Electrician courses in Cardiff

There are three main routes. They end in different places, so check what a course leads to before you pay for it.

1. An apprenticeship (Electrotechnical Installation, Level 3). Funded by the Welsh Government. You are employed by an electrical firm, paid while you learn, and spend one day a week at college. You work towards the EAL Building Services Engineering Level 3 (Electrotechnical Installation) and finish with the AM2S practical assessment. It usually takes 36 to 48 months, and you must live in Wales or do at least 51% of your work there.
2. A college course (such as a Level 2 foundation in electrical installation). Full-time or part-time study of the theory and practical skills. It is a good start, but on its own it does not make you a qualified electrician: you still need on-site experience and the AM2 later.
3. Routes for adults already in the trade. If you already have years of electrical work behind you, the experienced worker route assesses that experience and finishes with the AM2E practical assessment. A short domestic installer course is different: it does not make you a fully qualified electrician.

See the full step-by-step in how to become an electrician and what the ECS Gold Card needs.

Colleges deliver the apprenticeship training and the electrical installation diplomas. The courses listed are the ones we could see on each college’s own website on 23 October 2026.

• Cardiff and Vale College

  College · Barry and Cardiff
  • Electrotechnical installation apprenticeship (Level 3)
  • Level 2 core in construction and building services
  • Inspection and testing award
  Visit Cardiff and Vale College

• Coleg y Cymoedd

  College · Nantgarw, Ystrad Mynach, Aberdare and Rhondda
  • Electrotechnical installation apprenticeship (Level 3)
  • Level 2 foundation in electrical installations
  • EAL electrical installation Level 2 and 3 (adults)
  • 18th Edition
  Visit Coleg y Cymoedd

• Coleg Gwent

  College · Ebbw Vale
  • Electrotechnical installation apprenticeship (Level 3)
  • Level 2 foundation in electrical installation
  Visit Coleg Gwent

Private centres run the short courses qualified electricians book, such as the 18th Edition and inspection and testing (2391), and many also run courses for adults. Courses shown were listed on each centre’s own website on 23 October 2026.

• City Training Group

  Training centre · Cardiff (Llanishen)
  • 18th Edition
  • 18th Edition Amendment 4 update
  • Inspection and testing (Level 3)
  • Part P
  • PAT testing
  Visit City Training Group

• Coleg QS

  Training centre · Cwmbran
  • AM2 assessment centre (AM2 and AM2S)
  • Level 3 electrical apprenticeship
  • 18th Edition
  • Inspection and testing (Level 3)
  Visit Coleg QS

• XR Training

  Training centre · Pyle, Bridgend
  • Electrotechnical apprenticeship (Level 3)
  Visit XR Training

Firms that follow the JIB pay apprentices by stage. The JIB national rates from 5 January 2026 are:

• Stage 1

  £8.16 /hr

• Stage 2

  £10.60 /hr

• Stage 3

  £13.05 /hr

• Stage 4

  £14.03 /hr

Not every employer is a JIB firm. The legal floor is the apprentice minimum wage, £8.00 an hour from April 2026 for apprentices under 19 or in their first year. More in apprentice electrician pay and the full JIB rates for 2026.

Two courses come up again and again once you are qualified: the 18th Edition (City & Guilds 2382, the BS 7671 wiring regulations) and inspection and testing (City & Guilds 2391). Providers above run both.

Revise for them with the free 18th Edition mock exam and the 2391 guide.

Courses in other cities: Manchester, Newcastle, Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Reading.

The AM2 (AM2S for apprentices on the current standard) is the practical assessment at the end of the apprenticeship. These providers said on their websites that they are AM2 centres:

• Coleg QS, Cwmbran

Prepare with the AM2 preparation guide.