# electricians vetasses practical exam



## coynie (Jan 13, 2008)

hi to all sparkies,
im trying to find out about the practical exam i'll have to do.
has anyone done it yet and what does it consist of.
Also i heard that you have face to face questions, if so whats it all about and was it hard.
Thanks in advance to anyone who replies. all input greatly received.
All the best.http://www.expatforum.com/expats/images/icons/icon10.gif
Talking


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## Dolly (Feb 17, 2008)

Hi there,

There are quite a few sparkies who post on here....I'm sure they'll be able to give you the advice you need.

In the meantime, do a search on the forum and see if you come up with anything.

Dolly


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## SA_Andy (Aug 28, 2008)

Coynie

I've poached this - it's the best account of the practical I've seen so far. 

++++++++++++++++++++++++

Practical Assessment
If you are due to do a practical electrician assessment with VETASSESS, it will take place in City College, Birmingham, and will be over 2 days. It is your responsibility to find accomodation in Birmingham (I did £49 Holiday Inn Express)!
A practical assessment is outlined, and you are provided with an individual work bay in the college. You are provided with info on what is required -ie cables run in conduit (saddle bends etc), surface mounted, distribution board, accessories etc. All materials are provided (eg switches, cable, d/b,mcb's, conduit). At the end (allowed 3hrs) you will need to test the electrical installation (IR and continuity), record results, and finally make the inst. live. I recommend you take your IR/Cont tester (make sure it's calibrated!).
After a brief lunch, you are then given a 3 page written test, and this covers questions such as resistors in parallel, series, units of measurements etc. The type of thing you learn at college....
There are another series of practicals. One of them is to wire a DOL starter from scratch with a remote on and emergency stop. After completion and working, a fault is made on this, and you have to carry out full test proceedures to rectify.
After all this, you are then given a series of technical questions verbally, and then this is followed by a technical interview.
I was absolutely knackered at the end!! 
Everything is explained very well to you by the assessor. You are under constant supervision, and throughout the practical assessment you will be asked technical questions, such as expected readings on inspection and testing work, expected earth fault loop readings etc. This is from memory, and you are not allowed any books such as BS7671 on site guide etc.
You are required to wear PPE clothing etc as required by the college.
You will then find out if you have been successful by receipt of letter from Vetassess. The assessor is not able to provide you with the outcome.

It's worth all the hastle, because at the end of the day you are assessed here and not in Oz, and you are able to apply for provisional licence when you arrive in Oz. The assessor is from Box Hill TAFE, which is one of the organisations that carries out assessments of migrants in Oz.

+++++++++++++++++++++++

Sounds pretty basic to me - very much like my trade test which I did about 12 years ago.


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## coynie (Jan 13, 2008)

SA_Andy said:


> Coynie
> 
> I've poached this - it's the best account of the practical I've seen so far.
> 
> ...


thanks mate
it sounds a bit like a cross between the AM1 & AM2. i've never had much to do with resistors in parrallel or series though that came after i started my apprenticship back in the dark ages.
do you know how critical the answers are.
regards


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## steven_cordier (Nov 2, 2010)

how much did your assesment cost?


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## andy-down-under (Jan 1, 2016)

*vetassess electrical practical assessment*

Hi there,

I'm preparing for the vetassess electrical practical assessment and was wondering if somebody could clarify some of my questions.

1. Does anyone know if the disconnection / re-connection procedure in the Vetassess guide booklet has to be followed step by step?
When I read through the disconnection process I recognised that the protective device should be isolated in step 16 and not at the beginning.
Wouldn't it be safer to de-energise the equipment conductors first and preform all measurements afterwards?

2. What are your experience with the PEES document? Did you fill in as much as possible or only the basics?

I would be grateful to hear from anyone who may be able to help!


Cheers,
Andy


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