Instrumentation

pat_cork

Good morning I have an interview later on this week with a calibration company the position I've applied for is apprentice instrument craftperson and I have a few questions about it.

Am I right in thinking that this position is the same as electrical instrumentation?
What's the pay like once qualified?
Is there work in other countries?
How much training is required on completion of the apprenticeship to become an electrician?
Would it be possible to swap over to an electrical apprenticeship after a couple of phases of this or would one have to start afresh?

Thanks
Pat

DiscoReaper

pat_cork wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that this position is the same as electrical instrumentation?
What's the pay like once qualified?
Is there work in other countries?
How much training is required on completion of the apprenticeship to become an electrician?
Would it be possible to swap over to an electrical apprenticeship after a couple of phases of this or would one have to start afresh

Hi Pat

as far as I know ( afaik ) the old style instrumentation apprenticeship no longer exists .... its E&I now, which is a different beast
as regards swopping over from electrical to E&I, afaik .. FAS do not allow this .... but like all great FAS rules this will depend on who / what you know

Pay varies greatly depending on what area of industry you work in, currently there's Instrumentation jobs available in Ireland for €33/hr with €50 a day unreciepted expenses ( accommodation etc ) so asking how much or what the rates are is like asking how long is a piece of string
Oil & Gas / Pharma industries traditionally have a few quid more to throw at skill, so follow the money
As regards other countries, theres a sea of work out there for experienced well qualified techs, middle east , north sea, you name it!

2011

pat_cork wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that this position is the same as electrical instrumentation?

Yes, as per DiscoReaper's answer it would seem that the craft of electrical instrumentation replaces the older craft of instrumentation.

What's the pay like once qualified?

This can vary, but generally the pay is better than that of an industrial electrician (particularly in the pharmaceutical sector). Electricians working in industrial installations generally enjoy better pay than electricians working in domestic installations.

Is there work in other countries?

Yes, again I would agree with DiscoReaper's reply.
Most of the work is in the petrochemical or pharmaceutical sectors.
From my experience working in my tools in an E & I role in the Netherlands and Germany (oil refineries and chemical plants) the pay is significantly better than that in Ireland. The cost of living / beer / going out / etc. was far less too, but that is for another thread

The people that make the best money in these roles generally work in the middle east.

How much training is required on completion of the apprenticeship to become an electrician?

I am not sure. It would be best contact ask Fás, but I would suggest that you look for an answer in writing as answers may vary otherwise

Would it be possible to swap over to an electrical apprenticeship after a couple of phases of this or would one have to start afresh?

I would think that would depend on your employer and Fás.

Speaking as a person that qualified as an electrician first and then moved over into instrumentation at a later date I would expect that instrumentation would offer a brighter future. In my opinion an instrumentation crafts role is technically more challenging, far more interesting, there are more employment opportunities and generally the pay is better than that of an electrician.

HoggyRS

pat_cork wrote: »

Good morning I have an interview later on this week with a calibration company the position I've applied for is apprentice instrument craftperson and I have a few questions about it.

Am I right in thinking that this position is the same as electrical instrumentation?
What's the pay like once qualified?
Is there work in other countries?
How much training is required on completion of the apprenticeship to become an electrician?
Would it be possible to swap over to an electrical apprenticeship after a couple of phases of this or would one have to start afresh?

Thanks
Pat

Contray to what the lads have said, the instrumentation trade is still alive and kicking and seperate from the e/i trade. That said i dont think theyve had a phase 2 for a year or 2. But Hanley Calibrations and other companies are still sending apprentices through the Instrumentation apprenticeship. Your training will be different to that of and e/i apprentice in that basically the e/i trade is 70% of the electrical syllabus and 70% of the instrumentation trade, while obviously instrumentation is 100% instruments.

If you are in fact doing e/i than at the end of your apprenticeship you will be a fully qualified electrician and a fully qualified instrument tech so there would be no further training required. If your doing instruments you would need to serve another apprenticeship as a spark. Glaxosmithkline have been known to send instrument techs back to serve the electrical apprenticeship since the advent of the e/i trade.

2011

HoggyRS wrote: »

Contray to what the lads have said, the instrumentation trade is still alive and kicking and seperate from the e/i trade.

My bad, I see it here in apprenticeship listing.

crasy dash

pat_cork wrote: »

Good morning I have an interview later on this week with a calibration company the position I've applied for is apprentice instrument craftperson and I have a few questions about it.

Am I right in thinking that this position is the same as electrical instrumentation?
What's the pay like once qualified?
Is there work in other countries?
How much training is required on completion of the apprenticeship to become an electrician?
Would it be possible to swap over to an electrical apprenticeship after a couple of phases of this or would one have to start afresh?

Thanks
Pat

Any update from the interview?Hope it went well for you:o
Let us know how you got on id be interested in doing itself myself.

Just sent you a pm there Pat.

DiscoReaper

my bad too ....
but was base on the fact that recently the instrumentation company I was working for couldn't enrol Instrumentation techs on an apprenticeship with FAS and had to go down the E&I route .... personally I think this is a good thing anyway !