When I made the decision to join the electrical trade in 2007 I ended up doing a 16 week course that got me a level 2 qualification, although this taught me the theory it was soon apparent that my lack of practical skills were going to be an issue, from there I decided to take an apprenticeship to complete my level 3 and NVQ (3 years to complete) and quickly told myself that however quickly I could gain the qualifications on paper it was the practical side of the work that was more important, Whilst it is great to have lots of qualifications on paper they soon lose there appeal if all it is is a bit of paper,
keep going with the path you have chosen it is definitely the right one