Blog & News

We thought we were good but this is incredible!

April 2012: 100% of customers would recommend us

January to April 2012: 99.7% of our customers would recommend us

At Trade Skills 4U we value you feedback. We value it so much that we provide you with these forms so we can uncover exactly what you thought about your experience at every stage of your training. We do this because we care and because we want to make sure that you are getting the ultimate training experience that you have paid for and deserve.

So now that the first quarter is over we thought we’d compile this enormous stack of forms into some clear, understandable statistics so you can see what you and others think of us overall.

From January 2012 – April 2012 we can officially say that of the 1066 feedback forms we collected, over 99.7% of our customers said they’d recommend us!

We can also confirm that during April 2012 100% of customers surveyed said they would recommend us!

Out of these 1066 feedback forms, 67% of our customers said our courses met their expectations with a further 30% claiming that we actually exceeded their expectations. Overall, these figures combined show that over 97% of our customers were blinking delighted with our training.

Out of these 1066 feedback forms, 72.4% of our customers said their overall experience was ‘Excellent,’ and 26.1% rated it as ‘Good.’ When combined this data highlights that 98.5% of our customers were very happy with the overall service they received from Trade Skills 4U.

Pretty impressive stuff huh? The data, even though compiled with blood, sweat and tears has certainly put a spring in our step today and we hope it has yours too.

Allergic to graphs? Don’t worry if you would like to see the things our past and present students say about us you can check our feedback forms our online via our Trade Skills 4U Reviews page.

If you would like to hear about the things our students say about us you can check out our Trade Skills 4U Video Reviews page.

What can we say; we have a habit of going above and beyond to show you what it is like to train with Britain’s Premier Electrical and Renewable Energy Training Company, Trade Skills 4U.

#justsaying

All data has been compiled from actual feedback forms received in the centre.

Data source: In-House Trade Skills 4U Report into Customer Feedback Jan2012-April2012.

Last week we announced that changes to the Feed-in-Tariff had been delayed due to recent low solar installation figures. It was first proposed that new cuts would come into force 1st July 2012. However due to the 40 days’ notice required by law to protect ‘unlawful’ moves from the government, we can now expect the cuts to come into play a month later than first expected. This delay could have been caused by a number of factors but consumer confidence and news that the UK has slipped back into recession are thought to be amongst the two main reasons.

Since the revision figures have been introduced, the total installation figures for solar PV have naturally declined. The official introduction of the 21p kWh rate saw the total number of PV installs decrease from a whopping 9,009 in the last week of March 2012 to just 859 in the first week of April. Now more than ever it is important to broadcast positive message to all and try to win back consumer confidence.

The new FIT rate, now announced to come into play August 1st 2012, will be 16p kWh for domestic homeowners. Furthermore, all tariffs will decrease on a three month basis, starting on October 1 and are set to decrease at a rate of 3.5% unless a 'rapid uptake occurs.'

Barker commented, "We can now look with confidence to a future for solar which will see it go from a small cottage industry, anticipated under the previous scheme, to playing a significant part in Britain's clean energy economy."

In addition to the newly introduced lower tariff, other revisions include:

Export tariff will be increased from 3.2p to 4.5p/kWh for those installations with an eligibility date on or after August 1;

The expect FIT lifetime will be now decrease from 25 to 20 years for those installations with an eligibility date on or after August 1; and

Tariffs for installations that do not meet the energy efficiency requirements will mirror the tariffs for standalone installations.

We can now expect a small boom in this 10 week window before the new rate comes into play but it should be enough to get the market going again.

The gentleman who created a man’s best friend – the tv remote control -  has died at the age of 96.

Born on November 29th 1914, Eugene Polley awoke to a world that slowly dipping into World War I. His love for electronics grew at the City Colleges of Chicago and Armour Institute of Technology, but he left before graduating. Despite not having many physical qualifications, he was offered a job Zenith Electronics in 1935 as a stock boy.

After a couple of years working for Zenith, his skills grew and he transferred to engineering where he began work on the Radar during World War II. His first invention however arose in 1955 when he created the world first television remote control. Named the ‘Flash-Matic’ the device used visible light to remotely control a television outfitted with photo cells in the screen. First marketed at $149.95, the device was a luxury item, saving those who could afford the high price tag of a walk to the television.

John Taylor, spokesman for Zenith Electronics, said: "He was a proud owner of a flat-screen TV and modern remote. He always kept his original remote control with him."

During his career Polley held 18 patents for his inventions and was presented numerous awards for his achievements in engineering; including an Emmy award in 1997.

