Electrician

[Sunny]

Any Electricians on here?

Any advice for beginners entering this industry? Getting fed up with an office job want to change and do something more practical.

Looking to start an electrician course in London, any recommendations for training centres? Lots of courses going around from £4k-8k

[ulstersubbie]

Are you still fairly young, learning a new trade can be daunting if you are somewhat older, costs etc.

[badsin]

An electrical apprenticeship normally takes 3 or 4 year's.
Not just the initial training, it's about gaining experience.
However, if you really want to do it, don't let the above put you off! 👍

[standardpostage]

Different types of electricians.

Domestic, industrial, motor vehicle, electrical engineer, installation electricians, construction electricians, maintenance electrician, instrumentation electrician, highway electrical systems electrician.

I think, domestic is the most common.

I suppose it depends which you like best.

They work to a manual IET Wiring Regulations.

[AnthG]

I remember in the budget this March the government said it was specializing in apprenticeships for 50 year olds

Even if you are in your 40s it still could be deemed to apply to you.

You will get very low pay from an apprentice job roles but you can very possibly offset it with Working Tax Credit.

I would say do it.

[mr.bluesky]

There is always a demand for skilled craftsmen / skilled manual workers . Most of today's youngsters want to go into the sort of jobs where they don't get their hands dirty and just sit in front of a computer screen ogling the sexy secretary's. Hang on a sec that sounds ideal .

[advent2016]

The IET has some good resources
External Link/Members Only

When I was qualified, I mostly did audit and commercial. Exiting my previous employer, they offered me free training also mature apprenticeships seem to be a popular route. 

There's a really good channel on YouTube - Efixx
External Link/Members Only

There's a lot of work at the moment fitting domestic EV car chargers

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Good advice there re the IET..

Its more a mech fitters job than pure electrics. Yes there some calcs etc to be done but a good knowlege of the 18/ 19/ 20 whatever regs is needed plus the abiitly to hang around trade counters for ages like they do in my backyard.

You should be able to make some decent money and good luck with it, there are a few practising electricans on you tube might give you an idea what the jobs like!

[Sunny]

Thanks guys

Looking to start off with domestic work initially. I want to learn the basics being able to do repair works at home but do have an interest in working with cars. Guess with EV becoming the future, would be handy to gain skills in this area.

It's just that there are so many courses/training providers out there, unsure which one to pick. I don't want to end up wasting money.

I am under 35, have a degree in accounting and finance, did A level Maths but not looking to go down the electrical engineering route.

[mr.bluesky]

  good luck in whatever path you choose (ps : when you're qualified do UK punting members get discount  )

[Shagswell2001]

My light hearted observation on Sparks on building sites would be, they always arrive in three's.  One to drive the van, one to play on his phone and one to talk shite 🤣🤣🤣🤣.
Seriously though, it's one of the best paid and cleanest jobs in the construction industry.  Good luck with your career choice.

[standardpostage]

I was once changing a ceiling lamp holder in a cellar.
I thought the power was off, because the light switch was pointing upwards.
It was one of those old fashioned Bakelite ones.
The electric shock I got, threw me backwards, and I landed on my back 
Turned out, the power was on at the lamp holder, because the light switch was upside down.
Lesson learned = always take the fuse out, when doing electrics. (nowadays it's switch the fuse off).

[Cactus]

Look into renewables, such as solar panels &  (air source) heat pumps. With the upcoming EPC compliance requirements for all properties in the UK and the banning of new carbon emitting heat sources (ie boilers) this is going to boom. People will be able to apply for exemptions, but it’s currently scheduled to be a required £5-10k spend to get one. £5k is about the cost of fitting an 8 panel solar array & its clean, quick, external work, so no need to live in a building site.

[Rayray23k]

I am not an electrician. However I did do a introductory to part P in domestic electrics to better improve my skills as a Gas engineer
I work with many Nic EIC registered electricians and nearly all of them first started working along side builders or as a handyman to gain some experience in basic electrical understanding before going into official training to become fully qualified electricians.
Now I'm not saying you should start working on rewiring your house to practice because you can't.
There are lots of things a non qualified electrician cannot do but you can learn from working along side those who are to understand how things should be.
A good school I'd recommend is Logic4Training. They have several schools around.
However be warned. Though many electricians do get paid well, most freshmen end up with a debt from borrowing to pay for cources and having a first few years of a slow start.

