electrical courses

Able Skills has entered 2012 with an Electrical Courses Training Centre dilemma!As we start the New Year, we have two classes of C&G 2330 level 2 students starting in February; one group starts on 06th February and the other on the 27th February. Both groups are full, 95% of the students on each will move forward onto the C&G 2330 level 3 so this provides 2 Able Skills instructors with a minimum of 14 weeks allocated to specific groups of electrical course students.The courses are full, instructors are being kept busy so, where's the dilemma I hear you ask!The dilemma for us is that we are already receiving enquiries from individuals who want to learn to become Electricians but we are fully booked for 14 weeks from 06th Feb - do potential Sparks really want to wait until the middle of May 2012 to get started?Electrical courses and electrical qualifications have always been popular training options at Able Skills, we have been busy with these for more than 5 years now and as we have grown as a training centre, we have adapted to changes in the Electrical qualifications and made alterations to the Electrical training centres as well as alterations to Electrical instructors which brings us back to our dilemma!We have 5 Electrical instructors in place at Able Skills - all fantastic individuals who we are incredibly proud to have:Paul Hewson - loves the C&G 2330 levels 2 and 3 and smiles more and more every time the end registration date for these electrical qualifications is extended. Paul has worked hard for Able Skills to deliver much more than the course actually requires; he is a time served Sparks and has spent many years on the tools and knows what the electrical industry expects so he makes the course much more 'real' than C&G require. Paul will take our first group of C&G 2330 which start on 06th Feb 2012Richard Mannell - has delivered knowledge units on the new C&G 2357 for us, he took the new and flawed qualification by the scruff of its neck, shook it about a bit, added some much needed practical activities, guided the new electrical students in their quest for knowledge, sought through every teaching hand-out he has ever possessed to support the lack of information (and text book) available from City & Guilds and has ended up with more marking than 10 groups of C&G 2330 students combined! He has however produced 15 students who have electrical installation skills that they never ever imagined possible and there are 15 potential Sparkies out there who hold an electrical qualification (or part of it) that not many others do and who will each be an asset to the industry. Richard will take the second group of C&G 2330 starters on 27th Feb 2012.Alan Rockliffe - better known as Mr Part P as he has complete control of our Domestic Electrics centre, preparing individuals from various backgrounds to move into the world of 'Competent Person Scheme registration' 'Building Regs' 'Domestic Installs' etc etc. He has been delivering and developing the Part P courses since joining Able Skills and is now on course for a change when our AM2 centre opens later this year.Steve Coy - Steve loves the shorter courses, 17th Edition and C&G 2392 Inspection and Testing but particularly, C&G 2391 Inspection & Testing. He respects this particular qualification to the max and takes real pleasure in his delivery, both the theory and the practical and always looks forward to the overly delayed results. Steve is working on course delivery for the very new C&G 2394 and C&G 2395.Melvyn Nicholas - He is our newest member of staff and has come in as our Photovoltaic (PV) expert delivering C&G 2399 as well as the NICEIC PV course but also enjoys 17th Edition courses. His qualifications enable him to teach at University level but for now, he's quite happy at Able Skills and is working with the team to develop material to support delivery of higher level qualifications, C&G 2396 amongst them.Bad Electrical Training Centre dilemmaIf we put a new start date of May 2012 for the next C&G 2330 course the fear is that people will not wait until then, if we use one of our 'spare' instructors, Melvyn or Steve, it reduces our scope to offer other electrical courses like 17th Edition, C&G 2391 and C&G 2392 Inspection & Testing, C&G 2377 PAT testing etc.It would appear that the best option would be to employ a new member of staff to take on a group of C&G 2330 students or to cover some of the other electrical courses and free up Melvyn or Steve to deliver the C&G 2330.Good Electrical Training Centre dilemmaThis really isn't that bad a DILEMMA at all if you're starting 2012 off by offering someone a full time, well paid job amongst a team of brilliant Electricians in a Centre that's buzzing with plans and changes that will provide all Able Skills Electrical students with an opportunity to complete practically everything that they need to