UK How to get qualified after college

[MuizAhmed]

This is a bit of a dumb question, I finished college in 2018 with a 2365 C&G Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation, but what do you do after this, all jobs I look at they want experience, I finished college in 2018 and all that experience of wiring and exams has gone from my head because during and after college I started working retail and warehouses but now I want to actually get qualified but I don’t know what to do after the level 3 diploma

 

[Aaron b]

This is a bit of a dumb question, I finished college in 2018 with a 2365 C&G Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation, but what do you do after this, all jobs I look at they want experience, I finished college in 2018 and all that experience of wiring and exams has gone from my head because during and after college I started working retail and warehouses but now I want to actually get qualified but I don’t know what to do after the level 3 diploma

You will need to complete an apprenticeship, you may find someone that finds it advantageous that you wont need the additional days in college and the experience that being older gives. I would recommend you do a lot of CPD so that you can compete with apprentices just finishing college.

I've recently been reading the c&g text books as AM2 prep (having completed the course 15yrs ago but being immersed in the industry for most of that), they would be a great starting point.

 

[Firstfixelectrics]

You will need to complete an apprenticeship, you may find someone that finds it advantageous that you wont need the additional days in college and the experience that being older gives. I would recommend you do a lot of CPD so that you can compete with apprentices just finishing college.

I've recently been reading the c&g text books as AM2 prep (having completed the course 15yrs ago but being immersed in the industry for most of that), they would be a great starting point.

You don't need to complete an apprenticeship if you already have your technical certificates but after all this time I would definitely get your head in the books for a while. Get an ECS Labourer card, do your 18th and get onsite with an agency and gain experience then work on your NVQ portfolio once done do your AM2.

 

[Aaron b]

Sorry I should have said portfolio or nvq not apprenticeship but ideally you should be supervised untill competent.

 

[Lister1987]

This is a bit of a dumb question, I finished college in 2018 with a 2365 C&G Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installation, but what do you do after this, all jobs I look at they want experience, I finished college in 2018 and all that experience of wiring and exams has gone from my head because during and after college I started working retail and warehouses but now I want to actually get qualified but I don’t know what to do after the level 3 diploma

Get yourself additonal qualifications; PASMA & IPAF tend to be well relieved bit also discipline related ones; EV, Solar, Battery and then other specialisms like fire alarm, emergency lighting, AOV and the like.

The more an asset you present yourself as, the more chance or being taken on; you could even create another revenue stream for the company.

Having no experience is certainly a brick wall but by getting additional qualifications you can show proactiveness and sell that as an asset.

Good luck

 

[swaRRR]

You will need to complete an apprenticeship

What?

If he does an apprenticeship (which are like rocking-horse cack so a non-starter of an idea) he will be on slave labour wages AND he will have to go back to college and do the levels 2 and 3 again. Cost around £60k in lost wages and 3+ years.

He doesn't need to do that, he needs to get a CSCS/ECS card, an IPAF, his 18th edition if he's not already got it.

Then he needs to get work experience however he can get it. Then look at 2391 and the NVQ3.

I recommend lying on CV to secure 'mate' work to start off with. ~£13-14 to start instead of £4.81. If you know how to wire stuff up and do the basics like pulling, marking and tying off cable, drilling and plugging properly, fishing cables, all that good stuff, then go for that route. I was a builder for years and did bits and bobs of electrics, move a socket here, wire up a kitchen there, but when it came to wanting to move into electric full time i simply 'embellished' my CV to make out like it was mostly what i did. All is fair in love and employment - employers will use you up and spit you out if it's financially convenient for them. As long as you can do what you're claiming you can do, then lie about having tonnes of experience doing it.

I'm working with fully qualified sparks on a solar farm at the minute, and they don't know how to cut cable the right length, mark up properly, do containment, dress in cables or put the right MC4 on the right leg. They're on £22 an hour, absolutely stealing a living at a grand a week. Have some confidence, do the basics well and you'll slot right in.

 

[swaRRR]

Get yourself additonal qualifications; PASMA & IPAF tend to be well relieved bit also discipline related ones; EV, Solar, Battery and then other specialisms like fire alarm, emergency lighting, AOV and the like.

Agree with this but it's important to point out that PASMA and IPAF are only if you're wanting to work on site. If you want to work domestically they're a waste of money.

I see a lot of IPAF on job descriptions but very rarely see PASMA.

 

[Aaron b]

What?

If he does an apprenticeship (which are like rocking-horse cack so a non-starter of an idea) he will be on slave labour wages AND he will have to go back to college and do the levels 2 and 3 again. Cost around £60k in lost wages and 3+ years.

