The colleges and training centres near Sheffield (including Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Worksop and Chesterfield), what each route leads to, and what apprentices are paid. Every provider and course was checked on its own website on 23 October 2026.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
The short answer
The surest route is an apprenticeship: you are employed and paid by an electrical firm and train at a college such as The Sheffield College. It ends with the AM2S assessment and leads to the ECS Gold Card. A college 2365 course is a good start but needs site experience, an NVQ Level 3 and the AM2 to finish.
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01 · Training
There are three main routes. They end in different places, so check what a course leads to before you pay for it.
See the full step-by-step in how to become an electrician and what the ECS Gold Card needs.
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02 · Training
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.
03 · Training
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.
04 · 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.
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05 · Training
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, Nottingham, Leicester, Coventry, Wolverhampton, Stoke-on-Trent, Reading, Cardiff.
06 · Training
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:
Prepare with the AM2 preparation guide.
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