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Choosing The Right Electrical Certificates

Train For A Profitable New Career As An Electrician

We wouldn't be able to function in today's world without electricity. Our infrastructure depends on the skills and knowledge of trained electricians. Electrical certifications can lead to a wide variety of jobs, depending on the individual's training and experience. In 2009, over six hundred thousand people were employed in one sector or another of the UK's electrical industry. With the right qualifications you too could be enjoying a profitable and rewarding electrical career.

Can I Do It?

What kind of abilities do electricians need? As electricians use tools and are very hands-on most of the time, you must be able to work well practically. You need to be methodical, and have an eye for detail - it's essential that electricians follow safety procedures to the letter! You'll need to be able to work independently, and make decisions for yourself. You'll also need to have perfect colour vision and to be physically fit, as some of the work is quite strenuous.

Finally if you're planning to work for yourself you'll need plenty of initiative and self-motivation.

Read Everything You Need To Know In Our FREE Report

To start generating an income you need the most appropriate training to get you into the industry fast. To simplify things, you'll find it a lot easier to understand what courses are right for you when you've gone through our respected e-book.

This is free to download, and tells you all you need to know about the different training paths into industry. It will shed light on all the different training programmes you read about and help to clarify what you need.

Check out the report now, and you'll see what we mean. And when you feel ready, come back here and go onto some of the college sites listed at the side. If you enter Ctrl D, this page will save in your 'Favourites' file automatically.

Control Your Own Future

One reason many people retrain to become electricians is because they want to become self-employed. The majority of adult students in reality head down that track. As demand for qualified professionals continues in domestic households, this arrangement can be ideal. Sometimes people with other trade skills want electrical expertise, to give their business more credibility. And some people take electrical courses in order to safely fit a new kitchen at home for example.

Happy clients will sing your praises to all and sundry when you've carried your work out well. You'll be taught all your technical skills on the course, but also remember to have good personal skills as well.

Some electricians employed by big companies work shifts, but most work a regular eight hour day during the week. Average salaries in 2009 were around 26K according to SalaryTrack 2009. Self-employed electricians should be prepared to extend their hours where necessary, but usually their higher pay will reflect that. They will also have to allow for added business costs such as tools, transport and administration.

How Do I Begin?

The two relevant trade certification boards in Great Britain are EAL and City & Guilds. School leavers bolt on National Vocational Qualifications to their City & Guilds through work placements in industry. This typically will take three to four years. Career-changers typically go for more condensed courses that will fit around their existing commitments. As most of them are preparing for work in housing rather than industry, they don't need NVQs. Commercial training companies provide a variety of options to help students prepare for work in the shortest time possible.

Overall students are less qualified, but they will have a good grounding in the skills needed for domestic work, and their certifications will be legally acceptable.

So What Would I Learn?

A typical EAL Level 2 Domestic Electrical Installers course would take you from no knowledge to competency in domestic work. Your course will deal with basic wiring principles - installing new electrics, rewiring houses, fitting appliances etc.

As everyone carrying out domestic electrical work now has to be Part P certified, your training will give you an understanding of what's needed.

A second essential qualification from C&G is the 17th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations. 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. Qualified electricians are needed all over the country. The opportunities are there - now it's up to you.