Electrics Course

A reason I wanted to undertake a camper van conversion is because one of my ultimate dreams is to buy a ruin of a house and restore it, mostly myself. Carrying out that kind of renovation requires a lot of knowledge and skills that I don’t have, but which I am hungry to learn.

In my mind a camper van conversion is a pilot project of a full sized house. Essential core skills needed are carpentry, electrics and plumbing. I know there are many others but these are the ones I feel ensure structural stability and safety of the camper van and its inhabitants.

I have none of these skills. I could be so bold as to say I dabble in carpentry, but let’s be honest it took me 10min the other day to work out why the drill wasn’t making progress, and it turned out I had it set on reverse. So I’d say I’m in need of some professional tutelage.

Electrics are the area that make me the most anxious and which I know the least about. I decided that this was the skill to learn early on in the build, as having a solid wiring layout and appliance diagram is key to the overall living plan. Also the wiring needs to go in as the walls are being insulated which again is early on in the project.

After a lot of research I found a place in Croydon called the Builder Training Centre. https://thebtc.co.uk

They run professional qualification courses through City and Guilds London, as well as shorter hands on beginner and DIY courses. They cover all skill sets in building but I signed up for a 2 day beginner electrics course. The courses are offered during the week and on weekends and are very reasonably priced. My weekend course is costing £245.

I’m up at the crack of dawn to drive the hour to Croydon before my course starts at 8:30. I find I’m nervous. What if I’m the only woman? What if I’m the youngest? What if I’m no good? I’ve heard the saying, you should do one thing everyday that scares you, and honestly that sounds exhausting!

It’s not a strong start as I drive by the centre and find there’s no parking. My panic increases as I drive further and further away from where I need to be and know I will end up being late (being late is my biggest pet hate!). Finally, I illegally park in a MacDonalds and run back down the road.

I reach the centre out of breath and find the door is locked. I knock and ring the bell but there is no reply. I resort to banging on the window to get the attention of some men in a classroom. They let me in and I enter a room with about 10 men staring back at me. I am very quickly told that I am in the wrong room and that my class is next door. As I make a dramatic entrance for a second time, I’m slightly reassured to see a mixed group of men and women staring back at me, all looking as nervous as I feel.

A jolly man named Mike introduces himself as the instructor and I’m relieved to see two more people arrive after me.

Straightaway I can tell Mike is a great teacher. He explains things clearly and mixes in anecdotes from his business experience. He loves a joke and immediately puts the group at ease. The course is 50% theory and 50% practical. For the first couple of hours we get a crash course in the laws of physics and energy. My brain is sluggish as it tries to take in so much new information, unused to having to work in this way since being in school!

Once we all look suitably bamboozled, we are invited into the next room and each given a workstation where we spend the next few hours wiring up various circuits. Mike is delighted to inform us each time we have died of an electric shock due to bad practice. By the end of the day I’m fairly certain we’ve all died at least 5 times…..

I’m intrigued to find that I love the logic and colour coding of the cables, and it feels fairly intuitive as to where each one needs to go once it’s laid out in front of me. By contrast, I have hard time getting a physical feel for the cables and tools, and at one point it takes me 20min to get one set of cables securely into a terminal. By the time class is finished for the day (5:30pm) we are all zombies, our brains completely overloaded. I’m in bed by 8pm and asleep by 8:30!

The next day I start off a lot stronger, getting to the centre in good time and not parking illegally! The subject matter today is domestic regulations and fault testing our systems. I’m shocked to find that overnight my motor skills seem to have finally synced up with my brain and I’m able to handle and change my circuits with fluidity and ease. So much so, that I constantly finish ahead of my peers. Most importantly I don’t die at all today!

Everyone is more at ease and we start to chat amongst ourselves. The class is made up of half women and half men and the ages seem to range from 20-60. Most people come from London but one man has come from Norfolk. People’s professions range from HR, IT, Physiotherapy, Property Management and more. Most people are here to gain the skills to tackle small upgrades at home, to know when to call a professional and to have enough knowledge to not be taken advantage of by the professionals. I’m the only one trying to tackle wiring an entire campervan.

By the end of the second day I am knackered but feeling confident and proud. I have hugely enjoyed the course and it has taught me what I was missing in terms of the work I am going to be undertaking. Mike was gracious enough to go through my electrical plan for Betty with me, pointing out the best types and sizes of wires, circuits and breakers to use. He even gave me his contact details in case I need more help further down the line.

I’d say this weekend was a roaring success and now I’m wondering which is the next course I should take….maybe plumbing in a couple of months time!