Newbie wanting to train willing to work for free

Hi guys, well I am in my 40's and have reached time in my life were I can do something I have always wanted to. Yep you guest it I want to train as an electrician, problem is too old to get an apprenticeship so I intend to do a course. From what I have read and managed to understand is many of these fast courses seem not worth much and C&G courses come in so many different numbers I think I need some help to get a straight answer what is the best way for me to get fully qualified  can anyone help direct me on the right path I was looking at this https://www.tradeskills4u.co.uk/courses/2365-level-2-course but do I need to do both diplomas to get nvq? Or is there a better route. Also anyone in the Bromley area fancy trading there experience for a free day or twos work a week? In that I am willing to work a day or two for free in exchange for your knowledge and help thanks in advance martin

We've answered this many times on here Mate   .....it is SO difficult TBH  .    See if you can trawl back & find previous threads on this .

The hard bit is getting a start with a contractor / sparks  to gain practical experience  ....when the trade was busy busy  you'd have  probably got a start somewhere  as unskilled help  , but those days have gone for most  of us . 

If someone needed a hand today it would probably be for an experienced guy.  

I'm sure we have a list of the proper qualifications on here  as it crops up all the time .        What we mostly say is go through your local college ...there are some courses advertised which not worth a toss  .   

I have these courses noted down , from the esteemed  Mr Sharpend   , which I believe are what you need.       (  Check before you act upon my advice)  

C&Gs

Electro technical  craft  (2365)   Level 2 

Electro technical Technology ( 2357)   Level 3 

AM2  

Minusplus said:

Hi guys, well I am in my 40's and have reached time in my life were I can do something I have always wanted to. Yep you guest it I want to train as an electrician, problem is too old to get an apprenticeship so I intend to do a course. From what I have read and managed to understand is many of these fast courses seem not worth much and C&G courses come in so many different numbers I think I need some help to get a straight answer what is the best way for me to get fully qualified  can anyone help direct me on the right path I was looking at this https://www.tradeskills4u.co.uk/courses/2365-level-2-course but do I need to do both diplomas to get nvq? Or is there a better route. Also anyone in the Bromley area fancy trading there experience for a free day or twos work a week? In that I am willing to work a day or two for free in exchange for your knowledge and help thanks in advance martin

Click to expand...

Right first we need to get back to basics...  "I want to train as an Electrician"..  is actually too a vague description for anyone here to know exactly what you are after...

and what you are after will define what qualifications / experience you need...  :C

Bit like me asking you what do I need to work in the motor trade..?

Do I want to;  Sell cars, Design cars, Repair cars, Manufacture cars, Carry out MOT's, Drive/deliver new cars to customers/trade showrooms, etc... etc....  ??

So are you looking for commercial, industrial, retail, new-build sites, network distribution, domestic, shop refurbs, maintenance, design, inspection & testing,  solar-renewables-green energy, employed, self employed...

etc... etc...  etc....  any combination of the above / none of the above...

Plus...

What is your background?

what experience / qualifications do you have relating to maths, physics, other electrical / electronic related industries..

Being an electrician is far more than just clipping cables and joining a few Live, Neutrals & Earths..

Working for free is a nice concept..

But often the reality is that any qualified & competent person, you would be assisting, would have to carry additional liability and insurance for using an unskilled, un-qualified labourer..

as if something did go wrong.. the worst possible scenario is death due to dangerous work. As electricity can and will kill a healthy adult in less than half a second!

Its not the same as doing a bit of labouring to assist a landscape gardener, or painter & decorator, or plumber....

As they do not work with an invisible substance that you cannot hear, smell or see..

but is still used in some countries to administer a death penalty!!!

The short (e.g. 5-week), courses were not really intended for an inexperienced person to become an electrician overnight..

They were designed for people already working in the industry to update their qualifications if they were a bit out of date...

So if you are starting from scratch you should be looking a proper college courses over years rather than weeks!

