ICS Btec Level 3

[grant3000]

Hi Guys,


i'm looking at the above course and i would like some info from you guys please?

is this course going to get me employment in the refrigeration sector, or is a nvq Level 2 the one i need?
and if i do the course in question will i be able to get a company to take me on free of charge to gain experience?

i have got a Level 2 QCF in electrical installation and a btec level 3 in mechanical engineering, my current job is multiskilled maintenance engineer,

many thanks :)

[monkey spanners]

Hi Grant,

Don't know much about the qualification you mention, I would think getting an F-Gas certificate would be a good starting point. Why not call round some local companies and ask them what qualifications they look for in new employees/trainees?

Where in the UK are you? How far are you willing to travel to gain experience?

[grant3000]

Hi Monkey Spanners

Thanks for getting back to me.
nar im not to sure about the qualification myself..... just checked on here and there seem to be quite a bit of info from members asking the same question but still in two minds to go ahead..
i was looking at the Fgas certificate but i was thinking of doing the btec course to get some knowledge and then go for my fgas and hopefully seek employment if thats the way to go?
i might ring some up tomorrow thanks for that didnt really think of that one :)
im from the north west but i am willing to travel to get some tool time and experience.

many thanks again :)

[Rob White]

Hi Guys,


i'm looking at the above course and i would like some info from you guys please?

is this course going to get me employment in the refrigeration sector, or is a nvq Level 2 the one i need?
and if i do the course in question will i be able to get a company to take me on free of charge to gain experience?

i have got a Level 2 QCF in electrical installation and a btec level 3 in mechanical engineering, my current job is multiskilled maintenance engineer,

many thanks :)


http://www.icslearn.co.uk/distance-learning-courses/btec-level-3-advanced-diploma-in-refrigeration,-heating-and-air-conditioning.aspx

Is it this one?

qualifications are qualifications, learning can only be good,
but the trouble with our industry is it is very old fashioned.

BTEC and Edexcell are excellent qualifications but the refrigeration
industry tend to still look at the City & Guilds NVQ route.

For the cost it seems an acceptable route into the industry but it
does not seem to be practical based, only theory and that can
have limitations if you can't apply your theory to practical.

Regards

Rob

.

[grant3000]

http://www.icslearn.co.uk/distance-learning-courses/btec-level-3-advanced-diploma-in-refrigeration,-heating-and-air-conditioning.aspx

Is it this one?

qualifications are qualifications, learning can only be good,
but the trouble with our industry is it is very old fashioned.

BTEC and Edexcell are excellent qualifications but the refrigeration
industry tend to still look at the City & Guilds NVQ route.

For the cost it seems an acceptable route into the industry but it
does not seem to be practical based, only theory and that can
have limitations if you can't apply your theory to practical.

Regards

Rob

.

Hi Rob,

yes that is the one :)
Thanks for the heads up, i could't agree with you more on experience,but based on your experience would you think doing this BTec and then Fgas cert and then ask a engineer to take me on as a trainee would be acceptable (i would't hold you to it). i have already sent some emails asking companies so i will wait and see what they say first before going ahead.

if there is anyone out there who has completed the ICS LEARN course get in touch with me please.

thanks again.

[FreezerGeezer]

I haven't done that BTEC course, but having done an OND in Engineering & a NVQII in Fridge I'd rate it as streets ahead of the NVQ in terms of quality of teaching & amount learned. Mind you, I may have been lucky with my college.
At least one of my friends did the BTEC (@ Southampton iirc) & I got the impression that he benefitted from it more than I felt I benefitted from the NVQ. That's not to say the NVQ is rubbish, but I could have learned more. Getting rid of the dross who spent the lessons reading the red tops would have helped!
I don't know how much practical there is. There was plenty on my Engineering course, but that was a full time course. I'd be inclined to ask the college / training provider for details.

The big issue nowadays is that colleges get funding by the number of bums on seats factored by the results those bums obtain.
So if you're keen to learn & smarter (or fortunate to be better educated) than the majority of your class, you can often find yourself getting bogged down.

If you are a visual learner, I'd recommend making friends with classmates in the industry & trying to get on site with them. I found that I struggled with psychometrics for eg. because I hadn't worked on air conditioning at the time & couldn't visualise the processes.
Making friends with classmates is often a good way of getting an introduction to potential employment as well.

Whatever you decide to do, good luck with it.

[Rob White]

Hi Rob,

yes that is the one :)
Thanks for the heads up, i could't agree with you more on experience,but based on your experience would you think doing this BTec and then Fgas cert and then ask a engineer to take me on as a trainee would be acceptable (i would't hold you to it). i have already sent some emails asking companies so i will wait and see what they say first before going ahead.

if there is anyone out there who has completed the ICS LEARN course get in touch with me please.

thanks again.

It's a hard one to call. I don't know anything about ICS so I can't comment on them.
Edexcell, EAL and other training providers are trying to gain more recognition inside
the industry and get their names out there as providers of good quality training and qualifications.

The BTEC offered is as good a route as any followed up with the F-gas and practical experience.

It all comes down to the view of the guy who might want to employ you and his knowledge
of the qualification system. He might be happy with the information that you hold a Level 3 qualification
and the F-gas qual, but if he is stuck in his ways or if he is ignorant of training schemes he
might think that anything that is not City and Guilds is not a proper qual.

It's a battle you and many others are facing, the course on offer seems at first glance
to be a good one, that's all I know.

One word of caution though, traditionally a Level 3 course is high enough to give the holder
the ability and qualification to work unsupervised. The advertising bumf describing the course you
looked at says that with the BTEC level 3 qual the person would be able to work as a trainee
within the company that employs them.

That means that it is not a qualification that allows the holder to work unsupervised, maybe with
the F-gas qual it does but on its own it does not.

Regards

Rob

.

[grant3000]

Hi Again

Many thanks for all of your replies much appreciated :)
I have one question if I may?

does everyone on here work for a company or self employed?
just thinking of which direction I should take?

thanks

[Rob White]

.

I think you'll find a whole mix of employment types on here.
I personally am employed by the company I work for.

Rob

.

[grant3000]

Hi Rob,

i have emailed a few companies but non have got back to me :(
so i might need a different approach, to get some answers lol

Grant

[andrew20441]

Hi Grant
i looked at the course early last year just to top up on my knowledge of refrigeration.....did you do the course or are you doing it. Drop me a note when you get 5.,

Andrew

[RatsPom]

Hi, did this course back 2009-10, 18 months is the time limit, about 2 hours study per evening. Basically it's all about design eg: 4 modules/projects H&S, Refrigeration, heating and AC and Ventilation as well as course work, syllabus might have changed since then. On line tutor/support group to ask questions, personally I found the info in the projects to be basic and it was the students decision as to how deep they wanted to go eg: AC & Ventilation to an old ground floor office space ( can't remember size )to be converted to a 50 seat restaurant and basement type kitchen. Old office space was glazed windows looking out onto the street, that was basically it. So needed to work out cooling loads, heat from the sun through the windows etc, max number of customers plus staff...you get the idea.

hopr that helps

[Hamza Alg]

You can the NVQ level 2 but you still need to do the 2079 f-gas test.
i would personally would recommend you to do the the city and guilds 7189 level 2 which has f-gas included in the qualification and not a stand alone test, its also the newest qualification