Thread: Are we killing the apprenticeship route into the industry?

It going to get worse, as summit skills ( quango who decide the training requirement of electrical personnel) are scrapping the 2330 technical certificate as they state employers do not require apprentice type skilled electricians, what they want is semi skilled labours who can accurately produce a material list and will jump when told too.

As for 5K training there will alway be people who will take advantage of vunerable persons, I worked as a part time lecturer in FE college plus have 26 year experience on the tool from JIB indentured Apprentice, approved electrician etc.

The problem is that most commercial electrical work is plug and play, modular lighting DIL lighting system, power track under raised floor, plastic compartmental trunking, plastic conduit, armoured, it a few years since any of my mates or myself have installed MICC, metal condiut, trunking etc.

can i ask something, is it fair to say scrap the fasttrack courses when some people like myself cant get afford to drop to apprentice rates or cant get an apprenticeship, that would seem like your saying only the young who can actually manage to get an apprenticeship and have no commitments so can afford it should become electricians, surely thats discrimination?

i want to be an electrician, and my only option of a route in is to take a fast track course whilst in my current employment, i know this isnt a quick money making route for me, and the industry is poor and i'l have to gain experiance even with doing a course before becoming "accepted" for full pay employment, and i earn 40k plus a yr at the moment, but its a change that i've always wanted, and i'm really trying to afford to do with the neccersary paycuts etc, bit unfair to just tell me no as there are no options with the fasttrack scrapped???

and if there were to be a clamp down on the courses, wouldnt it work for older people etc who can only do these courses to maybe make the course recognised but only with an employment part with some on the job competant assesments like apprenticeship type ones over time, but being paid a certain amount for doing the course, a certain amount after passing the on the job competant experiance stuff, and then a full rate after so long with employers approval or final assesments etc, so basically an affordable apprenticeship type course??? something like this would meet everyone half way with having to commit more than 12 weeks to become "qualified", apprenticeships not seeming "gone", people having to commit to outlay for the course, which inturn provides an opportunity become an electrician at a certain level of experiance and being able to at least live on the wages.

no emotion above so hope it doesnt read as argumentative!?!?!?!

Originally Posted by MikeThePrinter

can i ask something, is it fair to say scrap the fasttrack courses when some people like myself cant get afford to drop to apprentice rates or cant get an apprenticeship, that would seem like your saying only the young who can actually manage to get an apprenticeship and have no commitments so can afford it should become electricians, surely thats discrimination?

I belive it is fair, the people who are coming off these courses are competing with time served tradesmen for work, they are generally older people who need to maintain a certain lifestyle and have personalities developed to a degree that limits the taking of direction and is unharmonious to life on the sites.

i want to be an electrician, and my only option of a route in is to take a fast track course whilst in my current employment, i know this isnt a quick money making route for me, and the industry is poor and i'l have to gain experiance even with doing a course before becoming "accepted" for full pay employment, and i earn 40k plus a yr at the moment, but its a change that i've always wanted, and i'm really trying to afford to do with the neccersary paycuts etc, bit unfair to just tell me no as there are no options with the fasttrack scrapped???

I am delighted you want to be an electrician, but what of the tradesmen that are already electricians who will have to compete with you for work, or have to work alongside you? Your inexperience may lead to someone getting injured onsite, you made a choiceearlier in life to pursue a career, so did I and all other timeserved tradesmen, your change of mind, belittles my choice and those of all the tradesmen in the field.

and if there were to be a clamp down on the courses, wouldnt it work for older people etc who can only do these courses to maybe make the course recognised but only with an employment part with some on the job competant assesments like apprenticeship type ones over time, but being paid a certain amount for doing the course, a certain amount after passing the on the job competant experiance stuff, and then a full rate after so long with employers approval or final assesments etc, so basically an affordable apprenticeship type course??? something like this would meet everyone half way with having to commit more than 12 weeks to become "qualified", apprenticeships not seeming "gone", people having to commit to outlay for the course, which inturn provides an opportunity become an electrician at a certain level of experiance and being able to at least live on the wages.

