That'll put him (or her) in a right old quandary.


Do I bond it, or don't I bond it? ?

To do what?


Wiring central heating controls or full rewires and new complete new installations in houses and flats?


Andy B

Ah. Television and film, like entertainment in general is not really the same world at all as conventional sparking. Of course the theory is the same, but the equipment is different and the approach to design has a lot more to do with what can be reeled out and reeled in again and reused, rather than carefully cut to length and plastered in.

Systems of parallel generators, knowing how to  tap safely into local supplies, how to handle earthing of many forms, hiring in the right kit, some of which is eye-wateringly expensive, all need to be decided and set-up at short notice.

An understanding  of rigging is required, and even the role titles are different - no commercial electrician will call anyone 'gaffer' or 'best boy' or for that matter 'the grip'.

In many ways if you exchanged sparks from the two disciplines, in many ways both would be a bit lost to begin with.

Equally the basics of the C and G electrical would be a good start in either case - and then it may be worth getting some experience of the world before getting in too deep - working for a lighting hire company or similar would get familiar with the names of all the gear and what is normally used in conjunction with what.


In terms of experience you could look at  "the knowledge" on line  to see who is doing what in in your area of interest and geographically - someone may want a rigger, which is the bottom rung (though oddly the role involves a fair amount of climbing).


Mrs MAPJ1 is actually a film accountant and if her work is anything to go by,  then hours on set can be erratic, long and antisocial, especially during set-up and tear down.

(though you may get a 'free' lunch if filming is in progress, though precious little time to eat it.)

The money looks good, but the price you pay is the lack job security - productions start, run and go bust almost on a whim, if there is a panic on then weekends and bank hols get worked through none stop, and it is important to put down some reserves of cash during the good times, for what will surely follow.


Fun I think, for those who are of the right mindset, but not for everyone. Look before you leap.

Point him in the direction of BECTU and Premier Training


The guy behind the courses is James Eade who I met at a NAPIT Trade Association meeting when he was pitching the courses to us, he also assisted in writing the regs and has written the supporting books.


It is a different set of regs and qualifications, if I were to do the course NAPIT would endorse my registration with a third scope, so domestic, commercial and temporary events electrical work.


Andy Betteridge

When I say assisted, I probably mean leading from the front!


Andy Betteridge

It is worth noting that BS7909 is very much the new kid on the block in standards terms - being truly fleshed out for the first time in the last ten years or so  (there is a 1998 version but it is very different), (new is relative, compare the original wiring regs from 1880 or so, and how long that has taken to mature, and it is still being optimised) many of the old hands working in more senior roles on-set now will pre-date BS7909. Training courses based on the standard are even an even newer phenomenon, however, it makes good sense to include this as a starting point for someone coming at it from outside, though I suspect you may find that a great many,  (if not most) folk working in the events electrical area have not been on a BS7909 course of any kind.

I'll second what Mike has said.


I spent 20 odd years working in the "Entertainment" Industry. Mostly power generation and distribution on the Music Festival circuit. Its very very different from a domestic sparks or even an industrial electrician. Even the numbers are different - supplying 2 feeds of 800A/phase onto a stage in the middle of a field was nothing out of the ordinary - all coming from diesel generation (hardly anybody trusts the mains, always be in control of your destiny). And then having to (try) and explain to someone why this "outdoor supply" cant be fed through a 30mA RCD!


Everything is built to be re-usable. It comes off a fleet of Artic trailers and its going back on them in about a week. We toured with 6 curtain sided trailers full of nothing but cable & distros. Cables tend to be one-size-up. So 16A (ceeform) on 2.5mm, 32A on 6mm, 63A on 16mm and 125A on 35mm, all that in both single phase & three phase in HR07 TRS., 25m of 35mm2 5 core TRS is heavy on the shoulder with the ceeform bashing your legs as you walk!! After that its CAMLOK or Powerlock on 120mm upto 400A - after that its parallel runs of 120mm. Pulling and laying 10 lengths of 120mm2 singles to parallel connect two 500kVA gensets on a hot summers afternoon in the middle of a field tends to make you break out into a sweat.


You have to take care of the boundaries between systems running from different supplies, especially were you don't want the earths to be common but also preventing and detecting earth loops were some fool has joined two outer points on your carefully designed radial distribution system with an ill thought-out audio link cable between a sound desk and OB truck!

A three day training course does guarantee that someone will get work.


There is a discussion on the NAPIT forum about EV training courses and getting work installing chargers, on Absolute Radio there is an advert saying that over four thousand electric vehicles a month are being registered, the NICEIC are currently advertising over one thousand places on EV training courses in the next six months and there are many other training providers also offering similar courses.


So assume that a new charger is installed for every new EV vehicle registered, that means if the NICEIC fill their training courses each new installer will get one job a week, totally ignoring all the established installers and other new entrants being trained by other training providers.


Without a massive shift to EVs there won’t be enough work to go around.


With the BS7909 training courses work is not guaranteed, the trainee is going to need contacts to get into the industry and other tickets such as working at heights.


I am too old to get into many parts of the industry, there are possible opportunities, but they would require a change in lifestyle as well as how I work.


I think if it were me I would join BECTU and do the appropriate training courses through them, hopefully then there would be the possibility of networking, building friendships and contacts with and through the fellow trainees and trainers, I think it would also look better having training certificates issued by a event and production industry organisation rather than waving electrical industry certificates about.


Andy Betteridge

However an electrician looking to run in temporary supplies for a marquee company for weddings in people’s back gardens or the like, who isn’t going to get involved in setting up sound systems and light shows I would do the NAPIT course.


Does it date me saying light shows?


Andy Betteridge