Access Training Reviews 

Access training provide good training and the tutors are professional.
I attended my nvq assessment/training at Edenbridge and found it an incredible experience with Charles. Great assessor!

I did my Plumbing course in 2021 at Access training and it was brilliant, I came back to do my Gas course, the tutors are amazing, Adam and Stuart, they have a lot of knowledge, they answer all our questions and they give us all the support we need to understand better, for them I would definitely put 5 starts, but I put 3 starts, because the sales team let me down, Keith in the sales team had no knowledge about the course, I asked him if I can do this course on the weekend, he said absolutely you can, and you can do it in our new centre in slough as it is nearer to me, but once I started the course I found out that the exams are on week days as well as the practical weeks, and slough centre didn’t open and it won’t have Gas training in it. I tried to call Keith many times to confront him with this and I wrote to access training many times about this, so it won’t happen to others. The second issue was when booking practical training, there was no dates available, I contacted access training to check if there are any dates available, they replied that I need to login to my portal everyday and check if there are any dates available and book them because they get booked so quick. This wasn’t acceptable, I paid a huge amount of money to get this course done, it is not the responsibility of the students to keep chasing the admin to provide dates and keep checking portals every minute, that was frustrating and delayed my course time. The communication between the Admin/Access training and the students is very poor, we as students are stuck once we finish a section of our portal, we keep calling the centre, no one answers the phone, we keep emailing, no one replies, the online chat doesn’t work because no one reply. To end this frustration, Access training needs to look into sorting this, so we don’t feel trapped, and we can recommend the college to others and we can return for more courses in the future.

I enrolled in this programme expecting the level of support and communication that was advertised, particularly around opportunities to earn while studying. Unfortunately, that hasn’t been my experience.

I’ve made several attempts to get in touch and, although I’ve been told someone would contact me, I’ve never received any meaningful follow-up or assistance. The lack of communication has been extremely disappointing and has left me feeling unsupported.

As a result, I’m paying additional costs without the extra income I was led to expect. This has put me under unnecessary financial pressure and has caused a great deal of stress for both me and my family.

I’m sharing this feedback in the hope that the organisation takes it seriously and improves its communication and support for future students. No one should have to repeatedly chase for answers while continuing to pay for a programme without receiving the guidance they’ve been promised

Brian has been a great tutor; patient and has a variety of methods for explaining things to make them easier to understand.
The course is very interesting and challenging with a big volume of information and concepts to be assimilated.

NVQ Practical Training and Assessment was conducted very well in Edenbridge by Charles. Would highly recommend! Gained some valuable knowledge and skills.

I signed up and just completed the online recorded webinars. There is a lot of information to take in and Rob breaks them down into 3hr sittings and makes them easier to understand and to take information in.
As a beginner and new to the trade he helps a lot and prepares you well for the next stage.

I registered with Access Training after seeing their advertisements about the shortage of electricians in the UK. After doing some research, I found that there is indeed a shortage, but the reality is more complicated. Finding your first job without practical experience can still be very difficult. For that reason, I believe the advertising can be slightly misleading, as it may give people the impression that completing the course will lead to immediate employment.

Once you register, expect to study seriously and independently. The webinars delivered by Rob are generally well explained, and he makes it clear that students must put in a considerable amount of work to pass the theory exams. You should not expect every piece of information to be spoon-fed to you.

However, the video quality was disappointing, with some recordings appearing to be very low resolution. Some of the teaching materials could also be improved. There were several occasions when I had to use external resources to properly understand topics that were not clear from the course materials.

Also asking for reviews after the end of webinars seems a bit too rushed,as the end of the webinars will not be the end of your experience with them,you will have a lot of work to go through with them later on,so asking for a reviews so early made me skeptical why they had so many positive reviews.
If you take a look at the reviews where people went further, they will point out the actual positives and negatives, same as I am doing.

Failing an exam is a bit costly, as each resit costs £50. After some research, other companies charge more, up to £100 per exam, but others only £25, so this is a positive.

Waiting times can be an issue. In my experience, it was possible to wait up to two months for another theory exam slot. Although this gives you plenty of time to revise, it can significantly delay your progress through the course.

After passing the theory exams, you move on to the practical training. I completed two weeks of training with Mark at the Welwyn Garden City centre. He was knowledgeable and supportive, but some of his explanations felt rushed. At times, other students and I were left just as confused after asking a question.

It sometimes felt as though students were expected to arrive with a strong understanding from the theory modules and webinars. Personally, much of the theory did not fully make sense until I was able to apply it during practical training.

The test equipment was modern and in good condition, but some of the simulation boards at the Welwyn Garden City centre were worn and could have been maintained better.

