The first trade we teach
Learn the basics of electrical work,one short lesson at a time
Start from zero: staying safe, how circuits work, then wiring, testing and inspection. The first 3 parts of the path are free, and so are every topic guide and the glossary.
The electrical path
6 parts, from the very basics to the specialist stuff. The first 3 are free.
- 1Free
Career Taster
The absolute basics from scratch — current, circuits, earthing and the fuse board — then what electricians actually do all day.
- 2Free
Sparks Basics
Staying safe on site, the tools of the trade, and how to make a circuit safe to touch.
- 3Free
Electrical Science
Ohm's law, series and parallel circuits, power and the maths behind them.
- 4Plus
Installation
Wiring systems, cable selection and sizing, earthing and bonding, consumer units.
- 5Plus
Testing & Inspection
How electricians check an installation is safe — first switched off, then live.
- 6Plus
The Regs and Practice Papers
Finding your way round the wiring rules, what the latest update changed, and practice papers.
Start with these topics
Free, plain-English guides with sample questions. No account needed.
Safe Isolation Procedure
Safe isolation is the habit that keeps you alive before you touch a circuit: switch it off, lock it off, then prove it is dead.
Earthing & Bonding
Earthing gives fault current a path back so the protection can trip.
UK Cable Colours
Brown is line, blue is neutral, green-and-yellow is earth — but older installations still carry red and black, and three-phase adds grey to the mix.
Ohm's Law
Ohm's law — voltage equals current times resistance — is the one equation every electrical calculation eventually stands on.
RCD Types
An RCD is a safety switch that trips when current leaks out of a circuit.
Consumer Units
The consumer unit — the fuse board — is where a home's supply splits into circuits, each with its own protection.
Try a rig
Simplified on-screen models that help explain the ideas. They do not establish that real work is safe.
- Safe isolationMake a circuit safe to work on, one careful step at a time.
- Consumer unit (fuse board)Wire up the box every circuit in a house starts from.
- Testing a socket circuitTake three readings and work out whether the sockets are wired right.
- Multi-function testerGet to know the meter electricians test with, and take a reading.
- Earthing and bondingSee how a home is earthed, and which pipes need connecting to it.
- Fault findingSomething has stopped working. Take readings, then find out why.
- Inspection reportsLook at what an inspector found and decide how serious it is.
The words electricians use
Each term in plain English, linked to where you meet it in the lessons.
Check what you have picked up
Quick quizzes in your browser, and a practice paper in the style of the UK wiring-regulations test.
Before you work on your own home
Some of what the path teaches is work you may not sign off yourself.
Doing it yourself? Read this first
Some electrical work in your own home is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations — a new circuit, a consumer-unit change, or work on a circuit close to a bath or shower — and you cannot certify it yourself. There are two main lawful routes: an electrician registered with a competent-person scheme certifies and notifies it, or you tell your local authority building control before you start and pay for the inspection. In England only, an installer who is not scheme-registered can instead book a registered third-party certifier before work starts. Part P covers England and Wales, and Wales notifies more kinds of work than England does; Scotland and Northern Ireland run their own building standards. Every job, notifiable or not, still has to meet BS 7671. We teach you how the work is done and why — finishing a lesson is not a certificate, and it does not make you a competent person under any scheme.
Thinking about it as a career?
If the lessons make you want to train, these pages explain the real routes in. We help you explore; we do not award qualifications.
- How to become an electrician →
- Electrician apprenticeships →
- Is electrical work right for me? →
- What electricians are paid →
- Will AI take electricians’ jobs? →
An independent learning app. Not affiliated with City & Guilds or the IET; qualification names are cited for identification only.
Also learning
Other hands-on trades we teach, each with its own learning path and career guide.
Choose electrical learning for your stage
Updated
New to the trade
Start with what the work involves, safety and simple circuit ideas. Use the career guide to compare an apprenticeship with college followed by workplace assessment. Online practice prepares you for study; it does not replace supervised practical work.
Already studying
Choose the topic that matches your current unit, revisit its key terms and try a short practice set. For wiring-regulations revision, check that your reference book and exam booking match the current amendment before moving to a timed mock.
Questions to take further
- Can I learn electrical theory online before starting college?
- Yes. Short explanations and questions can help you build vocabulary and confidence with theory. Practical training, assessment and the qualification route remain separate.
Sources
- HSE: electrical safety questions — Safe working, isolation and the need for appropriate competence.
- IET: current wiring regulations — The current BS 7671 edition and amendments; our learning guidance is independent.