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Careers With City and Guilds Electrical Courses

Have You Thought About Becoming An Electrical Worker?

Electricity is one of the most important aspects of modern life. Our infrastructure depends on the skills and knowledge of trained electricians. Fundamentally electrical workers are employed to install, manage and test equipment and systems. The work is heavily dictated to by health and safety standards. The industry is now one of the biggest in the UK, with 20 billion pounds of work carried out annually according to the Summit Skills report for 2009. So with such a demand for skilled workers, why not reap the rewards and become an electrician yourself.

How Do I Know I'll Enjoy It?

You might wonder whether electrical work will suit you. Electrical work involves using a number of different tools - dexterity and hand to eye co-ordination are vital. Those who can work methodically through a process do well as electricians. Your training will give you the technical knowledge, but you must have the capacity to solve problems as you go. Some electrical work requires a degree of strength, so it's useful to be physically fit. And basically, if your goal is self-employment, you must have drive and determination.

Training Information E-Book - Yours For Free

Even if you're an absolute beginner, you can be up and running in several months time with the right training and application. Knowing which courses to take can be quite confusing, so we've put together a step by step document that explains everything.

All the different training options are clearly explained - and we'll send it to you for FREE. There are a lot of training colleges and companies in the UK, offering various different areas of expertise.

The e-book will put things into perspective. Once you've downloaded it, allow some time to give it your full attention. When you've done that, come back to this website and refer to a number of the training companies listed on this page. You might like to bookmark it now (Ctrl D) so it's quick to find again.

Get Your Own Business Off The Ground

The driving force to get back into training is often motivated by a person's goal to work for themselves. Indeed, it's fair to say that most mature electrical students go that way. As demand for qualified professionals continues in domestic households, this arrangement can be ideal. Of course, some just want the qualifications so they can earn a second income part-time. And some people take electrical courses in order to safely fit a new kitchen at home for example.As with plumbers and builders, electricians will get some good referrals if their customers think they've done a good job. You'll be taught all your technical skills on the course, but also remember to have good personal skills as well.

It's normal for employee electrical workers to put in around a 40 hr week - sometimes with extra overtime. For that, they will typically be paid approximately 26,000pa. However, self-employed electrical workers operating in the domestic market can expect to earn more, but may well have to offer more flexibility in their working hours. They will also have to allow for added business costs such as tools, transport and administration.

Choosing The Ideal Training Path For You

The electrical industry mainly recognises EAL and City & Guilds in Britain today. Most young people entering the industry straight from school will study for C&G qualifications along with corresponding NVQ's. But naturally this takes several years. More senior applicants most often choose short training programmes that they can work through at their convenience.

This type of coursework prepares students mostly for domestic jobs, so negates the need for the more extended NVQ's. The private training colleges offer flexible programmes that lead to certifications that will get them up and running with the best financial return from their training investment. Students come out with solid, industry legal electrical qualifications that they can speedily make use of in households anywhere.

So What Would I Learn?

Probably a good place to start would be on a course that prepares you for your EAL level 2 Domestic Electrical Installer. With an eye always on safety, you'll be shown how to install electrics, rewire houses, test circuits and more. You'll be prepared for the EU Building Regulations qualification known as Part P. The 17th edition IEE wiring regulations is another requirement for electrical workers. You might also cover training for the C&G 2392 certification, which demonstrates competency in initial testing and verification, C&G 2391 for Inspection, Testing and Certification and C&G 2377 which covers PAT testing.

You should find a typical domestic electrical training programme takes between 300 hours and 400-500 hours, and is a mixture of home study and workshop assessments. You could be successfully working in customers' homes a few short months from now - building your future on solid ground.