Training to be an electrician

[brian22]

I've been living outside of the UK for a good few years but am now in the process of returning. Hopefully I'll be getting involved in a few renovations projects but I now see that DIY work on electrics is now regulated, and probably for good reason.

Just out of curiosity I did a Google on getting qualified as an electrician (probably not suitable for me, but I was interested anyway) and found a huge mix of short and long courses that claimed to give full qualification as a domestic installer, part P, etc. There were also much longer full time courses and of course other training that people are getting through apprenticeships.

Just to satisfy my curiosity, could someone confirm my suspicion that short courses would be insufficient to get any form of decent job, and would be suitable only for someone who was already working in the trade (or an allied trade) and needed certification? How about for someone who wanted to do DIY on a series of properties and have a chance (perhaps a small one) of later getting a job in the trade?

I'd be interested to hear your opinions.

 

[Deleted member 105431]

all the trades are suffering with a glut of cheap (newly trained) labour; I suggest you look elsewhere for employment

 

[brian22]

From what I've seen, the glut of cheap labor seems to be a problem across the whole of the UK.

 

[D_Hailsham]

I've been living outside of the UK for a good few years

From what I've seen, the glut of cheap labor seems to be a problem across the whole of the UK.

America by any chance? You'll have to learn to spell again, before you can get a job.

 

[brian22]

Like I said, I have been out of the UK for some while...

 

[1john]

If I was to go back to school leaving time again I would not persue a 'construction' trade for a job it is getting awfully crowded in this swimming pool and alot of people are drowning!

 

[brian22]

If we could only turn back the clock.

 

[brian22]

Going back to my original question, would a short course give me the appropriate qualification to conduct work for myself (on my own properties) without engaging the help of a qualified and experienced electrician? Or, are the claims to "become certified in just 20 days" pure fiction?

There's a chance I may be able to get funding for the training, which combined with my interest, may spur me into taking a course.

 

[1john]

You may have the paper qualifications, but if i explained to you how to swim would you jump off a pier into the sea?

 

[brian22]

That's not really a fair analogy though, is it? I'm not for one moment suggesting that I would be equal to an experienced electrician, I'd be much slower for sure, but the question remains whether I could do work to a competent standard albeit at my own pace.

 

[sparkiedave]

firstly it depends on what experience and knowledge you already have, my suggestion would be to buy a book or two on electrical installation, preferably one recommended for students studying for 2330 levels 1 & 2,
if you find that you understand over 50% of the contents then you will probably be able to complete that course with relative ease

 

[brian22]

Sparkiedave,

Thanks for that suggestion. It sounds like a very good idea and I'll probably give it a go.

 

[brian22]

Thanks to Sparkiedave I found a suitable book and am (slightly) better informed than I was before. The course content looks quite manageable but if I pursue a qualification then I'll probably do so via a part-time course and not one of the "learn everything in five days" courses that make so many promises but I rather guess will fail to deliver. I pretty much realized that from the start anyhow.

One thing that I have noticed is that after completing (any?) Part P training course for the Domestic Electrical Installer I would have to apply to one of five nationally-accredited Competent Persons schemes (NAPIT, NICEIC, Gas Safe, ELECSA, BSI) and have my work assessed BEFORE becoming qualified. Have I understood this correctly, and if so how would someone not currently employed in the industry do so?

On an entirely separate point, does anyone know whether a UK certified domestic electrical installer can work elsewhere in the EU? I'm thinking specifically of France.

 

[1john]

Nope, you need to be qualified and then apply to them in order to beable to self certify that your work complies with part P, and do the notification to the LABC through that company. You also get to buy some certificates from them too (there are other benefits) and they will check your work once a year also.

Of cource, once qualified, you can test and certify your work with the model forms out of BS7671 and inform the LABC directly.