SWMBO wants to know - what's involved in becoming a spark?

[cjard]

As a follow-on from wondering what's involved in upgrading my electrician mate, my partner asked "well, what's involved in the training? being an accountant bores the pants off me [way heyy!] anyway and maybe if he sees me do it, my brother will get off his arse and train too" - the family has somewhere between 4 and 6 houses to build over the coming years so the theory is it may make sense for one of us to train to the standard required to install the electrics

Googling around one can find a proliferation of training providers who claim that a governing body will accept someone who's completed and advertise courses of varying length, fee and commitment..
..but it's not really clear cut what the best route is so I said "why don't I ask some proper sparks who've already done it?"

Hence the query - she's a bright girl, university degree in accountancy, very accurate and practical mind and willing to learn. What does she need in terms of practical training and qualifications to get to a level where she could install and certify her own work?

(I know from the other thread that scheme membership, appropriate insurance and tools are the post-qualification requirements - this question is more about what is needed to qualify so that she'd be accepted for competent person scheme membership)

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

2 years on L2 C&G course on electrotechnology
2 years on L3 C&G course on electrotechnology
Progression to C&G 2382 and 2391
would normally cover the requirements of the schemes.
I did understand that scheme providers were going to ask for at least a level 3 NVQ qual, not sure if that has happened yet.

Then there is the on-site experience involved in the domestic side of the trade and knowledge of the relevant building regulations.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Well it depends what she knows already.

If she knows nothing about electrical work then she will have to begin with the basics and attend courses to learn everything necessary to be able to do what she wants.

If she knows 'everything' already then she can register with a self-certification scheme even with no qualifications.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

If she knows 'everything' already then she can register with a self-certification scheme even with no qualifications.

I think even the minimum they would ask for is 2382.
But if you know JS about the industry, you will be found out and membership deferred until you prove competency.

 

[westie101]

Seems to me that understanding of the written word should be a absolute must.

A couple on here need to reread the OP carefully

 

[EFLImpudence]

I think even the minimum they would ask for is 2382.

Yes, that is true but not really an electrical qualification, is it?

Although it, 2382, is frequently derided as merely an exercise in reading, I have always maintained that it could not be successfully undertaken without the necessary knowledge.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

Seems to me that understanding of the written word should be a absolute must.

A couple on here need to reread the OP carefully

The OP in his post asked for the best route, not the minimum requirement to get registered!

 

[RF Lighting]

The only way to properly learn the trade is to work on the tools along side an experienced electrician for a few years.

 

[cajar]

The best route in this case may not be the most comprehensive learning route, but the one that offers her the qualifications to register for the scheme in the least possible time (with least possible cost)

 

[Taylortwocities]

Being an electrician is a, IMO a craft. It requires knowledge, skills and a large amount of thought.

You won't get anywhere unless you start out with a practical approach to things.

You can learn theory as much as you like from books and stuff, but you are going to spend more than 80% of your time just doing practical planning, wall chasing, loft crawling, floor lifting, joist drilling, etc.
If you aren't comfortable with doing that for a living, then go and train to be an accountant or something.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

And if, by the age of adulthood, you don't have any "mechanical nous", you never will - it's too late.

//www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=269495&start=0

//www.diynot.com/forums/electr...ausing-all-lights-in-house-to-flicker.299498/

//www.diynot.com/forums/electrics/hanging-a-heavy-chandelier.380411/

 

[RF Lighting]

I had a 37 year old apprentice when I was 22 years old. He was formally an office worker.

He served a formal apprenticeship at the firm I worked for. He now runs his own firm and is a very competent electrician.

It's never too late to learn the trade, but there is no magic shortcut to gain experience and properly learn what is a complicated skilled trade.

In my personal opinion from my own experience and also training several apprentices, it takes seven years to properly learn this trade.

When learning any trade you will get things wrong wether you realise it or not. You'll make small errors all the time and now and again you'll make a colossal cock up, but when you've got a tradesman along side you, he'll point out your errors which you'll learn from, and he'll have the skill to know how to repair your mega clangers which you will make sure you never do again.

I've had apprentices do things like drill through a live pyro submains in a busy shop taking out all the lights and sockets, cutting through both the flow and return central heating pipes with the circular saw when lifting a floor, a foot through the ceiling from the loft in a customers house, drilling a hole in a wall, but really drilling straight through a flat roof and many combinations of cocked up connections at lights, switches, sockets etc to name a few.

Imagine doing one of these when you're out there in the big bad world on your own. These things need to be both made safe very quickly to prevent anyone getting hurt or major damage happening to the building, and repaired not much long after.

These are the sort of unexpected issues an apprenticeship will teach you to avoid, and if it does happen, how to resolve them without resorting to a huge insurance claim.