I am looking to retrain and have decided that I am interested in becoming an electrician.

Was wondering if anyone on here could give me some tips, advice and point me in the right direction.

I have looked at my local college, but have to wait until September 2011 to get on a course.

I can't really offer you any advice as I don't know where to point you. However, I have just noticed where you live! I am only about 30 miles away and have recently started in a new role as a Recruitment Consultant. If you ever need a job be it temporary or permanent let me know via pm. And I will see what I can do.

Good luck with the new career path.

Rich

I'm a spark but went through the old-school indentured apprenticeship route - think a lot depends on what you want to do, ie do you want to work commercially or domestically as the relevant courses you take would vary a bit depending on this.

If you post back the type of electrical work you're considering, I can help you a bit more

I would be very careful about which course you choose and what qualification you get.
I know sod all about the official qualifications needed. I have a friend who paid for a distance learning type plumbers course though and while it lead to a qualification - it was not an industry recognised one!!!

At the moment the building industry is on it's knees and usually after a period of recession it's one of the last industires to show recovery.

Sorry fella! A downbeat post there!!! Just my opinion. Good luck with the career change

That's where I can help him

Electricians aren't completely intertwined with the building industry, I know quite a few sparks both domestically and industrially that are doing pretty OK, that's why it's important to know what area of sparking Ashers is interested in

Again another down beat post.

Had a mate who has been a spark for the past 20 years in around the greater London area.

Now he has emigrated to Canada, the Canadian gov't had a big 'Come to Canada' fare and sparkies were one on the list of professions which had a good chance to make it.

The new eastern block countries are out pricing the market so it was really hard for him to make a living

Will explain. I am currently 29 (worried I may be to old to retrain and earn a living why learning) and will be made redundant in March - September next year. This has made me think about future and I have decided to get a trade. I would like to use this for my day to day job and have been told that boiler repair is the path to focus on as there are a lack of qualified electricians.

To be honest I do not mind what I do, as long as I am using this trade on a day to day basis. Have looked at boiler repair, rewiring and would like to be pointed in the best direction.

Not sure if this course is any good?

http://www.clarksonevanstraining.co.uk/ ... e-4-weeks/

Looks pretty good - a proper training centre. You would definitely need something like this before you try for any of the qualifications. It would be a good idea to get the 17th Edition Wiring regs and the Part P testing certificate if you wanted to do domestic or contract installations (17th edition is essential). City & Guilds are the recognised qualifications

Now I am lost. I need this before I do the qualifications. So this course alone would not be enough.

Can you give me a list of qualifications that I need?

What is the best way of getting work afterwards?

From what I can see, the course includes sitting both these exams (17th edition and Part P) as well as the Portable Appliance Testing exam - this is a qualification for (unsurprisingly) testing portable appliances, ie kettles, toasters, fridges, PC's, etc. Most companies (and now landlords, I think) have to get these types of equipment PAT tested, usually annually, and you then get to put a little green sticker on the plug to show that it's safe to use.

As I mentioned earlier, doing electrics isn't just about competing with Eastern Europeans on building sites, there are many different avenues you could specialise in, ie the PAT testing is relatively simple and you could offer your services to small local firms say or landlords - might be a good way to begin

If you want to do any type of installations, either domestic or commercial, then the 17th edition is essential but it looks like the course leads to that qualification at the end anyway. The Part P course allows you to give the legal test on new installations.

You could also branch out into electrical control systems, ie PLC's, motors and drives etc although this is a little bit different, the principles are the same

Regarding finding work, it depends on whether you want to start a business up yourself or try and get employment with a company - with the latter, you've always got that problem of no experience

The course seems to be geared at exactly your requirements with the chance to get some proper qualifications. The on-site experience option also looks worthwhile. You might find during the course and talking to the instructors which type of electrical work is going to suit you best

And what a waste of money for our suffering businesses that is! Must also be incredibly dull work but keeps (/gets) sparkies in jobs though.

So September has come and gone.

I now need to make the decision if I am going to sign up for this course.

Go for it. Youll find out after a month if you like it.