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Applying for Electrical Apprentice with HND

Neil Bussey

I obtained an HND in Electeical and Electronics Engineering in 2018 and I have unfoetunately been unable to find a position in the Electrical industry with this qualification.

Recently, I applied to the Univetsity of York for an apprentice Electricians position. After about a months waiting for a reply I was informed that I did not meet the requirements to be an apprentice electrician and was not given an interview. The response from York's HR Department also included the statement that they could not respond to any further comments giving details of why I failed the criteria.

I did contact York's HR Department again, stating that I had a HND in Electrical and Electronics Engineering and that I was collecting data for my own staff development and for feedback to BTEC. The response was more or less the same in that I failed the criteria and they could not tell me what the criteria failure was.

I have noted that if you had a degree or HND in Electrical and Electronics Engineering you cannot be an Electrician without taking further qualifications such as NVQ 3 Electical Installation, 18th Wiring Amendment 4, Electrical Testing and Gold Card.

I applied for the apprenticeship because I had gained related skills and it was a way of expanding my electical skills at craft level.

I am wondering if anybody has come across this problem or applied to be an Electrician with a degree or HND.

  • 0

    Hi,

    Hopefully someone here who's involved with electrician apprenticeships will be able to give you some advice on the entry requirements, but here's a couple of thoughts I had on this:

    Normally an HND is something you would gain during an apprenticeship, so you should be ok to apply for one with it. But I would imagine that there are too many people applying for too few positions at the moment, not many places can afford to offer apprenticeships, so you do have to be patient and don't get knocked back by turn downs. Just keep applying.

    And employers don't have to say why they didn't employ you (or interview you), and mostly they won't. It's not going to change their minds, and it can lead to long arguments that aren't going to get anywhere. So they will normally not get involved. If you do ever get feedback from an employer as to why you weren't selected consider yourself lucky. You did the right thing to ask, but don't be surprised if you don't get an answer.

    Good luck, hope you find something soon. It's really tough getting started, but worth it.

    Andy

  • 0

    Hi Neil, it depends what you mean by apprentice electrician? Are you applying for an apprenticeship where you will be installing cables, consumer units, working to wiring regs etc. If so your HND, I'm assuming, hasn't covered this type of content. Therefore the employer might not see it as relevant as even a level 1 or 2 qualification in something like Electrical Installation. Your HND is getting you more equipped for circuit design, control and maintenance. Have you looked for apprenticeships in more of an electrical maintenance environment for a manufacturer or service provider. These apprenticeship roles can include maintaining, modifying, designing machines and equipment which your HND would be more suited compared to house wiring. Not sure if this response is of any use and I wish you the best of luck. Keep going you will get there.

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