[daviemac]

Now I'm not saying you should start working on rewiring your house to practice because you can't.

Yes you can, you just need a qualified electrician to make the final connections and sign the work off.

[Rayray23k]

Yes you can, you just need a qualified electrician to make the final connections and sign the work off.

I'm not going to argue about that because technically you are right but it is wrong practice in so many ways.
Same as how I'm always asked by builders wanting me to sign off their work. I won't.

[daviemac]

I'm not going to argue about that because technically you are right but it is wrong practice in so many ways.
Same as how I'm always asked by builders wanting me to sign off their work. I won't.

Stating something as fact when it just isn't is a pet hate of mine, there's nothing stopping me from rewiring my whole house, including fitting sockets and switches, but I must get a suitably qualified electrician to check it and make the final connections then sign it off and there are plenty who will do that, it's money for nothing, they check it in the same way as they would if they did the installation themselves.

If when they come in to check they see the installation has not been done in a competent manner or find errors with polarity they aren't going to sign it off.

Gas on the other hand is different, it is actually illegal to do anything more than change consumer serviceable parts such as control knobs and the like.

Unless Gas Safe registered you can be prosecuted for doing anything connected to the gas supply.

[Rayray23k]

Point being: if Sunny wants to be a legitimate electrician, he should learn under someone officially qualified and supervised for experience and then do an electrical course. Or do a full course from basics in a school or training center which is probably quicker but more expensive.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

There are some decent vids on Youtube re what you can and cannot do under the well known part P for domestic wiring installations. You can change the odd fittings ie replace a wall switch but no to changing such as a consumer unit that shas to be notifited to the local authority.

As to Gas you can chage the control circuit board and such as the fan but nothig in the gas path!.

[Rayray23k]

There are some decent vids on Youtube re what you can and cannot do under the well known part P for domestic wiring installations. You can change the odd fittings ie replace a wall switch but no to changing such as a consumer unit that shas to be notifited to the local authority.

As to Gas you can chage the control circuit board and such as the fan but nothig in the gas path!.

Not really no. If your not a "competent person" or Gas Safe registered you shouldn't even be taking the case off.
When you change a PCB board or fan you're supposed to gas rate, check and adjust the gas valve if needed to ensure its running within safe parameters.

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Not really no. If your not a "competent person" or Gas Safe registered you shouldn't even be taking the case off.
When you change a PCB board or fan you're supposed to gas rate, check and adjust the gas valve if needed to ensure its running within safe parameters.

JOOI checked this with my Gas safe bloke earlier he used to be a instructor and examiner but he said that it was according to the regulations it is possible to change the board, i've mended a few of them same old shit poor design paxolin PCB's and not fibreglass, electrolytic caps a that dry out cos of the heat 85 deg C rated instaed of 105 deg ones etc. As to gas valves thery are simply switched on or off an "either" state he said he wouldn normally check that if he'd changed a PCB I've got a manometer of my own anyway but;!..

Anyway our olde boiler shes ticking away fine anyway Suprima 80 PCB was a real POS until they devloped the fibre glass one thats much better still heat punmp next?, well maybe not!

[Rayray23k]

Weird an ex trainer would say that. When I first did my GS training at Logic4 they said that you shouldn't even be taking the case off.
When I renewed my licence at GTA they said, you shouldn't even be taking the case off.
Especially on positive pressure boilers where case seal faulures are deadly.

I always do a FGA test after changing the fan because what I've found on older (I'd say within 10 years) boilers is that often the gas valves are adjusted to achieve clean burn due to age and deterioration. So if you put in a fresh new fan that now blows harder, your figures are going to be off.

[petermisc]

Looking to start off with domestic work initially. I want to learn the basics being able to do repair works at home but do have an interest in working with cars. Guess with EV becoming the future, would be handy to gain skills in this area.

Domestic electrician and automotive electrician are very different trades.  As a domestic electrician nowadays you probably need to know how to wire up charging points, but to work on the cars themselves you will need to be trained up on (and have access to) the complex and expensive diagnostic kit for the makes of car you want to work on.