If you’re considering the best way you can become an electrician to refresh your profession, or just need to add electrical skills to your existing skillset it is crucial to receive the right instruction and electrical qualifications.
There are numerous options for training to become an electrician certified. The most common route is an electrical apprenticeship with NVQ however, with apprentice salaries at as low as £3.90 per hour and a required time for learning guided by a teacher which aren’t necessarily appropriate for all.
If you’re an adult learner trying to get re-trained and switch profession, then there’s an intensive path to take that considers the financial and time constraints you may face.
Electrician Training Routes Available
Apprenticeships are available in three routes to choose from and are targeted at individuals who are between the ages of 16-19 years old. They all take into consideration whether you’ve obtained an apprenticeship through an electrical company or not. On completion of either an AM2 or AM2S assessment, you will be officially known as an Installation Technician/Maintenance Technician.
If you choose to go for the intensive course for the intensive option, you must be aged 18 or more, and at the time you finish your course, you will become a licensed Domestic Installer. Then, you will be able to advance your education further, gaining commercial Level 3 certificates later on, and eventually be a fully-qualified electrician.
No matter which training path you decide to take you’ll need to remember that if you intend to sign off on your electrical wiring to ensure it conforms to the current Building and Wiring Regulations, you need to join an Part P Scheme Provider. This is true regardless of regardless of whether you’ve taken an apprenticeship, or a more intensive one or an intensive one, and it’s possible for you to sign up with a scheme once you’ve having completed either.
Apprenticeship Routes
Level 2 and Level 3 NVQ Certificate in Electric Installations — City & Guilds 2365
This is targeted primarily at teenagers aged 16-18 and is typically offered by colleges and is fully paid for by the government. Since August 2013 it’s been mandatory to remain fully enrolled in school until the age of 18 which is why this City and Guilds 2365 fits the bill.
In the course you’ll need to take your Level 2 Diploma in Electrical Installations during the first year. If they are successful, they will then move onto level 3 Level 3 Diploma in Electrical Installations in the following year. After two years, you’ll have gained experience and know-how, however you are required to secure an apprenticeship should you want to finish your NVQ certification.
The basic NVQ portion is comprised of 12 months of onsite tests as well as a couple of areas not covered by the 2365 course as well as an AM2 (Final Exams). In order to do this, you’ll be required to transfer onto your City and Guilds 2357 qualification and then complete the additional units to be a fully certified electrician. A word of caution for those considering this course is that If you do not have work, you will not be able to take the 2357 class and then become fully qualified.
A Level 3 NQ qualification on Electrotechnical Systems – City & Guilds 2357
The NVQ Level 3 Electric Apprenticeship is designed for all those aged 16+. It is offered by both colleges as well as privately-owned training firms. In the college setting, the course of apprenticeship is generally only part-time and may take three years to complete, however, it is possible to complete the course much faster through private training companies since it is a full-time course.
The course is funded by this course through the Government dependent on age and information can be obtained through the Skills funding agency. However, the funding available in England is set to change shortly and will affect the structure of the qualification since it is the first time that the Level 3 of the NVQ Electrotechnical qualification City & Guilds 5357 will be introduced in the 2357.
Only a level 3 exam in this course, which is divided into knowledge and workshop modules and is held at the college or the training centre and also the NVQ performance units, which are basically onsite tests.
A word of caution, similar to this City and Guilds 2365, If you’re not working, you will not be able to move further. It is essential to be employed in order to be eligible for the 2357. Assuming you’re actually employed and that you have passed the test for the performance units in the program, you’ll be required to take your AM2 or the final exams to pass and, if you are successful, you will be certified.
Level 3 of NVQ Electrotechnical qualification (installation) (installation) or (maintenance) Level 3 NVQ Electrotechnical Qualification (installation) or (maintenance) City & Guilds 5357-03
The level 3 of the NVQ Electrotechnical course will replace the 2357 course when the funding for apprenticeships changes in England. The 2357 cannot be available in colleges or private training firms in England however it will be offered within Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
This course is a fast track solution to the 2357 and offers the candidate a streamlined process, so that they can become a qualified Installation Technician/Maintenance Technician at the end.
In the course, you must take 9 knowledge modules as well as seven performance elements. As with the 2357 prerequisite, you will need to work as an apprentice in an organization to be eligible for this program.
As opposed to the 2357, AM2S tests are not part of the 2357 in the course. After you finish your 5357 course, you must then organise your AM2S assessments and successfully pass them in order to become a qualified Installation Technician/Maintenance Technician. The AM2S is comprised of five different tests that normally take to be completed over two days.
EAL Diploma – EAL Level 3 NVQ Diploma in the Installation of Electrotechnical Systems and Equipment NVQ (Buildings, Structures and the Environment) (501/1605/8).
It is basically the same training, qualification and outcomes, if it is it is successful as City and Guilds 2357, but with a different provider, EAL, who are equally well-known within the field.
You must be at least 16 years old to be able to complete this course, and you don’t need to be an apprentice in order to be able to take it. However , you must finish your AM2 assessment at the site.
The AM2 test isn’t included in this course, and you’ll have to find an institution to take this final test at.
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