Mr Eugene Polley died on Sunday 20th May 2012 of natural causes at the Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Illinois, USA.  He is survived by his son, Eugene J Polley Jr, and grandson Aaron who lives in San Diego.

Imagesource@dailymail.co.uk

Today the Department of Energy and Climate Change published the long awaited Draft Energy Bill which includes details of the UK Electricity Market Reform (EMR). 

The EMR details how the government intends to plan the future of the UK’s electrical market and how we can move our traditionally sourced supply to meet our green energy targets of 15% by 2020 and 80% by 2050.

For those who don’t want to flick through the 302 page document, we have outlined the key points from the EMR below and defined the two main revisions.

EMR: The Main Objectives

To secure the investment needed to deliver a reliable and sustainably diverse low carbon technology mix.

To help maintain the government’s long term vision of creating a market full of low carbon energy generators that perform fairly and at stable carbon price’s. This vision is at least 10-15 years away as many carbon generators are still in the midst of development.

Provide key processes that enable us to meet and enforce the long term vision.

Government hope to achieve these objectives through the following two revisions;

The government have appointed the National Grid as an independent System operator to provide analytical basis for government decisions.

The government have also asked the National grid to administer new systems of low-carbon generation revenue support known as ‘Contracts for Difference’ (CfDs) and a Capacity Market.

By announcing these two main reforms, are positives steps towards a safer future and will leave the UK less vulnerable to growing energy prices and relieving some of the stress of the 250,000 jobs in the energy sector.

The full Draft Energy Bill can be read by clicking here.

These days getting an apprenticeship can be hard. Demand has never been higher for apprenticeship places as more and more people decide that univerisity education isn't for them whilst realising the benefits of working in the skilled trades.

Taking on an electrical apprentice means an extra set of hands for many electricians and the best thing is apprentices usually get trained for free and don’t cost the earth in wages. However, in reality many electricians are not keen on taking on an apprentice. Much of this is due to the incorrect perception that 'apprentices are unmotivated teenagers who don’t really want to work, but have been pushed into it by mum and dad.'

However times have changed and the calibre of apprentices is on the up. In fact, many of the country’s top students are turning away from the academic route and looking at apprenticeships as a real option to achieve their goals.

We have done our research and compiled our top do’s and don’ts for electrical apprentices to help new apprentices keep their employers happy. These are taken directly from electricians themselves and give you an understanding of the perception of apprentices by employers:

Do’s

Show interest in everything. Look keen and make sure you engage whenever possible.

Listen carefully to all instructions.

If you do have your own tools - use them and if you borrow tools make sure you put them back!

If you have nothing to do ask for something or show some initiative and find something that needs doing.

Ask lots of questions. Don’t be afraid to ask if you are unsure of something as long as you are able to listen and implement the answer.

Practice in your spare time. The quicker you learn the quicker you will be of use to your employer securing your position.

Read as much as you can in your spare time. Keep up to date with you training materials and if possible read ahead.

Be diligent and punctual.

If you make a mistake admit it and correct it.

Don’t

Keep checking your mobile phone, texting friends and receiving calls during working hours. In fact this is listed as one of the most annoying things an apprentice can do and came up more than anything else on this list.

Borrow tools and then leave them around where they can be easily lost or damaged.

Don’t stand around with your hands in your pockets.

Continue doing something even though you are not sure what you are doing. Electricity is dangerous, don’t guess how to do something, simply ask someone for help.

Run out the door the second the clock hits five.

Don’t try to hide or cover up your mistakes.

Of all these do’s and don’ts the top ones come up time and time again. So if you keep you phone off and show a keen interest in everything you can’t go far wrong.

If you are looking for an electrical apprenticeship be sure to check out our City & Guilds 2357 course. If you are already training with us be sure to take on board this advice.

Government gives installers a break and pushes back next reduction in Feed in Tariff. 

After the 21p kWh Feed-in-tariff rate was finally introduced 1 April 2012, we have all been preparing ourselves for the next reduction set to take place in July this year. However Energy and Climate Change Secretary, Greg Barker, seems to have had a change of heart and confessed his feelings towards the projected decrease on twitter on Wednesday 15th May. "Having listened carefully to industry, we are looking at scope for pushing back a little the next proposed reduction in solar feed-in tariffs.”

One could argue that this ‘delay’ in announcing future cuts to the subsidy could bring back another bout of uncertainty however Mr Barker has reassured the nation by responding “On the contrary, we are listening carefully to industry & full details of new much improved FITs regime will be published v shortly.”

On one hand this delay could been seen as another blunder in the way the government has dealt with the popular Feed-in-Tariff however it does mean that installers will be able to supply their customers with the higher rate of 21p kWh for a little longer than once expected.

