Advice on route to take to become an electrician

[danpearson3000]

Hi Im Dan and i am looking to start a new career as an electrician. Not really sure where i should be posting this question so i will do it here.

I was looking into doing a new career skills course to get me started. I am well aware that this alone will not be enough to send me out in to the big bad world and i have noticed that electricians who have been on apprenticeships doing on the job training seem very much against this sort of course. However with my current situtaion it seems the best way for me to carry on working and get into this profession.

I would just like some feedback please from anyone who has done this course and wether they would recommend it? my aim would be to hopefully get some placament work once i had started the course to aid my progress and to teach me the practical side, (pulling up floor boards etc) that this course will not show me.

Anyones advice would be greatly appreciated as this is something i am passionate about doing.

 

[Marc]

How old are you? I presume an apprenticeship is not an option?

Aside from that the best way (IMO ) would have been the 2330 at college, however I'm not sure if this course is still available/the funding is still available to subsidise it. Somebody more clued up will be along to answer that.

What course does NewCareerSkills offer? From the brief summary at the top of their page it sounds like the domestic installers course, which is primarily aimed at those wanting to become self-employed. Is this your long-term aim?

NCS also has a page on the 'shortage' of electricians. This is not the case, infact fully qualified, experienced sparks are struggling to find work. Think very, very carefully before opening your wallet.

 

[meady]

Hi Im Dan and i am looking to start a new career as an electrician. Not really sure where i should be posting this question so i will do it here. I was looking into doing a new career skills course to get me started. I am well aware that this alone will not be enough to send me out in to the big bad world and i have noticed that electricians who have been on apprenticeships doing on the job training seem very much against this sort of course. However with my current situtaion it seems the best way for me to carry on working and get into this profession.

I would just like some feedback please from anyone who has done this course and wether they would recommend it? my aim would be to hopefully get some placament work once i had started the course to aid my progress and to teach me the practical side, (pulling up floor boards etc) that this course will not show me.

Anyones advice would be greatly appreciated as this is something i am passionate about doing.

I done that course a couple of years back and personally I recommend it. I was in a similar position as you regarding to working and paying the bills. It's great if you want to go self employed but as stated above there are plenty of unemployed sparks out there so you will struggle finding employment. The course gives you the qualifications you need to go part p registered with a scam but I suggest you find some work experience along the way even if it's unpaid. I hope this helps and good luck

 

[danpearson3000]

Cheers guys. Am 24 so apprenticeship out of the question. Ive got a flat with my gf so carryin on paying the bills is priority. They are flogging it saying there is a massive shortage of electricians but i know this isnt the case which makes me question everything else they promise. I think i will def be interested in setting up by myself eventually but obviously i wouldnt be able to do this after only completeing this course would i? It is a difficult one like you say because its a lot of money to spend just to be left with no job in the end. If i managed to gain sum placement while i was dong this course as well would you say i would come out with decent skills to go by myself?

 

[Zeespark]

Its not just the course that you have to contend with financially, but everything else business related also.

AndyGuinness

 

[Marc]

Three, 4 even 5 years ago they were throwing the same numbers about and there are plenty of people that have been on these courses and got nothing out of it, and plenty of people that have. Can you not try and gain some experience before you shell out for the course? That way you'll know whether or not you actually enjoy the work.

Re: skills, these take a long time to gain. Plenty of people who have done an apprenticeship will tell you that it doesn't end there.

Can I ask what you do now, and what it is that's making you want to change careers?

 

[kme]

Agree with all the above mate - this is a really bad time to be trying to get into the profession from scratch.

Two / three years ago; the "time served" guys could see the market becoming flooded with Domestic installers; and many began aiming their work at Commercial / Industrial as a better prospect of continuing work. Now the domestic market would still be viable, if it hadn`t been for the recession / belt tightening which ensued - many customers in the domestic environment simply put work off, or had it done "on the cheap".

So there are now a vast amount of "Domestic Installers", with comparatively few jobs to go around them. Those who haven`t built up a good reputation, or loyal customer base, have just floundered and sunk. Those that have manage to keep going, but not many are as busy as they`d like.

Into such an environment you arrive, hoping for placement. Yet there are few subsidies available, and many small firms are laying off, not hiring. So you find you have an NVQ in something you can`t do, because the work isn`t there.

There ARE growth areas; but they all require a relatively high up-front investment from you; but with no guarantees of a return for your money!

Think very carefully before committing to anything. See what promises of placement you could get, how much you would hope to make ( working unqualified to learn the ropes can be a way in; but the pay isn`t going to be too good!)

Good luck.

KME

 

[SPECIAL LOCATION]

Hello..

few hard facts you need to remember...

1/ Big companies / companies looking to sub-contract work out,

want experienced people who can get the job done in the specified timescale with minimal involvement.

2/ Self employment needs approx 5 years to build up a reasonable successful customer base sufficient for ongoing success!

(most small business fail within the first 5 years.)

3/ Any organisation that is trying to sell courses will advertise and hype up the demand for their product to try and generate sales of their courses.

4/ Thats a nice number. FOUR '4'

5/ its going to take 12 to 18 months to see what real impact the current government is having ....

