Blimey O'Riley. Handbags or what?
I didn't comment on the 2330 and its requirements,
But that is the subject matter
Touché.
Your door being ??? If it is a college then to make such a sweeping generalisation about the majority of the population and then in the same sentence backtrack to the portion that turns up at your door is hardly a credit to that establishment.
We are a private training establishment. Our intake is probably
slightly more accomplished than that of many colleges.
The 'average' intelligence of the population is embarrassingly low. I make no apology for this observation.
Given that 'electricians' are supposed to be a cut above the other trades academically, I'm happy in my former assertions.
So, back to the maths, the old chancers are still trying and now we are locally and I assume nationally adding C&G 2392 students who do far better on 2391. But the pass rate isn't improving - Surely if they are doing better then the average must improve otherwise they are not doing better.
Ah. So maybe I wasn't clear. Nationally, the same trend isn't happening because:
...the industry doesn't know what it wants.
Not sure what 'industry not knowing what it wants' has to do with the pass rate
Because firms send the wrong people, too early, to sit the 2391, usually because they mistakenly believe it is a natural progression.
Because we have possibly more experience of the 2391 than anywhere else in the country, having prepared students for every single exam since it was first launched and maintain way-above-average pass rates. Because we analyse our performance over and over again and spend far more time on our students than most training establishments do. Because we actually care and take the time to discuss with students whether this is the right course for them. Because we bend over backwards to deliver an exceptional training experience. Because we are not motivated by pure profit. For these reasons students come back to us again and again, travelling from all over the country (and even from abroad) knowing they won't be fobbed off with a sub-standard 'product' of the sort some local colleges dish out. We really do know what we're doing. (And we don't charge nearly enough!)
We find out what students actually want. Those not ready or not requiring the 2391 we steer towards the 2392 if practicable. And some of them later progress to 2391, having gained some hands-on, site experience, while many are happy to stick with the 2392 knowing they have the requisite qualification for what they actually spend their time doing - inspecting and testing their own installation work.
So
our 2391 intake
has improved its scores, while nationally, the less well-prepared continue to fail in their usual numbers.
Having experience of 2330 level 2 and 3 - 2392 (a level 2 course) and 2391 (a level 3 course ) It is still my view that the OP would be better of taking 2330 at level 3 as a better preparation for the 2391.
And in this instance you may (or may not) be right. You are entitled to your view.
But it is still the case that - whatever the industry at large believes - the 2391 course is
not the next step for the majority of electricians. It was devised for what used to be called the 'Qualifying Managers' of NICEIC Approved Contractors, back when that was supposed to mean something, a status to which relatively few ordinary electricians aspired. In the absence of any other specific inspection and testing qualification, it became the next 'must have' qualification, and a much-coveted one at that. But, for many, the career ladder was missing a rung, so a helping hand compromise was/is used by some colleges by milking students through the practicals. (Not all 2391 passes are equal!)
Now that missing rung - 2392 - is in place, but it will take a while before the message gets across... and no doubt by then City & Guilds will have changed all the numbers and rewritten the syllabus again!
Oh and one last problem for the OP. It might not be possible for him to take 2330 level 3 at all; because of the looming changes in the Qualifications and Credit Framework. He should speak to his college to check whether they are able to offer the course.