Best way to become an electrician? Funding?

laurz121

Hi,

I've recently been made redundant and i've decided to train as an electrician with the hope of becoming self employed and doing some work for a family member who owns his own 'handyman' home improvement business. I'd also like to eventually train in wind power and other 'green' sources of energy that are linked to electricity.

My problem is that I actually haven't got a clue what is legally required to become a fully legal electrician for doing pretty much anything domestic (ie enough to become self employed) and searching on the net hasnt really helped me much because different sites seem to say different things so does anyone know what is actually needed?

Obviously after that does anybody know the best way to go about training for this as quickly as possible? To demonstrate what I mean about getting different information from different places , I found two companies who's websites claim they offer 'beginners electrician courses' aimed at people 'with no electrical background' and will give full qualifications 'to become self employed'. One of them sent out information to me saying their course is 10 weeks long and costs £6,000, the other sent information out saying theirs is 2 weeks and costs £1,000. Obviously something isnt quite right there.

The last question is funding. I'm unemployed after being made redundant (On the 23rd December. Nice timing) and i'm not claiming job seekers allowance because quite honestly I'm not intending to be out of work for too long and don't want to claim job seekers allowance when there are others out there who really need it which is what I think the system should be for. But £6,000 (if that is how much it costs) is a lot of money as you can imagine and could be the stumbling block that stops me from training so does anyone know if there is any kind of funding available to train as an electrician for somebody recently made redundant?

I've tried asking the various government agencies but theyre about as much use as my !!!!. Phoned the training company up who said try the job centre, phoned them up who said yes there is redundancy funding, phone somebody else up (if forget who but another government department), phoned them up who said yes there is but you need business link, phoned business link up who said categorically 'there is no funding for anyone to train to do anything', if you need advice, phone the job centre.
Very helpful Mr Brown...

Sorry for the long post but yeah does anybody know the answer to any of the questions above?

thankyou

teabelly

Simple answer is a lot of hard work and expense!! A friend has just been doing it. It is tough. The final installation and testing exam has a 70% failure rate. He did a basic electrics course in Part P, then 17th Edition (think that was £800 on its own) and then a further college course on the installation and testing iso something or other. He won't find out until March whether he has passed or not. Then once you have all that lot you really need industry body registration so that you don't have to pay £400 a time to the local council to change a consumer unit or £70 odd quid a time to do much else. Registration is about £400 and you are tested heavily and some full time jobbing electricians don't even pass it.

Not a clue about funding unfortunately.

mikey72

When you were working you paid tax and NI?
Go and sign on, and get your JSA.
If you are already competent, 17th edition is a good starting point, for a handyman. Then inspection and test, and then part p.
If you haven't an electrical background I would suggest you re-think, as tbh, no job is the same, apprenticeship is probably the best way to learn, it's not something that can be really taught on a training course.
I don't think there is alot of funding available I'm afraid, but the job centre is the best place to start, after you've signed on.

ableandy

There are a number of funding streams open to you.

First of all, do you live in a regeneration area, if so you may be able to get a subsidised course through them - such as Yorkshire Forward or similar.

Or you could apply for a Career Development Loan, this loan is through one of three banks, your interest is paid by the government until 1 month after the course finishes, then you start normal loan payments.

Go to www.direct.gov.uk/cdl for more info, you will also find out there why it is important to sign on as you wil be entitled to other funding such as for rent / books depending on circumstances.

Hope this helps, and good luck.

laurz121

Thanks everyone

teabelly thankyou for the info on how hard it is and pass rates etc, that really is udeful information because it's something that obviously the training places don't mention. I'll make sure I ask about their success rates and what happens should I fail any exams and tests (ie do I get any retraining or another shot at the test).
The registration is interesting too, sounds a lot like the gas safe register.


mikey72, I was paying tax and NI but I really don't feel like signing on unless of course it looks like i'll be out of work for a while. I'll give them a call, see what they say and how it works with training (i'd assume while i'm training i'm not actually seeking a job).

I'm too old for an apprenticeship so thats that one out of the window unfortunately but some of the training courses i've looked at offer a work placement as part of the course so hopefully that would help. I'm not really sure what would be classed as 'competent'. I've never tackled big electrical jobs but I mean I can change a lightswitch, fixing, plug socket etc and I understand about loops, rings, spurs and whatnot.
I'm quite good with maths and science and understand how circuits and things and I used to work in a DIY store so while it's not exactly extensive knowledge I have seen more than my fair share of electrical sockets, cables, and general equipment to last me a lifetime and know the general basics about the different kinds of cables and their uses and things like that. Would you consider that to be competent to start learning?

The information on 17th, testing and part P is very useful because it actually gives me set qualifications that I need so thankyou.


ableandy that really is quite useful because I live in Yorkshire so the Yorkshire forward bit particularly is good info. I'll get in touch with the people that you mention and see what they have to say, hopefully it will be good news.


Thankyou again to all three of you and if anyone else has anything to add feel free

tartanterra

What you need to do first of all is find out if you have the aptitude to become an electrician. Offer to work for free for a couple of weeks, with a reputable local electrical contractor, who is part of a regulatory scheme.

Not only will this give you an insight into the industry, but will also give you an invaluable source of advice, such as what the employment prospects are in your local area.

The minimum level of competency you will require within the industry is possession of the necessary
technical knowledge, skill and experience for the nature of the electrical work undertaken and ability to prevent danger or where appropriate injury.

This would be demonstrated by a working knowledge of BS7671; IEE Wiring Regulations - 17th Edition and Part P of the Building Regulations. These qualifications are of course, a minimum and to become a member of a "competent persons" certification scheme, you would ideally hold a level 3 qualification in electrical installation, have around £2Million of liability insurance, be capable of carrying out Inspection and Testing and also have your work inspected by the scheme administrators on a regular basis.

Becoming an electrician is not as easy as some training providers will have you believe, but it is also not as expensive to do as they make out either!

If your determined, you'll manage it. Have a look at the websites of the various competent persons schemes for further information.

NIC EIC
http://www.niceic.com/

NAPIT
http://www.napit.org.uk/defaultHome.asp

ELECSA
http://www.elecsa.co.uk/

Good luck.:D

ohreally

Five of my managers have failed testing and inspection, they have been in the trade since apprentiship days in the 60's/70's.

17th edition really shouldn't be a problem as i know quite a few peeps who have passed it and they're not electricians, just turned up, done the course and took the exam.

tartanterra

ohreally wrote: »

Five of my managers have failed testing and inspection, they have been in the trade since apprentiship days in the 60's/70's.

17th edition really shouldn't be a problem as i know quite a few peeps who have passed it and they're not electricians, just turned up, done the course and took the exam.

Concur.
17th is a multiple choice open book exam (although it will cost you around £50 for a copy of the "regs"). If you study a lot of past papers, it will give you a good idea of what to study.
Inspection and Testing is a practical exam and a written exam with no books allowed.........It's ninja!:(

alwayslookintosave

hi,hope u dont mind me replyin but are u sure ur to old to be an apprentice? my partner is doing his final exam in a couple months after completeing the 2 year adults apprentice.