After completing the practical training, I booked the four-day assessment. I was assessed by Sheila, who was excellent throughout the process. She was professional, supportive and fair, and I have no complaints about the way she conducted the assessment.

Overall, the course is well structured and provides a large amount of learning material. The webinars, online resources and Google Drive materials supplied by Rob and the team give students a solid foundation. However, the quality of some recordings and teaching materials could be improved, and shorter waiting times for exams would help students complete the course more efficiently.

You should also expect to become familiar with BS 7671, Guidance Note 3 and several other books that may need to be purchased separately, as not everything is provided as part of the course.

Access Training can be a good starting point for someone who wants to enter the electrical industry, but it is not an easy or guaranteed route into employment. You will need to study independently, invest additional time and money, and actively search for opportunities to gain real-world experience.

Great experience studying with Accesstraining
Academy I studied my plumbing NvQ now doing gas course it’s really helpful all tutor

I'm currently doing my plumbing course. It has taken me 8 weeks to complete 2 weeks of theory training and exams as they take weeks to give you results and to book onto exams. The scheduling is poor.
Secondly, I have to wait another 2 months to complete my practical (should have been 3 weeks). I've had to book at different centers including London to get this done quicker, whixh will cost me a lot of money for hotels. ( Based in Manchester ). If I wait for a Manchester slot I will be waiting until November to do just 3 weeks of work. So 3 months of wasting my time.
Honestly the times in between for slots available is shocking for the money you pay. I would go somewhere where its more personal and gets it done quicker.
Supposedly this is a "fast track" course for career changers etc.
I will be waiting way over 6 months to complete this whilst not working and trying to get it done.
Poor communication, mis-leading, half the time I don't get a call back or an email.
Do better!
They could slot me into a spot in Manchester but only have 6 spots available, or wait another three months for the next spot 🤣🤣.

I have just completed the electrician practical training in Nottingham. The beginning of the 2 weeks was such a blur but I have left feeling that I have progressed massively.
There were hiccups over the 2 weeks but John, the trainer, didn't let anything phase him and he has given me the best chance of passing the practical assessment possible.

Just finished my week 1 training at Leeds branch. Really enjoyed my week, Kev was brilliant, very friendly and helpful throughout the week, excellent Knowledge from a true professional plumber with loads of experience IRL. Facility is really well kitted out also, plenty of room to work.

Stuart S., Adam and Gareth at Welwyn Gardens been great very helpful and knowledgeable making everyone one of us feel comfortable this 5 stars is only aimed at Teachers as they were great and wish the best for them only recommended due to the teachers as the company itself makes it difficult to progress due to lack of communication… but other than these tutors are brilliant tutors.

Stuart,Eden and Gary are really helpful when I was doing practical gas training, definitely recommend 👍🏻

Enjoyed the course, was able to get some useful insights of how to install cisterns.

How to do a bathroom and low Carbon steel

Thank
Stewart and Ian Manchester,

I’ve just finished my 2 weeks practical training with Simon Rose over at the Farringdon training centre, this is not Simon’s usual centre so appreciate him taking the journey over. Even though it’s only 10 days training, Simon has lots of experience and knowledge that helped me go from having 0 experience in electrics to feeling confident enough to book my practical exams. Cheers for your help Simon

Had a great time at the Southampton centre while studying for my NVQ 2 in electrics. Mark is an outstanding trainer with many years of experience and tact in teaching. While delivering the lessons, he is able to relate them to life scenarios that further enhance your understanding of what is being taught.

It seems I’ve got the short end of the stick. I started paying for this gas course on 23/05/2024, and I am still waiting to do part 2 of my practical training. Access has been very poor with communication and reaching out to me when cancellations occur. I have been constantly taking time off work to do this, which has caused a lot of financial burden. In total, I have taken 6 weeks off, with only 1 week actually doing my practical training. After I reach out, I’m given dates for a centre that is too far away for me (that’s if they even respond), and I’m expected to take more time off, which I cannot do. Dealing with this has sucked the life out of me. This was supposed to be a career change to improve my life. Instead, it feels like time and money wasted.

Completed my plumbing course in Cardiff with Pete lansdown the plumbing legend. Great tutor very knowledgeable and takes his time explaining things. Definitely recommend the Cardiff centre.

Stuart and Andy were brilliant. Good accomodation considering my bookings were messed up. Taught me a lot and learnt a lot through them! Thank you for a great week

Niamh helped me create me CV for my change in career and, wow, she was excellent! I’m so impressed with how she transformed it for potential employers into something really professional and standout. Cheers, Niamh!