A career as an Electrician has its benefits and is one of the highest paid jobs within the trade industry which makes it one of the most popular trades to be a part of.
There are many different electrical courses and qualifications available which dictate how qualified you are and determine which type of electrical work you can and cannot undertake.
You need to approach this subject sensibly and respect the dangers involved when undertaking electrical work. So when, as a hopeful ‘Electrician’ you are told by a prospective training provider that 2 or 4 weeks training will turn you in to an Electrician, alarm bells should ring! Usually packages of learning of this length are domestic electrical courses.
There isn’t anything wrong at all with domestic electrical packages as long as you are being told that you will be able to work within domestic properties only and that you cannot undertake work within commercial, industrial premises and that you can’t apply for JIB cards and you can’t access site work!
Able Skills offer a Domestic Installer course which is ideal for those of you who only want to work within domestic properties, either as your sole source of income or as part of your role as a Plumber or Kitchen Fitter or Gas Engineer for example. Our package of learning will offer you 10 days going over the practical aspects of a variety of domestic electrical installations coupled with theory sessions to provide you with underpinning theory and also an understanding of Part P of the Building Regulations.
Following this, you will move on to the 17th Edition Wiring Regulations course which is designed to bring you up to speed with all the latest 17th Edition wiring regulations including all the latest amendments. You will learn all the key regulations that you will find in day to day installations, as well as understand how to reference your regs book for the more obscure ones.
As part of this package, we also include a PAT testing course – just for good measure.
Moving on, the package provides two Inspection and Testing courses to ensure that you can test your electrical installations and record your findings. The qualifications achieved are at level 2 and level 3 and both courses cover the theory and practical training and assessments required.
This package will give you the opportunity to move on to register on to a Competent Persons Scheme so that you are in a position to self-certificate electrical work undertaken within a domestic dwelling.
As you can see, this is a comprehensive and detailed package of learning – it will enable you to earn a living but will not enable you to label yourself as an Electrician.
If you do want a career as an Electrician and to be able to undertake work in domestic, commercial and industrial settings then longer and more comprehensive packages of learning are available and are essential. The more qualifications you achieve, the better grading you can expect from JIB as well as increased pay.
Your starting point will be the Level 2 Electrical course, this will allow you to work on both domestic and commercial premises, however to become a fully qualified Electrician you will need to build on this qualification to expand your skills and knowledge of the electrical industry. Able Skills provides a complete JIB Gold Card package which does exactly this and also incorporates work based assessment to ensure competence whilst undertaking electrical work. You can be sure that throughout the various courses within this package, you will receive both classroom and workshop training, you will undertake exams both on-line and written and you will also complete various assignments. This package will test your limits but ultimately, what we have put together will ensure that you have the skills needed to be successful within the electrical trade industry. Examples of what will be taught are:
- Commercial and Domestic installation
- 3 phase systems
- Armoured cable
- Pipe Bending Techniques
- Steel Conduit
- Trunking
- Electrical Installations Technology
- Principles of Electrical Science
- Installation of Wiring Systems and enclosures
- Health and Safety in Building Services Engineering
- Understand how to communicate with others within Building Services Engineering
- Electrical Installations :Inspection, Testing and Commissioning
- Electrical Installations: Fault Diagnosis and Rectification
- Understand the fundamental principles and requirements of environmental technology systems
- Electrical Systems design
- Career awareness in building services engineering
And this is just the C&G 2365 levels 2 and 3. Moving on from this, the package includes 17th Edition Wiring Regulations, PAT Testing, 2 Inspection and Testing qualifications and finally, NVQ competence based assessments and AM2 (this ensures all qualified electricians achieve a single standard that has been agreed by the employers in the industry).
Clearly a lot is involved if you want to be a qualified Electrician and give yourself access to an endless scope of work…. And money.
So quite clearly, when looking for training courses to undertake, you need to make sure that the appropriate research is carried out. Many training centres will tell you exactly what you want to hear with regards to price so that you book quickly but a ‘bargain’ will not always provide you with the knowledge and qualification you will need to work within the industry.
Doing research into the industry and working out what is required to work in the area you want to go in to is vitally important, then you can find a centre that provides the training that will suit your needs.
Don’t allow a centre to force you into a decision because this could mean they are only interested in your money and not your career.
The best advice we can give is to visit all possible centres (this should be allowed without an appointment) so you can truly see how the centre is run on a day to day basis.
It’s a good idea to steer clear of training centres that have sales teams, you should be able to decide for yourself what training you need and where you want to train without being bombarded with calls, emails and home visits.
The risk of receiving the wrong training could prove expensive financially but more important, can put peoples lives at risk – Respect electricity and its power and get the right training.
At Able Skills we have all the correct courses, accredited by the correct certification bodies to help you through your electrical training ensuring that you are able to leave our centre qualified and able to carry out safe work both domestically and commercially.
Come visit us at Able Skills any time between 8:30 – 4:30, 7 days a week (no appointment needed). We will give you a tour of the centre so you can get a feel for things and also will help you decide on the best pathway for your new career!