Optical Services Ltd 
UK: 01539 621219
We provide a range of "introductory" level optical fibre and copper cabling training courses (listed below), but these should not be confused with lesser courses from some alternative sources. All of Lucid's introductory level courses impart a significant level of knowledge to the trainees and often fill important gaps in the knowledge levels of even more experienced staff. They are certainly well beyond the level defined as 'introductory' by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF), and indeed most would be at, or around, level 2 if they were formally assessed. We refer to these courses as introductory courses simply because we do not assume any previous knowledge or experience, and we are training to a level of knowledge that, whilst useful, would not, in isolation, fully prepare a trainee for a practical job in the fibre optics or copper cabling world. In essence, courses we describe as being introductory impart a great deal of knowledge and for particular training courses some good skills, but there is generally insufficient time available to enable a trainee to practice a practical skill for long enough to become confident.
Introductory level training courses are typically aimed at the following groups of people:
managers requiring a rounded knowledge of fibre optics or copper cabling technologies and practices
new staff joining the fibre optics or copper cabling industry wishing to get up to speed quickly and efficiently
supervisors required to oversee optical fibre or copper cable installation and testing work
experienced engineers wishing to fill gaps in their knowledge or hone their practical skills by seeing, from an expert, how things should be done (many experienced engineers have been taught on the job, and this training and hence skill levels can vary through no fault of their own)
clients who wish to be aware of optical fibre cabling or copper cabling practices prior to commissioning a network
some maintenance staff who would like to have a skill level that would enable basic maintenance of a cable network when required
This list is not definitive, since there are times when some of the groups of people described above may be better placed to go straight for a longer 'intermediate' level course such as the City & Guilds 3666 programme that yields a well known and respected national qualification. With effective quality training from our enthusiastic and patient trainers, this qualification is well within the reach of most trainees who are completely new to any form of cabling, but it does require a minimum of 5 days training and assessment.
Click here for an overview of where topics fit into the fibre optics industry.
Introductory Optical Fibre Training Courses
Introductory Copper Cabling Training CoursesIn office environments, it is very diificult for optical fibre solutions to compete with the ease or termination and hence connectivity offered by copper datacoms cables. Since many specifications and tests performed on copper cables are difficult for non-technical people to understand, the standard of copper cable solutions for the datacoms local area network (LAN) environment has been defined based on a category system.
The lowest category of copper cabling installed into offices in the UK is now likely to be 'Cat 5', and most likely the enhanced version of Cat 5 known as Cat 5e. More exacting users are now installing Cat 6 cable and connector solutions, allowing higher bandwidth (faster communications / data transfer), but Cat 7 solutions are also being released into the datacoms cabling market place.
Note our introductory training courses in Category 6 network cable installation and testing are ideal for experienced Category 5 cable installers wishing to upgrade their skills and knowledge.
Cat 7 solutions are involve more screening of the conductors and the terminations or connections. This typically leeds to bulkier and heavier cables with more complicate termination requiring more care and hence time. This has lead some experts to suggest that Cat 7 could be the 'bridge too far' for copper cable, and the point at which fibre begins to replace cpper in the datacoms LAN environment. We believe the reality is that fibre will definitely be used more in the LAN market, but both fibre and copper will be used to feed wireless LAN solutions which are proving very popular in a more mobile world. The end result is the desire for communications anywhere and everywhere will mean a strong demand for cabling installers and testers for the forseeable future.
As a specialist cable training provider, the wireless LAN market may appear a threat, and yet the adoption of this technology has driven a demand for cabling to network the wireless access points. The result is that the people installing wireless LAN technology are required to also install cables, and hence we now offer a copper datacoms cabling course with an additional 1-day course on designing and implementing wireless LANs.
Please contact us to discuss the above course of what we can offer your organisation in the way of wireless LAN training courses.
If you cannot see the introductory fibre optics or copper cabling course for you, for more information on these courses, or if you wish to book a course please contact us...