As for when the cuts will be announced? Government are required by law to provide 40 days’ notice to Parliament of any changes to the scheme and as a result ministers would have to delay cuts until Mid-July at the earliest or else risk legal conflict which could result in future dismay.

It is no secret that drops in the demand for solar PV installation has been of direct consequence of feed-in-tariff reductions however numerous trade bodies have confirmed that ‘solar PV remains one of the best investments around.’ It is thanks to the falling costs of the technology combined with the rising cost in energy bills, the existing rate of gaining 21p kWh is actually proves to be a better investment than if you were to have had the cells installed when the higher rate of 43.3p kWh existed.  A 4kWp system, the largest size for which the highest tariff is available, can be purchased today for under £9,000, whereas only one year ago it would have cost upwards of £15,000.  An average domestic system is around 2.5kWp and it is these positives that need to be held up so that we as an industry can begin to win back the all-important consumer confidence.

Whichever way you look at it, hopefully we can all agree that this delay, even if only for a short period, will benefit the installer as they will be able to provide this higher rate of 21p kWh to their customers for a touch longer. Hopefully a little rush to install PV before the new rate comes into effect will allow solar installers to enjoy a last minute flourish which is the least they deserve after solar has seen as 90% drop off in installations since the cuts came into effect in April 2012.

75% of consumers are ignoring the benefits of installing a smart meter

According to recent research compiled by energy giant E.ON, 75% of British consumers are missing out on up to 4% savings on their energy bills by not having smart meters installed. Further to this, 60% of people don’t even know what a smart meter is.

By missing out on this technology, consumers are ignoring the benefits they could receive by having the devices installed. Being able to visualise your energy consumption, receive accurate bills and obtain a greater management of your finances are just some of the ways this new technology can be of benefit. In a modern age where enthusiasm for technology is paramount, E.ON is calling for people to ‘mirror the use of technology in their everyday lives and gain greater visibility into their energy use through smart meters so they can make positive behavioural changes and benefit from energy savings and cash savings.’

Jean Fiddes, Head of Customer Learning for Smart Meters at E.ON, said: "Technology is playing an empowering role in our lives and our research highlights people are keen to extend this to their energy use. Smart meters allow consumers to easily visualise their energy consumption daily, weekly and monthly, meaning they have increased transparency into their daily energy habits, providing accurate bills and greater management of their finances."

E.ON’s commitment to the smart meter rollout recently saw them celebrate the first anniversary of the launch of their first ‘Smart Meter Centre of Excellence’ in May this year. This centre stands as a dedicated contact point for customers who would like more information on the devices and how they can improve their cash savings by actively installing.

If you would like to know more about smart meters, visit www.eonenergy.com/smart

Data Source - E.ON Press release 09/05/2012

Image Source -Guardian.co.uk

Kevin Hird

Age: 12/03/72

Location: London

Trained at Trade Skills 4U

Course Choice: Domestic Installer Platinum Package

Goal: To change career.

1.       Describe your previous career and experience before you made the decision to retrain?

Whilst I have a degree in Chemical Engineering I decided to move into payment cards. I previously worked for American Express where I was responsible for the merchant side of the payment card business across a number of countries including Turkey, Greece and sub-Saharan Africa. I worked with many banks in a business development role which necessitated a lot of long haul business travel. The travel coupled with a having a little daughter meant I wanted to cut out the travel and have more flexibility in my job.

2.       What made you take the new direction and begin training as a domestic installer?

I've always enjoyed the practical side of things and as my dad was an Electrical Engineer I've learned a lot over the years.

3.       What are your plans for business now you are fully qualified?

I believe it's important to differentiate from the competition and whilst my company provides a full range of services I specialise in lighting design and installation and electric central heating.

4.       What is the best experience you have had so far in your new career?

Winning a major contract to design lighting schemes for a successful chain of estate agents in London.

5.       Any advice for anyone thinking of training as an electrician/domestic installer?

It's important to stand out from the crowd. This means not just being a good electrician but developing your brand and having a range of sales channels coupled with an online and real world marketing plan.

6.       Any regrets?

Not making the change sooner.

Want to hear more from Kevin Hird and our other customers? We have a range of video reviews avaliable to watch online as well as plenty of tutorials and centre walkthroughs. Take your tour today!

Because everyone loves a discount don’t they? 

That moment when you realise that your purchase is actually cheaper than you thought it would be? It’s a good feeling that can make all the difference in difficult times like these so we make sure we do our best to save your hard earned cash where ever we can. By building relationships with contacts in the industry, such as tools suppliers and accreditation bodies, we are able to pass on some great discounts to you, our customer.

