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Plumber wants to become electrician

tonydon over 4 years ago

A fully qualified Plumber colleague wants to qualify as an electrician / plumber

What is the fastest route????

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0 Roy Bowdler over 4 years ago

I don’t have direct experience of working in the film industry, although I have a near neighbour and acquaintance who has forged a successful and lucrative career in set building etc, he is currently on a film project overseas. He isn’t to my knowledge specialist trade trained , but he has a strong work ethic and is able to make an excellent practical contribution. So I’m not sure how relevant the demarcation is between an “Electrician” and a “Plumber” is in this situation. However, appropriate Knowledge and Understanding is crucial, for managing risks. I have past experience of temporary military facilities such as field hospitals, bulk supply point for fuel and water, airfields etc.

At the time I trained in Power Stations, there were three primary trade groups who all combined elements of mechanical and electrical engineering. In the wider supply industry people like “jointers” of high voltage cables carried out lead work, so almost the definition of a “plumber”. At that time “demarcation” was a significant concern for trades unions and resulted in some considerable inefficiencies. Additional training was required to introduce multi-skilling (still with a core specialism), but the quality and breadth of apprenticeships in the industry at that time meant that most people had most of the skills, albeit with some important gaps in understanding. Gaps in understanding, especially if any kind of “gung ho attitude” or imperative to overstep your capability for commercial reasons exists, may lead to unacceptable risks, especially in a health and safety context.

So my advice to anyone seeking to develop additional skills, is first of all to understand the “gap” between what you currently have and where you want to get to. A “chancer” or someone not aligned to the values of IET membership, might happily assume that they needed to do as little as they could get away with. If you as a self-employed person are going to offer your services for a particular task; then can you demonstrate due diligence in having acquired the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding? As a larger employer, I would need to ensure that the people I was employing were suitably qualified and experienced, or under appropriate supervision to ensure that they didn’t overstep their competence.

I have over a long career seen many examples of people having to develop new skills in mid-career often as a consequence of redundancy (eg mining, steel, fossil fired power generation etc). However in that mix have been some individuals, employers and training/certification providers willing to cut corners, either in a financial tight spot, or greedy and unscrupulous . I’m sorry if this sounds a bit sanctimonious, but I see it as an important role for the IET enabling members to adapt their skills through career and to support professional standards. This should IMHO apply equally to professional Technicians as is does to those who we define as Engineers.
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0 Roy Bowdler over 4 years ago

I don’t have direct experience of working in the film industry, although I have a near neighbour and acquaintance who has forged a successful and lucrative career in set building etc, he is currently on a film project overseas. He isn’t to my knowledge specialist trade trained , but he has a strong work ethic and is able to make an excellent practical contribution. So I’m not sure how relevant the demarcation is between an “Electrician” and a “Plumber” is in this situation. However, appropriate Knowledge and Understanding is crucial, for managing risks. I have past experience of temporary military facilities such as field hospitals, bulk supply point for fuel and water, airfields etc.

At the time I trained in Power Stations, there were three primary trade groups who all combined elements of mechanical and electrical engineering. In the wider supply industry people like “jointers” of high voltage cables carried out lead work, so almost the definition of a “plumber”. At that time “demarcation” was a significant concern for trades unions and resulted in some considerable inefficiencies. Additional training was required to introduce multi-skilling (still with a core specialism), but the quality and breadth of apprenticeships in the industry at that time meant that most people had most of the skills, albeit with some important gaps in understanding. Gaps in understanding, especially if any kind of “gung ho attitude” or imperative to overstep your capability for commercial reasons exists, may lead to unacceptable risks, especially in a health and safety context.

So my advice to anyone seeking to develop additional skills, is first of all to understand the “gap” between what you currently have and where you want to get to. A “chancer” or someone not aligned to the values of IET membership, might happily assume that they needed to do as little as they could get away with. If you as a self-employed person are going to offer your services for a particular task; then can you demonstrate due diligence in having acquired the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding? As a larger employer, I would need to ensure that the people I was employing were suitably qualified and experienced, or under appropriate supervision to ensure that they didn’t overstep their competence.

I have over a long career seen many examples of people having to develop new skills in mid-career often as a consequence of redundancy (eg mining, steel, fossil fired power generation etc). However in that mix have been some individuals, employers and training/certification providers willing to cut corners, either in a financial tight spot, or greedy and unscrupulous . I’m sorry if this sounds a bit sanctimonious, but I see it as an important role for the IET enabling members to adapt their skills through career and to support professional standards. This should IMHO apply equally to professional Technicians as is does to those who we define as Engineers.
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Plumber wants to become electrician

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