 

[danpearson3000]

The main reason i was wanting to change is because currently i feel i havent actually got a particlaur skill in a job that i want to do. I have an accountancy qualification and worked in accounts for 3 years but left that to go into the NHS searching for more money. i am currently working for the NHS but have eefectively been made redundant from march. I will be slotted into a lower band job in the department but basic admin work which i am not happy to do. So i saw this situation as an oppurtunity for a fresh start and decided i want to get trained up to have a specific skill and a more direct career path. Looking back i wish i hadnt done all my qaulifications and i had just went straight into a trade. very confused about what to do now with some of the comments about lack of jobs for electricians.

 

[DeanoZX7R]

I'm not saying forget becoming an electrician but...... certainly for the time being try something else..... plasterers are always in demand and lets face it, you don't need a 3 year course to learn the trade.....but you would be working among other building trades and get an insight into their jobs (not forgetting to plaster over back boxes etc). Just a thought?

Did I mention I need a plasterer? :innocent

 

[m4tty]

I definitely would consider becoming a plasterer mate. They get paid more than us sparks, not much outlay for tools etc, no scheme membership every year being assessed. I was actually thinking of doing a plastering course too. I can plaster but not upto plasterers standards.

 

[rmc86uk]

Yea plasterers don't have to go and train for four years like the rest of us! If I were you mate like said previous best way would be to enrol at your local college on the electrical installation course. I think you can do 2330 L2 and 3 full-time in one year! Obviously 2330 is being phased out now not sure what the new course is though! I'm not stating that a year long course would get you somewhere but once you have the city and guild you can concentrate on building up work work experience over a few years!

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

 

[Samage89]

Yea plasterers don't have to go and train for four years like the rest of us! If I were you mate like said previous best way would be to enrol at your local college on the electrical installation course. I think you can do 2330 L2 and 3 full-time in one year! Obviously 2330 is being phased out now not sure what the new course is though! I'm not stating that a year long course would get you somewhere but once you have the city and guild you can concentrate on building up work work experience over a few years!Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

I think the new one is a 2353 which involves having work (apprenteship only :S) which is why I'm pushing myself to pass my level 3.

As I've been told by countless people it's a very hard time to become a spark.

 

[Bane]

Hi Dan.

I moved back to the UK 3yrs ago and had to rethink what direction I was now going to take.

Looked into the various trades and, like yourself, the only one that really interested me was electrical.

My gf and I had bought a house and, like yourself, we had bills etc to pay.

I looked into what my options were and was seriously debating one of these "Become An Electrician In 6 weeks" courses and frankly, I am very glad i didn't.

I am now into my 3rd and final year of college and, touch wood, I have only had 6months out of work throughout that duration. I had plenty of offers through recruitment agencies but once i told them about college once a week, their usual reply would be, "We need someone 5 days a week" however through the Summer I got a job and when the academic year was due to start again, I told my supervisor and he had no problem whatsoever with me taking that time off. Any firm that moans about you being at college isn't looking at you long term and just want a bit of man power for the duration.

I guess what I'm trying to tell you in a roundabout way is...

Go for it. Look into college. Maybe before enrolling try and get on as an electricians labourer to see if it's what you expect. Don't advertise yourself for free labour and, if you've got half a brain, come across well and find a half decent firm...You'll get on.

BUT ONLY TAKE THIS ADVICE IF YOU DON'T TRY AND MOVE TO NZ!!!!!!!

GET YOURSELF OVER THERE!!!

---------- AUTO MERGE Post added at 21:41 ---------- Previous post was at 21:41 ----------

PS: I'm 32

 

[louisIV]

It's depressing to see the replies in this thread. Two years ago I was trying to make a decision about what to train up for (I'd been a recording engineer for 20 years until an ear infection damaged my hearing on one side).

All the advice I got at the time (I didn't know about this forum then) was that this would be a good trade to get into. More recently people have been telling me that my age really counts against me. I don't know if it's my age, but I certainly have been met with a wall of silence in my applications for work.

And now, I find that the trade is not short of electricians as was boldly claimed - actually the opposite.

So, I have distinction grades for all my 2330 L2 modules, credits so far in L3. I passed my 17th Edition course last summer and have just passed (with 98%) my theory 2392.

Am I just wasting my time?

LIV.

 

[kme]

I hope not; but I think, especially in cases like yourself, one of the factors affecting prospects is what area you are aiming at (not geographically - more the domestic / non-domestic split).

Domestic sparks are over-abundant in virtually all areas - you may carve out a niche if you can do "high-end" domestics (i.e. home automation, whole house sound / video, data, green technologies etc....), but the amount of money spent on ALL these courses is going to take some time to recoup.

If you are hoping to go more non-dom, then the plethora of "part pees" are left out of the equasion, and the market is alittle more open; however it is a harder market to break into. The average company, when looking for a new contractor, doesn`t look in the community magazine, yellow pages, etc. - They either go for an established nationwide firm, or have a list of "preferred contractors" at their head office - to get on that list, as a new company, is somewhat difficult.