Its not impossible....  But not easy!!!

Guinness

Evans Electric said:

We've answered this many times on here Mate   .....it is SO difficult TBH  .    See if you can trawl back & find previous threads on this .

The hard bit is getting a start with a contractor / sparks  to gain practical experience  ....when the trade was busy busy  you'd have  probably got a start somewhere  as unskilled help  , but those days have gone for most  of us . 

If someone needed a hand today it would probably be for an experienced guy.  

I'm sure we have a list of the proper qualifications on here  as it crops up all the time .        What we mostly say is go through your local college ...there are some courses advertised which not worth a toss  .   

I have these courses noted down , from the esteemed  Mr Sharpend   , which I believe are what you need.       (  Check before you act upon my advice)  

C&Gs

Electro technical  craft  (2365)   Level 2 

Electro technical Technology ( 2357)   Level 3 

AM2  

Click to expand...

Thanks Evans I was actually looking at both the courses you have mentioned on trade skills 4u . I thought it would be difficult to get on job training especially due to my age. But thanks for the insight I'm not in a rush and want to do it properly so will investigate further before I make a commitment 

SPECIAL LOCATION said:

Right first we need to get back to basics...  "I want to train as an Electrician"..  is actually too a vague description for anyone here to know exactly what you are after...

and what you are after will define what qualifications / experience you need...  :C

Bit like me asking you what do I need to work in the motor trade..?

Do I want to;  Sell cars, Design cars, Repair cars, Manufacture cars, Carry out MOT's, Drive/deliver new cars to customers/trade showrooms, etc... etc....  ??

So are you looking for commercial, industrial, retail, new-build sites, network distribution, domestic, shop refurbs, maintenance, design, inspection & testing,  solar-renewables-green energy, employed, self employed...

etc... etc...  etc....  any combination of the above / none of the above...

Plus...

What is your background?

what experience / qualifications do you have relating to maths, physics, other electrical / electronic related industries..

Being an electrician is far more than just clipping cables and joining a few Live, Neutrals & Earths..

Working for free is a nice concept..

But often the reality is that any qualified & competent person, you would be assisting, would have to carry additional liability and insurance for using an unskilled, un-qualified labourer..

as if something did go wrong.. the worst possible scenario is death due to dangerous work. As electricity can and will kill a healthy adult in less than half a second!

Its not the same as doing a bit of labouring to assist a landscape gardener, or painter & decorator, or plumber....

As they do not work with an invisible substance that you cannot hear, smell or see..

but is still used in some countries to administer a death penalty!!!

The short (e.g. 5-week), courses were not really intended for an inexperienced person to become an electrician overnight..

They were designed for people already working in the industry to update their qualifications if they were a bit out of date...

So if you are starting from scratch you should be looking a proper college courses over years rather than weeks!

Its not impossible....  But not easy!!!

Guinness

Click to expand...

Hi special yeah I was a bit vague , lol didnt want to write a ton of  paragraphs and no one responded. Basically I want to achieve gold card status I'm not in a rush and want to do it properly but more importantly I want to get the on job side as I go I was looking at the trade skills 4u site as it looked like it was a reasonable option . I was looking at the level 2 and 3  2365 diploma then the 2357 NVQ which i think will give me the qualifications but I think that without finding some on job learning it would be pointless doing just the training and trying to jump into the world. So I am hoping I can do the course with some sort of on job learning over next few years so I feel comfortable that what I have learned I am putting into practice properly.Also I would like to start doing domestic work and get a feel for that before I decide exactly what route to go down. I like the idea of problem solving and stuff like that so I would like that kind of work to start but its hard to say what exact end result I am looking at until I gain experience and find which niche I most enjoy doing.

SPECIAL LOCATION said:

As they do not work with an invisible substance that you cannot hear, smell or see..

Click to expand...

if you get it wrong you certainly can hear, smell & see it