Apprentice Mechanic - Colour blindness

Dundalk-Dragger

Hi, next year when I leave school I hope to find a apprenticeship as a Motor Mechanic. It has been my dream from such a young age. Looking at the FAS website, it says I require to take a colour blind test. I have taken one on the internet before and not being able to identify any of the numbers. But with wires etc I have no problem. Will this fail stop me from getting my dream job?

Mr Benevolent

Which colourblindness do you have? They always say you need to take a colour blindness test in FAS, they usually don't do it though. If you do have to take one just don't say 'I'm colourblind'. Take the test and if you pass then that's acceptable. They usually use the Ishiara (sp?) test. Also, give the course director a call and ask him, can't hurt to know.

anon11

Well when i done my apprenticship you had to have a colour blindness test done by an opticians:)

artic

Dundalk-Dragger wrote: »

Hi, next year when I leave school I hope to find a apprenticeship as a Motor Mechanic. It has been my dream from such a young age. Looking at the FAS website, it says I require to take a colour blind test. I have taken one on the internet before and not being able to identify any of the numbers. But with wires etc I have no problem. Will this fail stop me from getting my dream job?

Yes, now more than ever being able to determine what colour a wire is due to the amount of electronics in cars let alone not being able to drive them with no driving license.

mullingar

At OP.

Dont forget that your LCD/CRT screen (+ graphics card) might not display the true colours correctly.
The only way to do a colour-blindness test is with the correct coloured cards and methods in opticians.

Cheap PC screens might only be designed to show around 4000 shades of colour. Some expensive plasma screens that try to show true colour can display around 60,000,000 colours.

cashmni1

Confab wrote: »

Which colourblindness do you have? They always say you need to take a colour blindness test in FAS, they usually don't do it though. If you do have to take one just don't say 'I'm colourblind'. Take the test and if you pass then that's acceptable. They usually use the Ishiara (sp?) test. Also, give the course director a call and ask him, can't hurt to know.

+1
Confab speaks the truth!

I had to take a color test for a class A medical for flying, which I duely failed, because I am "partialy" color blind. I have a red and green color defenciey, along with a huge percentage of males that dont even know they have it.
All the tests are fine accept the book of Ishihara. Its a book with pages of dots. On the pages there is a number "hidden" to me but very viseable to everyone elce.
If you can tell your primary colors (traffic lights, etc.) you should be fine.

mullingar

Found the test for red-green colour-blindness (the most common):








If you are colourblind you will get the following result:

25
Spots
Spots
56
Spots
Spots

If you have normal vision you will see (Answer is hidden in white text between the lines, highlight with mouse to show):
__________________
25
29
45
56
6
8
____________


Interesting fact:
About 12 - 20 percent of the white, male population and a tiny fraction of the female population suffers from red-green colour blindness.

woody33

I did an electronics course years ago, I failed the dotty test but then they showed me a collection of coloured wires and I had no problem identifing them. They were happy with that and said I was only "hue blind". It might be worth asking would that be ok.

cashmni1

Thanks Mullingar, thats exactly the test - spot on. :pac:






now I remember how colour blind I am!!

Dundalk-Dragger

Looking at them pictures I only did get the 25 and 56

Dundalk-Dragger

Also is there a way around this? Like certain glasses or anything?

Carawaystick

there's no way around it, there's incorrectly formed colour sensors in your eyes.
The coloured wire test seems a decent way around it if it's acceptable.

There's a scene in little miss sunshine about colour blindness - it might be similar to what you feel about it now....

beachlife

Dundalk-Dragger wrote: »

Also is there a way around this? Like certain glasses or anything?

i wouldn't be to worried about it to be honest. you'll be able to see the big red stickers and the yellow warnings and the wiring has all numbered pins these days any way and usually its strong colours eg black with a white strip or green with a blue strip etc...

Dundalk-Dragger

Anymore advice or help guys? Is there a chance they could turn around and say sorry you can not be a mechanic

mullingar

There is only one way to find out if they will accept you.


DO THEIR TEST!

Bernmeath

Hi,
My son is hoping to get an interview for apprentice avionics engineer, did the aptitude test a couple of days ago. He is colour deficient - red / green. Is it a requirement for this career to pass a colour test? and does anyone know if it is do they accept the chromagen lens to be used to pass the test.
Thanks everyone.
B

mullingar

I dont know what the minimum requirements are for the aviation industry vs the motoring industry in terms of eyesight; but I would have a feeling that the eyesight colour blindness test would be a lot stricter in the aviation industry