Those crash courses are dangerous

[StokieSpark]

Been on a two day PAT testing course at Manchester. The other lads on the course have been doing a 6week "Im an electrician" course and the PAT test course was their last course, as we were revising... one lad asked me how to work out the Resistance from the voltage and current! I cant believe these people after today can go and wire up houses etc but they dont even know basic ohms law. God knows what its going to be like when they have to work out the voltage drop formula or the cable selection..


Scary.

 

[roukel01]

on the PAT testing course I went on, at the end of the days training when everyone in the room was 'supposed' to be at a competant level to carry out tests on any equipment they could ever encounter, one lady turned round and said "So what do you need an earth for again?"

 

[Bobby B]

What an absolute showere of ****, it disgusts me that you can do this. 4 year apprenticeship it took me and these monkeys can do it in 6 weeks. i hate everything about this industry bar the actual job, the sooner we are legislated as much as gas fitters the better. our trade might be worth something then.

And relax..........

 

[roukel01]

What an absolute showere of ****, it disgusts me that you can do this. 4 year apprenticeship it took me and these monkeys can do it in 6 weeks. i hate everything about this industry bar the actual job, the sooner we are legislated as much as gas fitters the better. our trade might be worth something then.

And relax..........

Well said mate, completely agree.

 

[bugsy]

I went on pat's crash course and this happened

 

[garyinderby]

Come on guys, please dont tar everyone with the same brush. Yes i agree there are some right muppets out there. but some of us who have done the short coarses want to do the job well, take the time to learn, have the intelgence to ask or find the proper answers. most of all have a consience and same work ethic as you time served guys. so again please chaps, this is bordering on predudice.

Gary

 

[cside]

there are fools at all levels, i recently had to drive 45 miles to show a 3rd year apprentice how to get a feed off a celling rose, he didnt bleive me over the phone and gave me some bull about having to power it up and as his he was on his own for the day i drove over to help him out, got there to find the first fix wasnt even finished. and the less said about the spark i worked with on 17 PH the better

 

[drywax]

I know a guy who is time served runs his own business and is still incompitent go figure !!!

 

[mattcos1972]

Yeah, you can't generalise like that....idiots are idiots no matter how long they trained for....

Did I just make another generalisation?

 

[Des 56]

Do pilots go on crash courses ?

 

[garyinderby]

now and then but they only get one chance at it. lol

 

[m4tty]

Been on a two day PAT testing course at Manchester. The other lads on the course have been doing a 6week "Im an electrician" course and the PAT test course was their last course, as we were revising... one lad asked me how to work out the Resistance from the voltage and current! I cant believe these people after today can go and wire up houses etc but they dont even know basic ohms law. God knows what its going to be like when they have to work out the voltage drop formula or the cable selection..


Scary.

Two days on patting ffs bet that was interesting i done mine in two hours and scored 29/30 online exam, dont know how but was it boring. And i got to pat test a electric fire....woohoo

 

[mechelec]

There is no substitute for experience. The sooner we get back to full apprentiships the better. Doing a six week course does not make you competant to work as an electrician in fact I would say it does not even give you enough experience to be a competant mate. You need on the job training and class room theory. Three years minimum and you will never stop learning. Sorry to be a bore and I have said all this before but I learnt the long way (apprentiship). I would not want to walk out of a six week course and call myself an electrician I could be had under the trades discription act!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[cornburn]

I think the short courses are good for what they're designed for, which is ticking a box. If you already know what you are doing and just need the bit of paper to confirm it then it's all good. The same as with the 17 edition course, which is 4 days pretty much everywhere. If you already know 90% of it then that's all you need to fill in a few gaps, refresh everything you already know and iron out any bad habits, then prove that you know enough with the exam at the end.

The danger is people going in with no experience and expecting to walk out knowing what they're doing. People come from all sorts of different backgrounds so some will be more suited to a short course route than others. I have also seen plenty of sparks with 30+ years in the business who spout some right rubbish. As many have said, idiots are idiots whatever their background or experience.

I can see why people could be annoyed with the way some of these short courses are being sold (ie, time for a change of career? , come do our electrician's course etc) but don't think that everyone who's done one isn't perfectly competent to do the work they are doing as this is one of very many factors that make someone good or bad at their job.

 

[Bobby B]

There is no substitute for experience. The sooner we get back to full apprentiships the better. Doing a six week course does not make you competant to work as an electrician in fact I would say it does not even give you enough experience to be a competant mate. You need on the job training and class room theory. Three years minimum and you will never stop learning. Sorry to be a bore and I have said all this before but I learnt the long way (apprentiship). I would not want to walk out of a six week course and call myself an electrician I could be had under the trades discription act!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

spot on