How to learn a trade?
 

Just wondering if anyone has some information on how to train to be an electrician,

I have tried google but all i get are results for "become an electrician in 1 day" crap

What I am trying to find out is do you need to do an apprenticeship or is it possible to do a college course?

Any information or guidance would be appreciated

Re: How to learn a trade
 

Ask at your local college, they run courses at certain times of the year

What age are you?. I served my tim e as one in a apprenticeship. I was lucky enough to get a start with a.company.

How old are you? You can do a modern apprenticeship if you are too old for an apprenticeship. You might find it hard to get a start though because they will have to pay you more.
Those quick courses to become an electrician wont teach you nearly enough, unless you're just looking to do basic jobs around the house

Re: How to learn a trade
 

Im 25 at the moment and would be unable to do an apprenticship as I have a mortgage to pay etc

I did assume that these crash courses wouldnt give enougth experiance, I was looking more for a part time college course over 6 months or so if thats possible. Idealy I would want to be fully certified however I am not that sure what certs I would need.

It seems a hard one to google as there is so much crap out there

Re: How to learn a trade
 

I personally wouldn't do a crash course, companies won't hire you based on that IMO.

Better to do a proper course or choose another trade.

Re: How to learn a trade?
 

1st trick of any trade, learn to use google ;)

http://www.boltoncollege.ac.uk/key-a...262/electrical

Re: How to learn a trade?
 

As special one said. As much as colleges/government like to tell you, the chances of you getting job in a trade without doing an apprenticeship is almost nil. A company won't take you on without nvq's which is gained through learning whilst working in a trade, I.e. an apprenticeship. College courses aren't worth the paper they're written on, everything you learn is in a controlled environment and they don't teach you what scenarios ect can be thrown at you in the real world and employers know this. For example with me everything in the college workshops was completely square and true, not once in the real world have I ever worked anywhere like that.

Also, I don't know if this is national or not, but when I finished my apprenticeship yonks ago I was offered and enrolled on a multiskill coarse, was in the evenings and i learnt some skills in all the trades and gained papers in it due to the fact I was working. However when in the final year of this I was told that we were the last group to be doing it for sparkying due to some new legislation that you had to be employed in that specific trade to gain the nvq. Again not sure if this was just the college I was at or a national thing

A friend of mine was lucky and at 22 he managed to land a training scheme with a local company as a sparky. Although it was only 8 quid an hour it was good for someone that is unqualified, he was working for a company as self employed and enrolled in night college to get the papers.

Re: How to learn a trade?
 

Guessing you are already in employment?? part time college course "will" give you a formally recognised qualification. Try your employer to assist with the cost of a course emphasing the benifits to them?? most reasonable sized forward thinking employers will assist as it helps with tax breaks, are they members of Investers In People regime IF so they may have an obligation.

Re: How to learn a trade?
 

3/4 years of crap pay doing an apprenticeship is the only way I know of. I wanted to do this but also have a mortgage.

You unfortunately will not get any funding from the National Apprenticship Scheme as your over 24 and I THINK that means the employer gets zero funding for taking you on also.
If you know a spark that will take you on without any funding somehow he is obliged by law to pay you a grand total of £2.60 an hour so you best rent out a room, sell the car, working as a giggilo at weekends etc.

Sorry to be so negative, if you you really want it you will make it happen.