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Greener on the other side

lyledunn

I have seen an increase in enquiries from very well qualified people who want to achieve the NVQ L3 as a route into the practical side of the electrical installation sector. Many have degrees in electrical and electronic engineering and similar electrically biased third level qualifications. For example, one chap has a HND and held down a senior role in a consultancy practice. I didn’t ask but I should imagine that the salary is north of 50K.

At the moment we only offer a route via the experienced worker assessment, which, as an entry requirement, requires five years post training experience operating as an installation electrician. As with the chap in the example, most seem to want to move into a specific discipline within the sector, solar PV and battery being a popular focus. Whether one is intending to work in the microgeneration side or on the larger scale projects, having the right brace of qualifications is becoming increasingly essential. Unfortunately, some of the qualifications restrict entry to candidates with a NVQ L3, which, for those with the top class academic qualifications, means achieving accreditation for those practical skills that the NVQ demands.  Gaining such experience can be elusive, if not impossible. I am not at all convinced that some of  the practical skills, such as bending steel conduit, should prevent someone achieving a NVQ and thus prevent access to the renewable qualifications. However, I am not pretending that the answer to allowing gates to open to facilitate folk to move into the installation sector, with all its extensive disciplines, is an easy one.

As for the chap in the example, I met him by chance on a large solar project in an industrial site. He had ditched the suit for a pair of overalls and was helping to pull in long runs of fairly lumpy SWAs. He looked over the fence, decided the grass was greener and took up a job with a contractor who, erstwhile, he gave directions to! He tells me that in time, he will be seeking to enrol on whatever route will see him achieve the NVQ L3 and AM2 and ultimately, the electricians gold card.

Good luck to him, he will be an asset to our industry. I wish I could make it easier for other similar high quality individuals to climb over the fence. Perhaps the grass will not be as green as they thought, but at least we would have them on the right side!.

  • 0 in reply to mapj1
    mapj1 said:
    I sometimes feel that there is a problem, with the teaching of maths, (and magnetism oddly) in that it is taught without context, as a stand-alone subject.

    Maths was my strongest subject at school, so I have never really understood the difficulties of those who struggle. However, I think that I had good teachers in infant school. Times tables were drummed in, but I think that knowing things like multiples of 5 always end in 5 or 0 and the sum of the digits of any multiple of 3 is also a multiple of 3 go back to my early days.

    What is guaranteed to lead to failure is an attitude like, "I am no good at maths".

  • 0 in reply to Chris Pearson

    I agree with your final sentiment - once someone has decided any one subject is beyond them and they will never understand it, the battle is kind of lost for ever, and the same applies for reading or understanding maps or preparing a meal - it needs to be something you don't mind doing for fun that with practice  becomes  almost effortless.

    In my case, the use case for arithmetic was half learnt with playing 'shop' at school where the doubtful benefit of a mix of pre and post decimal plastic play money,  in later life made the magic denominations  in the Harry Potter stories seem quite reasonable...  

    Tables, much like the alphabet were just learnt like song lyrics - I can sing you old Macdonald had a farm or the Alphabet forwards or backwards with the same alacrity more then half a century after first doing so.

    Likewise the metric conversion chants

    ' A litre of water 's a pint and three quarters,  a meter measures thee-foot three, longer than a yard you see ; two and a quarter pounds of jam, weigh about a kilogram.

    Loads of electrical rules of thumb followed and many have equally odd mnemonics. 

    None of it should be feared.

    M

  • 0 in reply to lyledunn
    lyledunn said:
    If the candidate has been in the industry for at least 10 years then they can sit a single online entry test where really difficult questions are asked such as the two from the sample below! 

    Sorry for sounding thick, is that online entry test in place of the Level 2? Or do you still need the L2?

    I had an argument a few years back with 'The Guilds' about the requirements for the NVQ, and how they limited me time to complete, so I timed out, and didnt complete it. They said the qualification had changed, and if I didnt finish it within a certain time, I couldnt pass it as I would need a L2 electrotechnical qualification after that date. I said at the time they were talking rubbish, but I think they just wanted to get rid of me. A terrible organisation, I had 5 Assessors in the first year, and had no login details for over 6 months.

  • 0 in reply to AJJewsbury

    ...and holidays, employers NI, time spent quoting, time spent doing the accounts, time spent chasing late paying customers, day's when there's no work, travelling time, even time waiting at the Screwfix counter....

  • 0 in reply to Chris Pearson
    Chris Pearson said:
    How does that compare with a self-employed tradesman? All I know is that the day rates which I have been quoted for various building trades (c. £350/day + VAT) seem to offer a very comfortable standard of living.

    I don't think there are many Tradesmen on £350/day for 48 weeks of the year. To get that you'd need to be an established business with a long customer list, and, probably, an advertising budget.

    I'd say the bulk of self employed sparkies are on less than £50k, and probably less. The typical site pays £25-30/hr now, so taking a mid point of 48 weeks of 40 hours at £27 gives an income of £52k. But again, there are very few sites which work for over a year for every week of the year, so their income will be below £50k, minus tools and equipment etc they need, so its getting close to £43k, which is not much above the UK average wage.

    No self employed sparkie is going to get rich. To achieve a comfortable lifestyle, you need to employ people, and be reasonably good at running the business.

  • 0 in reply to alanblaby
    alanblaby said:
    No self employed sparkie is going to get rich. To achieve a comfortable lifestyle, you need to employ people, and be reasonably good at running the business.

    Alan, thank you for your insight.

    I fully appreciate that you have to factor in business expenses, and not inconsiderable effort making an income tax return. Then of course if your turnover is ≥£90k you have to do VAT, which simply goes in at one end and out of the other. I also appreciate that self-employed folk do not get paid sick leave, etc., and you have to pay into a pension.

    I fully agree with what you say. The best of the tradesmen who have been restoring my conservatory is a specialist lead-worker. I pay £350/day (+VAT) and he gets £140. I refused to tell him what I pay, because it would not have helped anybody, but I was somewhat appalled. I asked him whether he had considered being self-employed, but he said that he would have to do general roofing and was not keen on that. I was not appalled by the amount which I pay, but at the 150% mark-up. (And yes, I do appreciate that the company supplies the van, puts in the diesel, and pays employers NI, etc.)

    He kindly allowed me to have a go at welding a couple of pieces of offcuts - it isn't as easy as it looks. :-)

  • 0 in reply to Chris Pearson
    Chris Pearson said:
    welding a couple of pieces of offcuts

    Ah, a plumber, in the original sense.

       - Andy.

  • 0

    Most interestingly, considering the NVQ L3 one would say it's a clear step towards acquiring relevant technical skills, however you raised vital points owing to the reality faced today. 

    I agree 100 with you on your statement, 'but at least we would have them on the right side!'.

    Regards 

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