Today technologies such as home automation, lighting controls, and transformers are equipped with modern elements; hence electricians need continuing education to meet demand and remain in the business.Â
Electrical continuing education plays a crucial role for electrical contractors. Though some people may feel that it is not necessary, it is always on the top of industry trends.
Also, when you complete any education, you might have gaps, so for filling any gaps related to knowledge, it is important that you pursue continuing education.
Sometimes contractors may be well familiar with electrical codes, it doesn’t mean they are an expert with the hands-on experience to install any equipment. Hence this continuing education is really important.
Most of the time, you have seen that certain contracting firms require electricians to be updated with specific skill-sets. Hence it becomes essential you pursue proper electrical continuing education.
Since today’s on-the-job training is really rare as most experienced electricians are retiring, there remains a gap that cannot be fulfilled with any kind of video instruction.
Thus, the best way to be taught is through hands-on and in-person classroom instruction. For this, you should opt for a continuing education course from a reputed university.
In this article, we are going to talk about some of the reasons why it is important for you to pursue electrical continuing education courses.
- Getting Updated with Changes
Today technology has evolved; however, even the best electricians, including the experienced ones, have trouble in creating changes. For example, today, controls for lighting as well fixtures account for about 35-40% of any electrical contractor business.
Moreover, today with intelligent buildings, networked systems that are electrical, every device is being required to be programmed by a laptop or, in certain cases, a smartphone.
Since this sector of the market is one of the fastest-growing, most electrical contractors lack the requisite training to solve such problems.
And it is a truth that without adequate training, most electricians without proper training on such services can waste time, money, labor as well as can also face callbacks that can be really expensive.
You will be left behind if you remain stationary. Continuing education allows you to develop your skills and knowledge over time. Put yourself to the test and expand on what you already know. Knowing more about your field and trade will only benefit you in the future.
- Maintaining Your License
Continuing education in the electrical field is required for license renewal. Contractors must abide by their state’s Construction Industry Licensing Board’s guidelines. According to their criteria, you must complete 10 hours of continuing education classes every year. Five of those hours must be spent learning the National Electrical Code. A total of five hours must be spent on any other course that has been approved.
- Competing with Other Contractors
If you do not upgrade yourself by not learning new skills in some time, you will lose out to other electrical contractors who are doing so. Today, most homes and business organizations require wiring for their telecommunication with their electrical wiring. Such complex and complicated jobs require continuing education, and the contractor who knows how to do it will win the job.
When you are working, most builders, as well as architects, would expect you to know much more than the basics. Also, there may be certain contractor companies that might not hire you if you are unaware of specific safety requirements, as well as updated information that you get from continuing education courses.
When you pursue continuing electrical education, you become much more knowledgeable as well as proficient in your field. Moreover, you can use this to eliminate the intense competition out there. It may also be possible that a client requires only the basic skill set, but by pursuing continuing education, you ensure that you are selected for the project before anybody else. Moreover, these additional courses really give a positive and pleasing look to your resume.
- Understand and Update with Electrical Code Changes
Most of the time, NEC as well as NESC standards keeps changing. The NEC code gets updated every three years; however, there are also times when they are updated, even between the editions. If you are not pursuing continuing education, you will not be unaware of the updates, and this can create some real problems.
Also, it might happen that if your work does not adhere to a code, then you will run the risk of a legal complaint against you or your business. More there are specific code updates that take care of certain safety issues; hence it is really important that you are aware of these. When you are unaware of such changes, you may unintentionally cause certain damages or injury.
- Develops a Greater Chance for Promotion
When your employer notices that you are actually devoting your time and money to pursue continuing education, they would consider you a serious individual. This provides them with a solid reason to promote. As a serious electrical contractor, you do deserve a promotion for work, but by enrolling yourself in continuing education, you actually enhance your chances regarding promotion.
Summing Up
These were some of the reasons why you should opt for electrical continuing education. However, choosing a properly accredited course is really important; hence you must make sure that you choose a proper continuing education provider.
You must ensure that you do your secondary research for institutes, talk to your near and dear ones as well as your seniors. This would ensure that you get a holistic list of certain institutes.
Once you have done this, you can go ahead and talk to each of the institutes, understand their pattern of teaching as well as the process of conducting classes.
We hope this article has helped you understand why you actually require electrical continuing education classes and how it is so important for electrical contractors.
Think about it and choose the best course for yourself.