing when to stay within your limits. its not just trades that are changing. I have family who work in the nhs and these days physiologists do what a few years ago a doctor would have done, they have just 2 years post degree experience before treating patients. likewise nurses are now effectively doing the job of doctors as training has improved. Take drs, when they first qualify or do there placements you are more likely to die in a hospital. yet they are the equivalent of an apprentice with his portfolio and am2... compare this to a nurse who might not be a dr but has experience and knowledge to do the things a doctor would previously have done. its happening in all industries and walk of life and is unlikely to change.

 

[peterhyper]

When my washing machine broke down under warranty I called John Lewis who informed me they were sending an 'engineer' to fix it. Some might argue that a person who replaces the few parts in a washing machine isn't an engineer, but who cares what they are called because he got my washing machine working again.

I honestly don't care less what people think of a person who does house bashing for a living, whether they are or aren't technically an electrician really doesn't matter to me because it doesn't effect what I earn, and if it did I might have to become a real electrician.