A 'fully qualified'*** electrician will be expected to have the following:
- Level 3 Installer qualification - City and Guilds 2365 (or equivalent) or EAL Level 3, gotten by yourself or through an apprenticeship.
- 18th Edition
- Inspection and Testing qualification (EAL or C&G 2391)
- NVQ3 (portfolio of work)
- AM2 which comes in various iterations depending on what route you've taken.
The routes to achieve the above vary.
- Do an apprenticeship. This will get you the on site experience, allow you to get a portfolio together easily since you're likely to come across most things at work, and you'll get all the other qualifications from your day release at college, culminating in your AM2, after which you'll be able to get a JIB Gold Card.
- Go to college. This will be to do the Level 2 and 3 Installer qualification. This could be days or evenings and will likely be paid-for if you're an adult learner not on benefits. You don't get the Testing and Inspection, NVQ3, AM2, or the 18th Edition qualifications from this and will have to do them separately. The NVQ poses the biggest problem here since you cannot just pay for it, it has to be a real body of work that you've undertaken and you have to have evidence that you actually did it.
- Pay for a course. These are the short courses. Imo these are the last resort. You've tried to get taken on and can't, and can't do 2 years at college for some reason. You will get the exact same theoretical knowledge as someone who did an apprenticeship, but the practicality of doing the job and the actual application of the theory will be missing which puts you at a huge disadvantage. You will also, if you want a JIB Gold Card, still have to do the NVQ3 and AM2 on top at a cost of around £2k. Getting into work is apparently quite tricky after this unless you're going it alone so the portfolio could be really hard to accomplish.
- Experienced worker route. This is where you know your onions and have been working in electric for 5 or more years but don't have any official qualifications. You can apply to do this route, and after figuring out what you do and don't know they will allow you to take an AM2E test to become certified that way. I believe youstill need at minimum the 18th Edition to be able to do this although don't quote me.
***There's really no such thing since electrical professionals are not regulated in the UK - JIB/ECA/NICEIC/NAPIT etc are all just membership schemes with different requirements for joining. Legally all you need to be is 'competent'. Although most people consider what i wrote above to be the gold standard for calling yourself qualified.if it’s