does anyone know where we can find out about qualifications to become a

cloverfan

television repairer?? we have searched but cannot find anything. any advice appreciated

Apolonation

You're right it's not that intuitive through Google - think I've found something for you though. From what people are saying seems to be City and Guilds is the qualification to have.

I've had a look on their site and they do seem to have one relevent qualification : -

"This scheme is appropriate for those who are seeking a career in electronics servicing. This covers home entertainment equipment such as TVs, CD and DVD machines, domestic equipment such as washing machines and commercial equipment including PCs. Learners are assessed through assignments and question papers that cover the core areas of electrical and electronic servicing in both domestic and consumer or commercial electronics."

Might be worth giving them a call to see if they have any more info?

http://www.cityandguilds.com/1784.html?sType=q&subject_or_code=Electrical+and+Electronic+Servicing+(6958)

hth.

By the way great statement in your signature! :-)

cloverfan

yet another example of the many many lovely people on here helping out strangers! thank u very very much Apolonation!

paulwf

I would do some digging before signing up for a course, as you need to check what you can actually service in the real world and also what demand there is for jobs.

On the one hand you have DVD and Freeview boxes that are now so cheap they are disposable and not many are worth repairing. On the other hand you have TV's many of which have built in computers now and I would imagine most problems can only be fixed at an official service centre that had the right diagnostic tools and specific spare parts. IIRC there is an EU directive to outlaw the sale of old style CRT TV's soon, and most people would upgrade rather than fix them anyway.

As an example we have a fairly basic washing machine but have been waiting nearly a month for it to be fixed because the service centre is out of the circuit board. The days of a man coming along with a bag of spanners and fixing nearly any household appliance sadly seem to be over.

Basically make very sure there is a job at the end of it before you go any further. If anything I'd imagine you would be better off doing a 1-3 year course in electronics if and then get a placement in a service centre, but call a few of them up and also any repair shops you can find and get some info. Even with service centres I bet more often than not any complex repair just results in sending out a new unit rather than repairing the old one, it just isn't cost effective.