i must say that I too think some of the stuff on your 'irrelevant' list certainly isn't and indeed the harder to solve EMC aspects of things like VFDs mean that I'd add transmission line theory to the list, and also things like  Dali lighting controls, CAN busses and so on.  

Depends what sort of electrician you intend to produce of course - the sort that can drink tea and change light bulbs and nothing else really does not need to know a lot, as someone else has already designed the circuitry and got it going To my mind they they don't really need the qualification either .

To take account of instructions does not mean follow them mindlessly of course - and even if BS7671 said that, I'd say to simply add that to the list of regs that only apply when they suit the situation. The sort of guy who can be dropped in to design and install anything from a new socket to a heating controller to a set of theatre lights needs a bit more between the ears. Sure, not all will be up to the task, not all will qualify but that correctly represents ability. As in WJs post above, there is the world of difference between repair technician and design authority material.

Mike

All an electrician needs to know is that currents produce magnetic fields around wires and visa versa.

I spent many years in electronic and electrical test and diagnosis, including devising and designing test systems for a very wide range of custom products, such as Train Brakes, both the mechanical and electronic systems.  I never once used knowledge of depletion zones, the Bhors model of atomic theory, left or right hand rules or many other things which the modern electrician has to learn to be qualified. 

If we focussed on things which were important we would not have electricians who for example believe that SY cable is armoured or can be used outdoors. Despite having no BS standard, the dam stuff is on all the courses and as a result becomes a "go to", when it is totally unsuitable for almost every application you will find it used on.

Yes, there is a world of difference between a repair technician and a design authority, but neither are the purpose of the level 2&3 electrical installation courses. And that is my point. The courses have had the hours of teaching greatly reduced over many years, now valuable time is being wasted of things they will never use as electrician, technicians and many design engineering positions.

Heating controllers etc, are given far too little time.  

Thank you for the useful suggested additions which I shall add to my list. :-)

Fleming's Left and Right hand rules was secondary school 4th year stuff. Not difficult.

And it learns 'em their left from their right.

Many young electricians are interested in loud car audio systems. Make their learning relevant and interesting and they are more likely to remember the technical stuff.

Looooookk

www.youtube.com/watch

Z.

Fleming's Left and Right hand rules was secondary school 4th year stuff. Not difficult.

And it learns 'em their left from their right.

Many young electricians are interested in loud car audio systems. Make their learning relevant and interesting and they are more likely to remember the technical stuff.

Looooookk

www.youtube.com/watch

Z.

The audio topic you give may interest a few, but very few nowadays. Music is just not a big part of young students lives now, to the shocking point of being almost absent for a significant number. However I will include your link in a list of interesting materials they may chose to look through as "supporting interests".

However including audio stuff into an Electrical installation syllabus would be yet another deviation away from what they need to focus on, and kind of illustrates my original point. The pet topics of academics etc. 

All young people live for music. Look at the massive attendance at live rock concerts and music festivals. A peport says ".Music plays an important role in the lives of teenagers, offering a wide variety of benefits to young people’s lives. Not only is listening to music enjoyable and one of the youth’s favorite pastimes, but it also offers benefits when it comes to education. Education expert Nora Stoffer, a writer at Papersowl.com, says, “Listening to songs while studying can greatly improve the flow of a student’s work. What’s more, music offers youths a sense of belonging and community that is particularly important for holistic education”. With all these benefits in mind, here’s a guide to the most popular music genres among teenagers and the youth in the United States today."                                                                                        The video subjects include. Magnetism. Polarity. Coils. Interaction between a current carrying wire and  magnetic fields. Motor theory versus generator theory. 521.5.1, 521.5.2 and 521.5.201. Why are certain loudspeaker parts made of aluminium or steel? All basic physics and directly related to electrical work and maintenance. Wire size and current carrying capability before overload damage. Fuse and cable related.  All knowledge is related and useful. We build a deep diverse comprehensive knowledge in small learning  blocks over time. But if your lot are just interested in being  house bashing grunts  (with no loud site radio) then perhaps they do not need indepth knowledge.

You say" I come from an Electronic/Electrical test background rather than Installation. In the last couple of years I have started teaching Electrical Courses for students wanting to be electricians."

If you have limited installation/maintenance site experience then you may be limited in your ability to undertake training in the necessary electricians' fields of expertise.

The I.E.T's bookshop may be helpful to you. e.g. 

