Day February 17, 2026

The UK vocational education system was built on an assumption that no longer holds: that you train once between ages 16 and 21, then work in that trade for 40 years using the same knowledge. This front-loaded, linear model defined technical workforce development from the 1960s through the early 2000s. That system is collapsing. Not from failure, but from obsolescence.

"How do I register as an electrician?" gets asked thousands of times monthly by newly qualified electricians, career changers completing training, and employed sparks going self-employed. The frustrating answer is: there's no single registration process in the UK. 

If you're targeting electrical roles in Indian shipyards like Cochin Shipyard Limited, Mazagon Dock, or Garden Reach Shipbuilders, or heavy industry positions at BHEL, NTPC, or Larsen & Toubro, you need to understand something critical: colour vision standards in these sectors are significantly stricter than domestic electrical work. This isn't arbitrary discrimination. Shipyard electrical work involves high-voltage power distribution systems on vessels where a single identification error could disable fire suppression during an emergency with 200 workers in confined spaces.

If you're applying for electrical trainee or executive trainee positions at Indian PSUs or shipyards, you've probably seen "Normal Colour Vision Required" buried in the medical standards section of recruitment notifications. That single line can end months of preparation if you have colour vision deficiency (CVD), commonly called colour blindness. The reality is straightforward: colour vision deficiency frequently disqualifies candidates from technical electrical roles in Indian Public Sector Undertakings and shipyards.

Between April 2020 and September 2021, "Can you train while furloughed?" became one of the UK's most-searched employment questions. Google Trends data shows the query spiked to 200-300% above baseline during the first lockdown in April 2020, with 8.9 million workers furloughed and suddenly facing enforced downtime, job insecurity, and urgent questions about what they could legally do with their time. Fast forward to February 2026, and the question feels like ancient history. The Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme ended in September 2021.