So in addition to all the wonderful things we offer you, we’ve just added one more.

Building on our customer offering, we’ve teamed up with accreditation body NAPIT to offer you exclusive discounts on their competent person’s scheme, defined scope AND MCS accreditation schemes!

By bringing the cost of joining NAPIT down from £480 to £380 (Excluding VAT) those saved pounds will allow you to stretch to tool purchases, extra training needs or even that important tradesmen’s insurance that we all have to pay.

If this is something that interests you, contact Mr Mark Pearce on 01623 812984 or email him at mark.pearce@napit.org.uk and he will be able to talk to you about the discounts that can be applied to your NAPIT account having trained with Trade Skills 4U.

Why Join NAPIT?

This great offer is not the only reason to join NAPIT. This one flat fee also includes the following:

PIR, commercial & industrial work

Free technical helpline

Free legal helpline

Access to NAPIT online forum

NAPIT Trade Association Membership

Work quality guarantee on all notified work

No extra charges for periodics

So whatever you spend your savings on, spend it in the knowledge that you’ve trained with a company that has a habit of doing things properly and goes beyond their means to make sure your looked after long after you’ve left us.

Feels good to get more for your money doesn’t it?  Check out our full range of electrical courses and  renewable energy courses today.

Want to join NICEIC instead? Don’t worry we have built a similar relationship with them. Visit our NICEIC Fast Track Discount Page for more information.

Yesterday the Queen’s speech confirmed a number of important plans for the year ahead whilst setting out her government agenda yesterday. Some of the announcements were to be expected, however there were some real positive moves as well as some controversial points which are bound to create a stir.

However the following may affect the practising electrician so they’re worth a skim:

Energy Bill

An energy bill detailing the Coalition's proposals for electricity market reform was announced yesterday. The Bill is scheduled to become law in 2013 and will ‘propose reform of the electricity market to deliver secure, clean, and affordable electricity, and ensure prices are fair’.

This bill has been on the agenda for some time so was positive news for the industry to hear it being confirmed yesterday. The bill is expected to be published on 22nd May 2012 as the ‘crucial legislation’ will be able to ‘keep the lights on and emissions down in a more cost-effective way, while reaping the economic benefits’. It is set to reform the electricity market by encouraging more investment in low carbon generation and trying to ensure that electricity is delivered securely, clean and that prices are fair.

The Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill

Ever been put off employing extra staff in fear that if it doesn’t work out you could be left liable? In a bid to give employers more confidence to hire staff, the ‘enterprise and regulatory reform bill’ aims to make it simpler to dismiss them. By giving employers more power it may encourage "settlement agreements” and the like so that workers could be paid off by consent.

A Banking Reform Bill

This bill aims to push banks to lend to more individuals and businesses rather than invest in large corporate companies. By the retails banks separating their retail arms like this we can hopefully prevent the need for future bank bailouts

Child Care

In an attempt to equalise the need to spend time with your children when they are first born, maternity and paternity leave will be made more flexible so mothers and fathers can share caring responsibilities. In addition to this the process of inter-racial adoption will be made easier along with equalising access to children when parents separate or divorce.

imagesource@ibtimes.co.uk

Trade Skills 4U recognised as ‘Number one Training Centre 2011/2012’ by Kewtech Corp for the second year in a row.

Today we were visited by our account manager Martin Rooney at electrical supplier Kewtech Corp who presented us our second rather glamorous glass award for our consistently unrivalled sales of their products to our customers.

As a training provider, we teach over 4,000 students every year and often find ourselves discussing tools with our industry newbies and existing installers and helping them to source the right bits of kit for them. So much so that we set up a little tool shop in house which helps to get our customer equipped for the jobs to come.

It’s nice as easy for us as we’re just selling the tools due to demand as a way of providing a convenient extra service for our customers. There are no pushy sales or plugs, just reasonably priced tools on offer where and when our customers need them.

We sell a range of products but find ourselves mostly selling Kewtech Corps range of multifunction testers, PAT testers and test leads and accessories. Not only are they reasonably priced which goes along way these days, but we find that they are user friendly and perfect for the newly qualified domestic installer.

“They’re range of kit hold no boundaries and their products perfectly complement our courses and the way we like to teach them. The tools are high spec and trustworthy and so far having sold hundreds of units we’ve never had one complaint or return which highlights their reliability,” says Joe Bennett, Sales Manager for Trade Skills 4U.

