so gives me a great pleasure to be joined by Sam from electricians guide to everything podcast
you've been with us today Sam thank you very much for taking the journey down to see us I've
had some fun off-camera but some fun on camera yes - time to put you in the spotlight you put
many of your guests in spotlight on your podcast series many of the podcast have been run through
this workshop and we're avidly waiting for the next instalment of that however you said to me
off-camera you've got quite an interesting story about the ECS gold card something quite passionate
and dear to your heart opens a story about a gold card it's a story of what the gold card can do for
you like let's not get it twisted the gold cards it is a gold card that you get from the JIB to
say that you've got three qualifications actually doesn't mean and if it doesn't mean you're good
electrician and you certainly shouldn't rest on your laurels once you've got it so just just for
the audience here that we haven't got a gold card yet as in the dealings with us they're all going
through the apprenticeship framework they'll have enough qualifications together they will
just clarify those three qualifications needed for a gold card so to get a gold card you need
to have your level three City and Guilds yes I don't know our man was a 2330 for you yeah
we're we're currently at 5357 they go and there's obviously other versions well EAL as well yeah you
do you NVQ level 3 the NVQ being the portfolio aspect of your portfolio you have changed that
now it's a set for evidence within the standards but everybody so called in NVQ yet device and then
obviously the AM2 - all and that's change for us all the people hear to AM2S which has got a
little bit more installed work I think there's bending steel conduct Joe's done a video on
that so they've got yeah they've gone back to what the original was a lot containment they
always containment and wiring now they've wiring wiring and what I've done yet and they're oh now
there's some containment and wiring into the AM2S they've sort of found a halfway house for that so
yeah so that's what the guys will be I've been up for a long time I advocate harder AM2 three
or four on the day can you do it and can you demonstrate skills maybe and what suggesting
this happens but with photographic evidence and witness statements there is an element of yeah
within that whether whether it's to put that for a couple of filters oh yeah yeah we will go with
that no so the three basic elements of a gold card now a lot of people might be like well I
do commercial I do domestic work don't need a gold card you're right you might just want to
get your level three qualification and be happy with that the great thing that I found with the
gold card is it's like the golden ticket if you like you can always go in on a decent amount of
money with your gold card and do they not set the standard for if you're a gold card don't you get
a certain minimum wage was that you know so I'll explain a little bit we're getting too into that
side of it in a second but for me I went for a very bad patch in life i misdiagnosed with
like something quite quite terrible and I fell off the wagon and I ended up a homeless for very brief
periods I was drug addict homeless I had nothing or my family had gone everything and I was just
you know I was a horrible person doing bad stuff and then eventually you know one turn or another
I did I managed to get hold of 600 quid 600 quid I borrowed 600 pound and I got a room in a house and
I had just enough money left over to get a ticket to work so I bought a weekly ticket and I started
finding around agencies I found round a load of agencies and within an hour I've got myself a job
to start on the Monday ok so that allowed me so just to that gold card allowed me to go and own
at the time I think it was a 170 quid a day boom I'm picked up at all for you know maybe 18 months
and picked up at all and that was in a period yeah you were yes yeah personal all these issues but
the gold card is your is your golden ticket your Willy Wonka's golden ticket to go in you can get
yourself out of anything with a gold card because you've got the ability to do now you've got the
ability the average wages about 200 quid a day if you have to go out and earn that 200 quit
a day so it doesn't matter if you're residential or commercial or industrial so you have that gold
card there's work out there and you know these ups and downs of work but now is a very quiet time out
there but if you apply yourself and you know you get out there and you get on the phone you start
beating down doors you could go and get yourself 200 quit a day so it doesn't matter what point in
your life you are whether you're 50 years old and you've been sacked from your job you can find up
an agency gonna earn 200 quid and still look after your family wherever you come out will you come
out at the worst time of your life and you want to get back on get back in the seat and take control
of your life again you have a very unique ticket to getting your life back on track and that's
something that's very important a lot of people overlook with the with the gold card it's it's
something that agencies always always ask for and that's how you get your top rate and the most jobs
out there are for gold cards so you get that and you're always be able to get your money and moving
in places there that you've had that dark period in your life and obviously we've seen how you come
out the side of it with your Union and obviously the podcast I'm working with the electrician of
the year I think you'll find you're looking after working with him something that really annoys him
what locked him from obscurity and made in the electricity did you make him put yourself forward
for the electrician of the year it's a joint prize well we'll get to that in a sec so me and Rick we
said Rick actually won the electrician a year this way I didn't know yeah he did and he won
