Electrical Apprentice Training

[chathamf]

Just wondering if anyone is an electrician that is familiar with the process of challenging 3rd and 4th year Electical? Do they allow you to challenge both years? I have school coming up in November but given the current economy I am hesitant to let my job go on the oil sands as there is a good chance I wouldn't have a job when it was over. I don't really learn much from the instructors and am self Ataught for the most part. Also wondering if anyone has done the blended learning where you do some online and labs on campus? I am planning on moving to Nova Scotia and do not want to switch my apprenticeship over so hoping ato pull off completing it in Alberta without having to come out and stay here for three months to do fourth year.

Any info anyone has on the process would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[03ozwhip]

I have many journeyman and master electrician buddies and each and every one of them say that it was hard as fuck in 4th year.

if I were you, I wouldn't even think of challenging. believe me, the stuff in those books for 3rd and 4th year is massive and you need to memorize a shit ton of code.

I'm stuck on my 3rd year welding because of the economy. if it weren't like this, I would be a journeyman this past May. I chose to cancel school because I didn't know how long the next job was or when I would have another.

something to think about.

[chathamf]

Originally posted by 03ozwhip
I have many journeyman and master electrician buddies and each and every one of them say that it was hard as fuck in 4th year.

if I were you, I wouldn't even think of challenging. believe me, the stuff in those books for 3rd and 4th year is massive and you need to memorize a shit ton of code.

I'm stuck on my 3rd year welding because of the economy. if it weren't like this, I would be a journeyman this past May. I chose to cancel school because I didn't know how long the next job was or when I would have another.

something to think about.

Yea I hear you man. I tell everyone that talks about challenging to go to school and am all about it. Just in a tough situation. I am moving back East and I looked into switching it to Nova Scotia and it just isn't worth the hassle. I have kids and a wife so coming out here for three months to attend school just doesn't make sense if I can avoid it. I literally learn nothing from the teachers as I learn by teaching myself and all school does for me is get me in the zone to concentrate on getting er done.

[RLK]

I'm a auto tech, I challenged 2nd, 3rd, 4th year and the red seal.
I had to have a sit down with one of the head guys in the apprenticeship program before I could challenge any tests. They don't really like people challenging, so the deal was if I fail one test I have to go to school for the remainder of my apprenticeship.

I would go to sait and buy the modules for that year. I would study the shit out of them for a couple of months then go write the test. I ended up doing very well.

But this was over ten years ago so I don't know what it is like now.

Challenging tests worked very well for me in automotives, but keep in mind the automotive curriculum that they tech at sait is honestly like 30 years behind in technology. They teach the bare bones of very outdated tech. As a auto tech you collect most of your knowledge from training you go to after you have journeyman's license. A electrician may be different, the material could be very relevant and you could miss out on a lot of good class room stuff.

[rx7_turbo2]

Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely to be granted? No.

Requesting to challenge 3rd OR 4th is met with significant resistance. Requesting to challenge BOTH is unlikely to be granted.

There are of course special provisions for extraordinary circumstances. You owe it to yourself to request it, and you may be granted a face to face to plead your case. However for a whole number of reasons, the difficulty of the concepts and the fact the code is almost all new, I suspect your request will be denied. The "classroom" portion of your apprenticeship includes mandatory lab time not just classroom time.