Joe accepted the award on behalf of Trade Skills 4U and was also presented with a bottle of champagne for being ‘Number one training centre 2011/2012.’

In April 2012 we turned 7, obviously it’s not a mile stone but it’s still a great achievement for any business to announce their year older, wiser and still growing. So with this in mind let me tell you a little story of how we came about…

As some of you may know, Trade Skills 4U are the UK’s number 1 electrical and renewable energy training company however despite initial assumptions, we were not created by an electrical mind or in fact anyone from this lucrative industry. Trade Skills 4U was born and raised in the face of adversity by an ex-copper (so to speak.)

This ex-copper, now formally known as Trade Skills 4U’s managing director Carl Bennett, was forced to leave his life in the Metropolitan police as a specialist firearms operator, due to a serious illness in 2004. Whilst in recovery, Carl spent his time taking on a rebuild project and enlisted the help of a training company close by to help him learn some building and plastering skills.

Having had first-hand experience of professional hands on training in the MET, Mr Bennett set up Trade Skills 4U and integrated the same principles to ensure we deliver the same quality of training here every day.

‘Since the company founded in 2005, we’ve helped thousands of career changers, ex-forces personnel and electrical minds gain the valuable knowledge they needed to up-skill or begin new careers as electricians, domestic installers and renewable energy installers. We now train a variety of people; from new entrants to those with a little bit of know-how and have been able to help guys and girls like you into gaining these experience to be able to pursue careers in these lucrative industries,’ says Mr Bennett.

‘We have grown so much over the past 7 years, we are now able to offer two specialist training centres which offer the widest range of electrical courses and renewable energy courses,’ Mr Bennett adds.

Helping others in a similar position…

Having experienced how difficult life can be when you’re facing a superfluous career change Carl wanted to do something practical to help those who have slipped through the net of resettlement and given their thankless service for our country.

The bursary scheme aptly called ‘The Forgotten Heroes Bursary,’ officially launched in June with the help of Falkland’s veteran Simon Weston OBE. The scheme itself is a permanent offer which aims to give away 100,000 worth of free training to those who are struggling to find their feet on Civvy Street.

If you would be interested in applying for our bursary scheme or would like some more information, please visit www.tradeskills4u.co.uk/pages/free-training

All our awards are at our discretion and applicants will be vetted before an award is made.

Even if you are not eligible for this place give us a call on 01293 529777 and discuss your needs.

We often will apply discounts for ex-service men and women at our discretion.

imagesource@johnnygreig.photoshelter.com

When you think of dangerous professions you think of soldiers, deep sea divers, deep sea fishermen, lumberjacks  and so on. However construction did for a very long time have a history of danger and high death rates. In fact if you go back to the early 1900’s in America when large sky scrapers were built death rates were just as high.

However since then a raft of health and safety initiatives and the implementation of building regulations have steadily managed to reduce the number of deaths and the death rates in the industry.

It may surprise many to hear that the most dangerous of the building trades is in fact electrical installation. Most people assume that Gas will be the main killer. If there is a gas explosion you will hear about it on the news as it would normally affect many people, buildings, businesses etc. whereas  incidents involving electricity are more likely to silently kill or injure one electrician with little fuss or public commotion.

*Image Source http://changuru.blogspot.co.uk/

In the UK it is hard to find specific figures of deaths by particular trade. In reality being an electrician is now a very safe profession and in fact there were only 52 deaths in the whole of the construction industry last year. However to give you an idea of the gulf between the trades a study in America using data collated between 1992 – 2003 showed that of 1715 deaths in the period, 586 (34%) were in the electrical trades. The next most dangerous trade was construction workers where 274 (16%) people died.

The majority (92%) of electrical workers were killed by electrical wiring, equipment and overhead power lines. However what is a little more surprising is that the majority of other construction workers (80%) were also killed by electricity with the majority of those killed by overhead power lines. This demonstrates that electricity is not only a danger to electricians it is also deadly to members of all other trades too.

People are aware of the dangers of electricity but most don’t realise the implications of serious injury or death from simple installation tasks. It is for this reason that the industry is so heavily regulated and will continue to be so.  Year on year deaths in the construction industry continue to drop and death rates also continue to fall.

A recent government drive to cut down the red tape in the building regulations has found that Part P should definitely remain. This is why wiring regulations courses and Part P Training are so important. It’s also why all good electrician’s need to keep up to date with the latest updates to these crucial areas.

When you think about a career in electrics it is important to understand that it is a job which requires a lot of attention to detail as well as the ability to do things properly. Botch jobs just won’t cut it and with the right training and attitude it is very easy to stay safe and stay alive.