He doesn't need to do that, he needs to get a CSCS/ECS card, an IPAF, his 18th edition if he's not already got it.

Then he needs to get work experience however he can get it. Then look at 2391 and the NVQ3.

I recommend lying on CV to secure 'mate' work to start off with. ~£13-14 to start instead of £4.81. If you know how to wire stuff up and do the basics like pulling, marking and tying off cable, drilling and plugging properly, fishing cables, all that good stuff, then go for that route. I was a builder for years and did bits and bobs of electrics, move a socket here, wire up a kitchen there, but when it came to wanting to move into electric full time i simply 'embellished' my CV to make out like it was mostly what i did. All is fair in love and employment - employers will use you up and spit you out if it's financially convenient for them. As long as you can do what you're claiming you can do, then lie about having tonnes of experience doing it.

I'm working with fully qualified sparks on a solar farm at the minute, and they don't know how to cut cable the right length, mark up properly, do containment, dress in cables or put the right MC4 on the right leg. They're on £22 an hour, absolutely stealing a living at a grand a week. Have some confidence, do the basics well and you'll slot right in.

This is BS. College doesn't give you enough experience to go straight out claiming to be an electrician. It's crap advice like this that gives electricians a bad name.

 

[swaRRR]

This is BS. College doesn't give you enough experience to go straight out claiming to be an electrician.

Mates are electrical LABOURERS. If you can't be a labourer after 2 years of college and a level 3 qualification then the qualifications aren't fit for purpose.

You also didn't read the part where i said 'As long as you can do what you're claiming you can do....'

If you cannot do the basic skills required to be an effective mate, then you need to get those skills and THEN lie about having experience with XYZ company. Why should someone struggle for work because of some BS requirement like X years 'experience'? If i can make off cable properly, know the regs, can install safely, have a good work ethic, can first and second fix just fine, why should i NOT lie about experience to get that first job?

The IT industry is absolutely rife with this sort of nonsense. Highly skilled people who cannot get jobs because jobs need experience, and they can't get the experience because they can't get the jobs.

If you don't lie when you can do the job just fine because you're some sort of honesty martyr then joke's on you. It's a dog eat dog world. Do you want to work and earn or do you want to be some company's b***h because you decided they get to decide how worthy you are??

It's crap advice like this that gives electricians a bad name.

Not really. It's fully qualified electricians who can't do basics (basic safety to regs, turning up on time, doing the job they say they're going to do, finding fault where there isn't one to upcharge for work) that give electricians a bad name. In my experience those who wanted to retrain as older learners are usually the best sparks.

 

[Lister1987]

Mates are electrical LABOURERS. If you can't be a labourer after 2 years of college and a level 3 qualification then the qualifications aren't fit for purpose.

You also didn't read the part where i said 'As long as you can do what you're claiming you can do....'

If you cannot do the basic skills required to be an effective mate, then you need to get those skills and THEN lie about having experience with XYZ company. Why should someone struggle for work because of some BS requirement like X years 'experience'? If i can make off cable properly, know the regs, can install safely, have a good work ethic, can first and second fix just fine, why should i NOT lie about experience to get that first job?

The IT industry is absolutely rife with this sort of nonsense. Highly skilled people who cannot get jobs because jobs need experience, and they can't get the experience because they can't get the jobs.

If you don't lie when you can do the job just fine because you're some sort of honesty martyr then joke's on you. It's a dog eat dog world. Do you want to work and earn or do you want to be some company's b***h because you decided they get to decide how worthy you are??


Not really. It's fully qualified electricians who can't do basics (basic safety to regs, turning up on time, doing the job they say they're going to do, finding fault where there isn't one to upcharge for work) that give electricians a bad name. In my experience those who wanted to retrain as older learners are usually the best sparks.

I wouldn't encourage lying but I completely get the reasoning; try and sell thr lack of experience (and bad habits) as a positive as you're thier perfect 'project' that can moulded the way they want, not quite a 'Yes Man' but not too far off.

The catch 22 is a right arse as people rarely take/give chances anymore, which is sad.

 

[swaRRR]

I wouldn't encourage lying but I completely get the reasoning; try and sell thr lack of experience (and bad habits) as a positive as you're thier perfect 'project' that can moulded the way they want, not quite a 'Yes Man' but not too far off.

The catch 22 is a right arse as people rarely take/give chances anymore, which is sad.

Obviously you don't go from an office and don't even have DIY skills to claiming you can wire up factories on your own. You have to have some skills with which to embellish.