Electrical Craft Principles, 5th Edition

Volume 1  

by John Whitfield

I have an old copy of a City and Guilds' book entitled Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Electrotechnical Technology 2357. Unit 309. This is the type of book that I would use, if still in date, for aspiring electricians to learn from. ISBN 978-0-85193-281-1.

www.abebooks.co.uk/.../bd

Z.

Much to my dissapointment very few young people are very interested in music. Ask them, they may listen to a bit, but they don't spend hours on it. Very few of them get enthusiastic in the same was oldies like me do.

Over 40% of festival goers in the UK are over 35. 30% are over 41years old. (2016 figures)

www.statista.com/.../

I used to go to Glastonbury a lot (the biggest music festival in Europe), until only a few years ago, and despite lots of strong marketing tactics to get a younger crowd in, it was far "worse" there than the stats above.

Worse still many of the kids seemed to be dragged along and on several occasions on my last visits, I came across groups in caravans, watching TV. Outside a dry sunny festival, several stages with world class bands were playing at the same time.

There was one year where they succeeded in blocking the oldies by selling tickets during the working day during a school holiday. It was a disaster. The kids came, got a bit damp and cold and left the site, some areas of the site felt empty, and by Saturday afternoon large parts of it were. The traders were furious, paying out thousands and no customers.  

Your enthusiasm for audio centred learned is commendable, and is no doubt very successful on some students, so much so I shall look to including it in my optional study topics. But it is still off topic and not centred on the issues at hand with installation.  

When it came to learning the "Electrician and Inspector courses" courses in my 40's, my main teacher who was rightly much admired for his experience and knowledge, I was in the last class before his retirement. At the end he told me that he enjoyed teaching me, because he learn't some things, which he hadn't expected. I will always treasure that compliment because I admired his knowledge and professionalism.  The biggest single part of my career has been designing and implementing test systems, which is an excellent way of learning a subject, because you get to see lots of failures, and sometimes have to some detective work, to work out exactly why they failed.

I have also worked in other trades in construction, and so am not a "career academic". I have experience in carpentry, (dad was an old style master carpenter), steel erecting, high pressure pipe work for compressed air and hydraulics, and of course labouring as well as a small amount of electrical installation. 

One of my main complaints about the course books is that they do not cover the craft skills. Craft skills from a book? you might say. Well yes there is a huge long list of tips which should be referenceable for each type of project work. I am on the process of writing one, because I have not yet come across one. These things should be "taught"before they pick up the tools....

Example.... Go into most classes and you can watch students trying to drill steel. Steel is very hard, so to cut it you must press Very Hard. Do they? No. When progress is slow they simply speed up. That heats the tip of the drill, ruins the temper of the tip, and makes progress even slower. Press hard, go slow. Is that taught? no. . The list of little things like that goes on for pages. 

I shall certainly look at the book you recommend ASAP.

I agree the C&G books are far better, especially the science sections, which others seem to do very poorly. However my main issue is with both the topics and the weighting of the content themselves. 

Thank you for constructive and helpful reply.

Drilling and metal fabrication was taught in our "Metalwork" classes at school. We learnt a lot. So is that subject not "electrical?" All knowledge is useful and all subjects are related. It appears that today's youngsters are not hands on skilled. I attended a college in a major city once for a job interview, and some of the the students could not keep awake in the morning after a late night gaming or drinking. A lost cause I think.

Craft books need to be used in association with hands on workshop training.

See the old book series Electrical Installation Practice by H.A. Miller, as a useful text book of craft skills  and theory. There must be modern versions of that series of books.

ISBN 0 7131 3285 X

A modern version? But I have not read it

www.amazon.co.uk/.../B00804AVB6

I also remember an old book about (metal) Workshop Practice. I will have to research for it.

Students generally like hands on workshop exercises.

Effective teaching is theatrical. So we need to "engage" with our students and entertain them at the same time. Blow a few fuses loudly. Heat up a wire so that it glows. Blow up a loud speaker. Let them wire up a lighting circuit and then power it up at mains Voltage so that they can see just what they can achieve. Allow them to see an electric motor speed controlled.

Teaching is theatrical.

Youtube may be your friend. You can see correct and incorrect ways of doing things.

e.g. www.youtube.com/watch

Ans steel trunking fabrication....

www.google.com/search

Then there's fighting with steel conduit.......

www.youtube.com/watch

Perhaps your students would be interested in some music from The Albert Hall.

www.youtube.com/watch

Z.