I, and all those who served our time in the 'bad-old-days' did not recieve any perks like the ones you want, we did it on our own, off our own backs and out of our own pockets. Being an electrician is not an easy life, most time served tradesmen have knee problems and lower back pain beore the age of forty, these are hard earned crawling through attics and confined spaces, working in awkard positions and spending long hours on step ladders, why are we not entitled to protect our positions?

no emotion above so hope it doesnt read as argumentative!?!?!?!

I hope my reply reads the same way.

i get the need to protect positions etc, and all i can say is that i would do the time served route could i afford it, and if it was even available, eventually somethings gotta give, as eventually because of appreticeships being unavailable there will in future be a need for electricians, so how are they to exist once u lot are gone?

unfortunately, i didnt chose to become a printer, i had a job after school, then become caught in a money trap and eventually just stumbled into printing, and yes i chose to work which led to get caught in the money trap, but i was 16-18 without a care in the world, dont know if it makes a difference to what you've said, but i dont consider myself an older person at the age of 26 either, i;m not looking for perks, im just looking to fulfil an ambition without me losing my house, i didnt see what u wrote as argumentative, its fair point, and i've said the same in my position when threatened by cheaper options being available to run the machinery i run, its similar to these courses without experiance, in my case these people can run my machine, but have no actual printing experience to use, hence the finished product not 100%, printing is by no means an easy job, shifting upto 10,000kg of paper a shift, working in very confined spaces in ridiculus heat, lots of time served printers suffering from dermatitus,

your point is about maintaining the current time served workforce, my point is there isnt even anything out there to become time served even if people are prepared to do it, and eventually this will catch up with the trade regardless of current climate, so what should people do now if they want to become electricians-even 16yr olds looking to do it the way you did, as at the moment u could try it your way, but only end up with a course qualifcaion like the fasttrack ones, and like the fasttrack ones have no on the job experience(this is aimed at the fact people will still want to become electricians as much as the need for replenishment of electricians who may retire etc no matter how long over time it will take)

Originally Posted by zupos40

Originally Posted by MikeThePrinter
can i ask something, is it fair to say scrap the fasttrack courses when some people like myself cant get afford to drop to apprentice rates or cant get an apprenticeship, that would seem like your saying only the young who can actually manage to get an apprenticeship and have no commitments so can afford it should become electricians, surely thats discrimination?

There should alway be a route for adults who wish to change their careers to join our industry, it just I personally believe that the fast track course are a waste of time and money.

Not every electrician out there did an apprenticeship, lots worked with or for someone as a mate etc, go for it.

One of my mates started by offering his service to an electrician on saturday etc to gain some practical experience while learning at college, he now run his own successful contracting bussiness.

Want the industry does not need is persons who are semi skilled looking to rip customers off rogue trader, I am not suggest for one minute you are, but there are some out there how are.

Good luck hope you have a great future as an qualified competent electrician .



That what will happen when you allow a small group of employers to dictate the minimum they require, for the last 5 year generally they have got what they want, i do believe we are following the american route, gerenally where it been so sub divided that someone install the temporaries only, another the trunking, another the conduit, another wires it, another final fixes, then once the job is complete and engiineer comes along to test that it safe for use, and in at least 100,000 case last year it was not.

They earn great pay, but are not electrician, mates, installers, electrical labourers yes, they were astounded that uk electricians where expected to be able to do it all and a bit more.

Who told you that? Whoever did, its complete horse***t. I have worked in North America as a Union Electrician (IBEW Local 134 Chicago) Without a doubt it was the best model I have ever seen, Local 134 Electricians were in the top 5% wage earners in the country, their work was top class (If you messed up, you fixed on your own time) their ethic was top class (every one gave up 2 free sundays each year to do volantary electrical work for the less well off) . We were looked upon as valuble members of society not the pariahs we are regarded as in Ireland and the UK. And another thing, the best thing was that there was no self certification, the work was certified by City Inspectors over three seperate inspections. We can only ever aspire to be like them.