it because of our joint venture something called the electrical workers branch which is a union for
electricians that me and Rick founded and created a turned into something that helps electricians
everyday and that was one of the bases that he won it I didn't go for it because as you can see I'm
not the greatest electrician in the world what's oh no no no don't know what makes you say that
well you know sometimes I could be a bit clumsy and cut myself yeah is it because you just had
to go at the and I think we've actually almost lost the footage which you were quite pleased and
you you've wanted another go what many winners Sam Sam was fair play that you had ago at the
printed challenge you set a time somewhere in the 11 minute range was a lie we likely embryoid to
rehear we don't lie in this okay embroider the track another bandwidth and you took on Alfie
who's been off the tools for a what seems like an eternity spend most of time jellying his hair for
three weeks six months so and I think was close he was good fun that when and fair with you we
got we've got a crowd going do me out of it she really would I think what I think that's what you
guys do very well is you bring a final element to you know learning which this be fair can be boring
sometimes no one wants to learn that this ace come there like this factories are going to shut up
so so get brick really yeah so this dissing I think you're gonna include some of the more
material on one of your podcast you're gonna go a little bit deeper into those those times
we're gonna we're gonna do a podcast all about me okay well overdue and everything but no it's just
it's just about the whole idea about being an electrician and just getting to a certain level
and then plateauing it's something that you know it's quite appealing I'm an electrician I could
sit back and relax now but the whole point of what the EGTE is about is about exposing people
to inspiration and getting a motivate to keep to continually develop right like alright for
a long time I rested on my loss right not pushing my professional development yeah and people do we
get comfortable don't you mean it is just sort of like you know you get into but name you you
know we're doing every day you better towards it go same location or several locations and
you sort of cut and paste your life through it when you have a reflective moment in it
yeah but the other thing is as well it's about being smart with your choices when it comes to
I wouldn't advocate being at a power and light and electrician for the rest of your life okay
I would say really try and diversify get your skill set as fast as possible until you find
something that you really click with and then go down that path and find find something that
you really passionate about because as they say if you enjoy what you're doing never work a day
in your life yeah and I think me and Joe Marcus and Matt can agree with that yeah we come into
work it's great fun it's hard work but actually we love each other days fly by but you'll start out
as sparks we did diversify we did you found your true calling yeah what you don't want to be is
you know it's been mentioned before a bitter and twisted spark I mean I work with them every day
and there's and they're telling me how bad the job is how bad their life is and all this it's because
it doing the same thing they've done since I was 17 yeah so there's a the great thing about the
electrical industry is it's so vast there's so many things you can do from BMS to solar panels
offshore windfarms all kinds of things there's loads of stuff that you can specialize in and get
extra qualifications in but it's about being smart with your choice you know if you if you're going
to be just a general installation electrician by a lot overlooked one that would probably bring
you more money than any other qualification is an iPad which isn't really even even an electrical
qualification but that will really help you find work and so I think to summarize that in
is you're saying that those three fundamental qualifications to complete the underpinning
knowledge of your nation in this case 5 3 5 7 yet to complete the body of work that is evidence of
working on-site yes and then go on and complete your skills test which is now a m2s actually is
the the setting up point of them opening the world or the door to the electrical industry
which is so vast yeah and experience as much of it it can form the bit you really enjoy and then
just work within to go down that path it's such a it's a gift having a trade it's a gift hang on the
trade and you'll always be able to support your families and and even if you down their families
you'll always be able to have a nice time and buy yourself nice things and go out again Oh on that
following note where Sam's off to get himself an alcoholic beverage boys we're going to end this
with the normal way do you know we're going to do the we hope this video has been some help ok
so you've not got to the end of what I'm on yet okay so if we're going to do that the thumbs up
yeah because it's part of the wrong we leave this bit yeah so me and Sam hope this emotional journey
for Sam which may be further investigated on the podcast will be how we hope this video it's been
some help it's actually an exclusive ok good start when without starting with exclusive I'm a guy I
know what no no I mean with yeah do you have to be it's kind of mutton still in my line right bro
that's not mine simply mine easy luck via French folk sound crash I don't often save it so it's
where I pay again I take him right now dad - yeah - [ __ ] there's enough witnesses did you win the
apprentice wall challenge no no that's on camera you see that's faster every long time so I've took
the picture and put it on that group with that Dan and Nick so well-behaved you know nice work
well I can't go and see Troy can't you believe it because the college know what you've said
you