What skills do I need to be an industrial electrician?

If you want to be an industrial electrician, this is a good area to get into, but be advised that training for the field has many interested students and is therefore quite competitive.

Basic skills and background necessary

To start with, you'll need good communication skills, and the ability to work unsupervised but as part of a team, where you do your work so that it dovetails with others. You'll need a strong attention to detail and the ability to analyse a job and see what needs to be done.

You will also need good practical skills to be an electrician, whereby you are very skilled at using power tools and hand tools. And finally, you'll need to be able to follow very technical instructions and drawings so that the end result is consistent with plans you are given.

Professional education

To become an industrial electrician, you should have completed the Electrotechnical Services NVO, Level Three, which is given by EMTA Awards Ltd. or the City & Guilds.

Alternatively, if you are already working and don't have the necessary qualifications as listed above, you may complete an apprenticeship scheme with someone who is an electrical contractor. Apprenticeships' availability varies depending on your local job market and what employers need from local workers there. You can find out more about completing an apprenticeship at www.apprenticeships.org.uk.

If an apprenticeship scheme is not suitable for you and you're not employed in the industry already, yet another avenue for you is to take the City & Guilds (2330) Technical Certificate in Electrotechnical Technology levels 2 and 3 at a college that offers this course of instruction. You can take this certification no matter how old you are, but be advised that competition is fierce among applicants.

With this type of technical certification, you'll have training in theory and in some practical skills needed for the NVQ. If you wish to be fully qualified, though, you have to complete the NVO in work based fashion.

Getting into college to take the coursework

Competition is pretty fierce within these courses, and you may be required to take an aptitude test to get into your specific college. Certain health and safety regulations will deny you the opportunity to complete a training course if you happen to be colour blind. If you have a particular college in mind, you can check with admissions there to see whether or not these restrictions occur within your particular course of study. You may also want to see if you can take a colour vision assessment test at the college prior to enrolment.

Working while you obtain certification

Once you have started your technical certification, begin working with an electrical contractor or other placement as soon as you can so that you can complete the NVQ after you finish training. Remember that you cannot do so unless you also have on-the-job experience and training. You can contact companies directly for on-the-job placement, or your college may be able to help you with placement as well.

Other possible certifications necessary

In addition to qualification on the Electrotechnical Services NVQ at Level 3, employers will also ask you to take the City & Guilds (2382) 17th Edition IEE Wiring Regulations and the City & Guilds (2391) Inspection, Testing and Certification of Installations.

Other professional development courses may also help you with your career, like the the City & Guilds In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, also known as portable appliance testing, or PAT. The Electrical Contractors' Association website has details about training for the electrical industry. You can visit them at http www.eca.co.uk for more information.