Depressing responses? Possibly. But factual nontheless. When there are so many "electricians", getting the work often comes down to one or two key points - which one(s) is/are salient in a particular case again hinges on the "target" customer base:

1. Response. Getting back to a customer, if you want the job or not is important, as is turning up to look at the job when you say you will. The number of customers who have been told someone will come, but no-one arrives, is shocking.

2. Cost. An interesting point. If your customer is,as we alluded previously "high-end domestic", they won`t care too much; in fact too low a price will put them off. Joe bloggs on a council estate wants to spend the least possible,as a general rule.

3. Impressions. You may be the politest person on the phone, voice dripping honey down the line to the customer, but if you arrive at a customer`s house in site wear, looking like you slept in a ditch, you`re stuffed. The opposite also applies. I think courtesy is important, too. All customers are "Mr" or "Mrs" blah.

4. Work in general. Sticking to an agreed figure, leaving the house as you found it, filling marks in walls / chases / damage around back boxes - and cleaning up behind yourself, takes time, but creates a great deal of respect from a customer. It is vital to ensure that what you are doing will provide the customer with what they wanted in the first place, as far as reasonably practicable.

However you decide to proceed - hope things go favourably for you.

KME

 

[louisIV]

Thanks kme - all sound advice. I am long enough in the tooth to have picked up stuff like reliability, courtesy and cleanliness/tidiness being very important. I can do that O)

As a matter of fact, I want to specialise in installation of green technologies. But I do need that essential practical experience (and the NVQ!) to qualify properly. Any advice on that? If I managed to find a (green technology) installer to employ me as a trainee - would I be able to pick up all the necessary NVQ evidence, do you know?

LIV.

(Dan - sorry to have hijacked your thread, but hopefully this is generating useful stuff related to what you originally asked).

 

[Bane]

How old are you Louis?

I'm assuming you are at least 36?

Do you have any prior site experience?

I'm assuming (again) that KME is talking about if you were in a self employed position? (that's how I read it anyway)

Never done domestics to a great degree myself, more industrial/commercial bias.

I just phone yellow pages, visit building sites, find out who the electrical contractor is etc.

Getting all my log book (NVQ) evidence together etc so can't see why it would be any different for yourself.

Not quite sure what I'm trying to say to you here to be honest

 

[kme]

To specialise in the green technologies, you WILL need to have the MCS certification - and I would recommend doing a course.

As for the NVQ stuff - I`m not the person to advise on that - with the exception of the NVQ3 "EAL part P" course - all my quals are C&G or equivalent.

Sorry if the previous post taught you to suck eggs - we never know who will read the info we post, and although you have already picked up on these things; others may not have (we are in the "student & learning" zone........

Bane - I was deffo pointing to the self-employed persons; but trying to expose the different attack needed to "break into'" the different areas.

Returning to the green tech bit - if you can approach a company who is doing supply & install of MCS approved products; they may be interested in the extra hands, and a qualified installer on the completion of the training - as I said, NVQ isn`t my forte.

KME

 

[louisIV]

How old are you Louis?I'm assuming you are at least 36?

Do you have any prior site experience?

I'm assuming (again) that KME is talking about if you were in a self employed position? (that's how I read it anyway)

Never done domestics to a great degree myself, more industrial/commercial bias.

I just phone yellow pages, visit building sites, find out who the electrical contractor is etc.

Getting all my log book (NVQ) evidence together etc so can't see why it would be any different for yourself.

Not quite sure what I'm trying to say to you here to be honest

Hi Bane. I'm (ahem) 50, and I have no site experience - no practical experience at all in the industry. If you're not having too much difficulty, maybe there's hope for me, but I've been told that my age counts against me a lot.

Due to some rather difficult personal circumstances in the last couple of years, I haven't made a concerted effort yet to get a job in the industry, but things are beginning to resolve, and I think I'll be in a position to, very shortly. Practical skills are what I desperately need. (I'm doing fine with the theory.)

LIV

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 23:09 ---------- Previous post was made at 22:58 ----------

To specialise in the green technologies, you WILL need to have the MCS certification - and I would recommend doing a course.As for the NVQ stuff - I`m not the person to advise on that - with the exception of the NVQ3 "EAL part P" course - all my quals are C&G or equivalent.

Sorry if the previous post taught you to suck eggs - we never know who will read the info we post, and although you have already picked up on these things; others may not have (we are in the "student & learning" zone........

Bane - I was deffo pointing to the self-employed persons; but trying to expose the different attack needed to "break into'" the different areas.

Returning to the green tech bit - if you can approach a company who is doing supply & install of MCS approved products; they may be interested in the extra hands, and a qualified installer on the completion of the training - as I said, NVQ isn`t my forte.

KME

Don't worry about egg-sucking scenarios. Any information is gratefully received. I haven't looked into the MCS training scheme particularly yet. I'd like to bag a good amount of NVQ evidence before starting specialist training. But maybe that's not a good idea?

My position at the moment is; I finish C&G 2330 level 3 this summer. I've got 2382, (17th Ed). and am just completing my 2392, (Fundamentals of I & T). I still need to do the Part P and of course, start getting my NVQ evidence. There's also the AM2 I understand.