Next steps to becoming a qualified electrician

[chilluk]

Be really grateful for anyone in the trades advice with this please....

My youngest son has been to college and completed Level 2 & 3 Electrical Installation course. He also then got his ECS card.

He did then have a trainee level job for about 4 months working with a local guy. Mostly working on large sites running cable and trays etc. The hope was that he would get some time on the tools and some money in his pocket, and then finish off getting certified.

My son is mildly autistic, and the guy he was working for was very old school, so had zero empathy or interest in helping him learn unfortunately - the trainee position that we had hoped would help him along with his skills and most importantly his confidence turned into him being abandoned and left to get on with it.

Looking around for new positions it seems really difficult to find trainee jobs - everything seems to need full qualifications - so the question is what are his next best steps to becoming fully qualified and certified? As I understand it he needs a gold card / NVQ / 18th Edition to achieve that?

Apprentice roles seem to be 4 years to achieve the Level 3 qualification that he already has, so he seems a little bit stuck in between with what he needs.

Any advice / guidance / places to go for paid training and exams are greatly appreciated.

Many Thanks

 

[RandomGrinch]

My youngest son has been to college and completed Level 2 & 3 Electrical Installation course. He also then got his ECS card.

Although he has finished college, have you contacted them?
They will likely have a careers advisor that may be able to help with contacts, or advice on a way forward?

 

[chilluk]

Thanks - the college careers dept were a bit flaky to say the least - they promised a great deal and delivered very little - all of the lads that finished at the same time as my son are struggling with most of them taking jobs in unrelated areas such as fast food joints.

They were suggesting some paid for courses, but as I understand it there is no way of getting past the need to train on the job to qualify properly. I have researched some courses and read warnings that they won't always contain the right content to enable qualification - it seems a bit of a minefield hence asking in the trade subsection for some real world advice. Unfortunately I am not in a trade to have the knowledge and experience to help him.

Some more info - ideally he would like to specialise in domestic work as I think the ASD means he can get a little overwhelmed on larger sites where there are more people.

As per original post happy to look into paid for training if it offers the right content. I assume that regardless he needs some sort of placement to get some hands of experience to enable his full certification though?

We have been searching for "trainee electrician" or "electricians mate" on all the main job sites which returns very little in our area at least (Essex). I did Google search and compile a list of about 70 local firms which we pinged emails with his CV and a cover letter, but obviously it's pretty much like cold calling and the response rate so far has been a handful of nice messages saying nothing available and wishing him luck. Any other job titles to search for or tactics anyone can suggest would be useful.

Just don't want him to get stuck in a rut as with the ASD it can be hard to get him back out of it.

Although he already has his Level 3 is it worth looking at going back a step and trying to get him an apprenticeship?

Thanks again

 

[Murdochcat]

I would suggest you contact as many local small to medium sized companies near you that are sparks and see if he could get in that way.

So called fast track courses don’t teach much at all AND wouldn’t be a route to become a CPS member as they have tightened up the entry criteria

 

[Diver Fred]

I have a suggestion - but please PM me.

 

[freddiemercurystwin]

Asking on local Facebook groups can sometimes be good for this kind of thing.

 

[chilluk]

I have a suggestion - but please PM me.

I have started a "conversation" - is that a PM on this site?

 

[securespark]

Although he has finished college, have you contacted them?
They will likely have a careers advisor that may be able to help with contacts, or advice on a way forward?

Yes, there should be some assistance in that department.

Chill....Which college is it?

I will ask Mrs S if she has any suggestions. She works at a college.

 

[chilluk]

Yes, there should be some assistance in that department.

Chill....Which college is it?

I will ask Mrs S if she has any suggestions. She works at a college.

Hi - it is ProCat college in Basildon.

Appreciate any further suggestions - thanks in advance for asking Mrs S. Have posted on local Facebook groups, got a single response. Sent approx 70 emails to local firms with CV and got a few sorry but good luck responses.

 

[Notch7]

ideally he would like to specialise in domestic work

the electricians that do domestic works tend to be one man bands, sometimes with an apprentice to help with the donkey work

you need to do a fair bit of networking, talk to local electricians, when you drive past extensions and refurbs happening in the streets around you, stop and call in and ask the builder who he uses for electrics and whether he needs an apprentice...you might even see an electricians van outside a building site.

the problem with emails etc is that people are so resistant these days to direct marketing...........and you will be amazed how much tradesmen get their work through networking -often when on site and talking to other trades

 

[securespark]

Mrs S says the Apprentice Level 3 is not the same as the Level 3 qualification that your son already has, as the Level describes the difficulty, not the length of time.

For example, AS Levels and A-Levels are both Level 3 qualifications but A-Levels take twice as long. So he could do an apprenticeship, if he can find an employer. An apprenticeship is a job, not a course - 80% is working, only 20% at college.

Colleges usually want the learner to find their own employer, because it is a job. Once he has an employer he or the employer can approach the college to start an apprenticeship.

Be aware that September is often the start date and not all colleges recruit at other times.

If your son has an EHCP the employer can get a small incentive of £1000, payable in 2 installments, but they will have to pay him a wage for 5 days a week (including the day at college).

Because of his ASD, you can get help from your local employability organisation, set up to help people with ASD and/or LD. It looks like this is www.ecl.org in your area. A search for "inclusive employment" may show others.

All apprenticeships have to be advertised for at least 14 days on the .gov website - Google "find an apprenticeship". It's like Indeed; put in your area and key word.

Does he have some photos of work he has done to show potential employers?

Due to his ASD he may well have a lot of qualities employers value - reliability, doing jobs the way he has been shown and not taking short cuts, and accuracy.

Notch and FMT suggested ways to approach electricians, and those were good ideas.

Good luck!