City and Guilds 3668
The City & Guilds 3668 is the UK’s industry standard qualification in fibre optics. The 3668 fibre unit, and the older 3667, 3666 and 3466 equivalent, is recognised as such by the FIA (Fibre-optics Industry Association). The 3668 scheme is approved by the UK Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA), to give successful candidates a level 2 award (GSCE A-C equivalent). The course content has been updated in consultation with the UK fibre optics industry to ensure that the course syllabus is both relevant and up-to-date, reflecting the latest industry standards & codes of practice. Indeed the Fibreoptic Industry Association (FIA) has approved the City and Guilds 3667 scheme as the cornerstone practical skills qualification for people wishing to enter the fibre optics industry in UK.The 3667 award is recognised internationally wherever the UK and European standards for cable installation are used. This includes UK, the rest of Europe, Australia, India, most of the Far East and Africa. Only the USA use a different set of standards.
The 3668 qualification scheme:
The new 3668 scheme consists of 4 units which can be taken independently. Successful candidates will be awarded a certificate of unit credit for each completed unit. To achieve the full 3668 Certificate, unit 1 and any one of units 2, 3 and 4 must be taken.
3668 Unit 1: Basic Principles of Communication Systems: Safe working practices, SI units, dB and symbols, communication systems and datacommunication. Theory only, no practical skills content. Assessment by invigilated online exam.
3668 Unit 2: Fibre Optic Cabling: Optical fibre basics, safe working practices, SI units, dB and symbols, fibre optic cables, ODFs and equipment, fibre preparation, fitting connectors, splicing, internal installation procedures and testing. The 3668 Unit 2 now includes both internal/multimode fibre, previously covered in 3667 unit 2 and external/single-mode fibre installations previously covered in 3667 unit 3. Covers both theory and hands-on training. Assessments include both practical skills and an online exam.
3668 Unit 3: Structured Cabling (Copper Datacoms): Basic electric theory and datacoms principles, safe working practices, SI units, dB and symbols, standards and structured cabling, copper cables and components, termination, installation procedures and copper network cable testing. Covers both theory and hands-on training. Assessments include practical skills and an online exam.
3668 Unit 4: Fibre and Cable Blowing: Duct, fibre cable and blown fibre basics, blowing equipment, safe working practices, external installation procedures, documentation and testing. Assessments include practical skills only.
Practical Details:
The 3668 courses are available both as company events on your site, and as public scheduled courses open to individual bookings.
We run the public 3668 courses in two locations:
Lucid Training Centre in Garsdale is about 15 min from M6 J37, convenient for North of England and Scotland
Crawley near Gatwick Airport: Convenient for London and the South
We generally take max 6 delegates on public courses, and for a fibre course we supply at least 3 modern fusion splicers, 3 OTDRs and 3 complete sets of handtools for a full course of three pairs of trainees, so there will be plenty of time for the trainer to help everyone, and no waiting for equipment.
The assessments consists of a practical skills test, where the trainer watch you carry out a number of tasks correctly, and a theory test that you take on a PC or laptop under exam conditions.
Who should attend:
- Installation technicians and supervisors who will be installing
telecoms, CATV, CCTV, fibre optic or copper datacoms systems - Managers, engineers, planners and sales staff who require an introduction to theoretical and practical aspects of fibre optics or copper communications cabling
- Test engineers who will be required to perform communications
system characterisation or acceptance testing - Maintenance staff who will be required to perform routine
maintenance or emergency fault finding and repair.
Open Awards Level 3 Awards
Delegates who complete a 5-day fibre course or a 4-day copper course with Lucid also have the opportunity to complete the assessments to gain a level 3 qualification from Open Award. At Lucid we have always gone beyond the level 2 requirements for our courses, and the OA awards recognise this.
OA Level 3 Award in Fibre Optics Installation and Testing: This qualification is recognised by the ECS for full “ECS Infrastructure Installer (Level 3) Card” . As a full level 3 award listed on the RQF , it also qualifies for ELCAS resettlement funding.
OA Level 3 Award in Copper Datacoms Cable Installation and Testing: This qualification is recognised by the ECS for full “ECS Infrastructure Installer (Level 3) Card” . As a full level 3 award listed on the RQF , it also qualifies for ELCAS resettlement funding.
Why Chose Lucid for your City & Guilds 3668?
We believe we offer the highest quality of training and the best support, but don’t just listen to us, click on this link for the views of the experts who inspect us and our training from City and Guilds. These are the independent people who can tell you about training centres, and very few training centres are prepared to publish their comments as we do.
When comparing pricing please ensure that the cost quoted to you includes everything you expect. We have come across some training providers offering City and Guilds 3668 training courses and then asking for more money if you want to be enrolled to gain the qualification itself. We believe this is sharp practice to make the course look good value, but technically they have only promised you the City and Guilds 3668 training and not the enrolment, assessments and certificates.
Awards after the City & Guilds 3668 Qualification
Following your City and Guilds 3668 qualification Lucid can offer you a range of more advanced qualification in the testing or design and planning of fibre optic and copper communications networks. Wherever possible we provide recognised qualifications from licensed awarding bodies. These are not just our own certificates, although we do find that our own course attendance certificates are well recognised and respected within the industry too.
The City & Guilds 3667 scheme
The “3668-02 qualification in communications cabling” took over from the 3667 qualification in 2022.
I have already done a unit of 3667 can I do further units and complete it?
No. The option to take further 3667 units ended August 2024, two years after new enrolments for 3667 qualification ended – enrolments on City & Guilds schemes generally remain valid for 2 years, after which you have to re-enrol to take further units.
Can I upgrade my 3666 or 3667 to the 3668?
Yes you can. City & Guilds do not offer any specific conversion or upgrades of the 3667 units to the equivalent 3668 ones. But, if you did your previous 3667 qualification with Lucid, you would only have to complete online tests for Unit 1 and 2, and a short practical assessment. This is because the City & Guilds qualifications are based on demonstrating an appropriate level of skill and understanding in a formal assessment. There is no requirement to attend any specific training sessions before the assessments, hence we would not require you to repeat the training.
If you would like to upgrade but did NOT do your 3667 units with Lucid, – please contact us to discuss the options. We would not have any records of your previous practical assessments, so the situation is more complicated.
If the main reason for upgrading is to gain a full level 3 ECS card, we may be able to arrange for a shorter course completing only the OA Level 3 Award – please contact us to discuss the options.
Finally, for people who are currently comfortable with their fibre skills and just need an upgrade in order to get a full ECS card, the best value for money option could be to take the City & Guilds 3668 Unit 3 Copper course, which will give the full 3668 Certificate and the OA level 3 award, as well as a new skillset…