American Electrician

Hello everyone...just joined the site not long ago...I moved to Spain from the USA...I am looking for work here in Spain but jobs are hard to come by so I've tried Gibraltar and the company I was talking to said I needed nvq3...what is this and how do I go about getting these certifications..I've been in the electrical trade in the states for nearly 20 years so obviously I do not want to start over as an apprentice. Can I take a test to get equivalent certification? I just need a point into the right direction. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Hi, NVQ 3 is National Vocational Qualification level 3, it is not a sit down exam type qualification, it is usually a portfolio of work / evidence built up by a trainee, and signed off by first an assessor (tradesman) and then a verifier. The tasks covered in this portfolio are designed to meet a set criteria laid out by the qualification awarding body, in this case NVQ.

Usually a job application will ask for NVQ 3 or equivalent as "older" electricians are unlikely to have this qualification. For example I became a qualified sparky in the early 80's and don't hold a NVQ although I was an assessor. My qualifications are City & Guilds, ONC, later on in my career I added to that but that was the basics qualifications for me to get my "tradesman papers"

Thank you for your reply..this helps. Do the city's and guilds and nvq have a program in place to assess my knowledge and skills as I am a fully qualified electrician in the US through work experience in both residential and commercial applications..no certifications are required in US unless a person becomes an electrical contractor or works for a company who belongs to the electrical union. Sorry for the long posts but I am just trying to get on the right track so I can work in Spain or UK as a fully qualified electrician and get the certifications required.

One thing I will say though Spain's electrics would never pass code inspection in US.

Oh and by the way..what is equivalent to nvq3?

Funny You should say that about Spain!

USA and Spanish Electrics would not "pass code" (as you put it) in the UK

Although the physical skills are the same the installation methods and regulations are poles apart.

I would not think,it that hard to adapt....but th. Regs book and all,the other stuff takes some ploughing through.,i have been doing it over 40 years and have almost got there....then they change it again.

You really need to,get with a UK. Spark and shadow him to,see how we do,it here

Yeah they change the NEC regs/code book all the time as well least every couple of years and then you have to drop a 150 bucks to buy the new edition. Yes I would love to work for someone or a company and get up to speed..I'm sure UK is different I'm still coming to terms with every thing being metric..for wire/ cable sizing etc.

Don't worry... It won't take long to start saying RCD instead of GFCI, or Earth instead of ground..... However saying tap instead of fawcett may take longer

I've already came in contact with those mini breakers here in Spain my sister in-laws boyfriend had a dead short in his electrical panel..burned up some wire and a couple of breakers..fixed him up..hardest part was finding a supply house in Spain that spoke English