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Electrical and energy · UK

Electrical engineering virtual work experience

Yes, you can try electrical engineering work online for free. Choose one of 5 electrical roles and do days 1 to 5 of a simulated project: safe isolation, cable sizing, protection settings, panel design or solar and EV design. Around ten hours, every task checked, no card. It is practice, not a placement.

See the 5 roles Virtual work experience overview

Week one, role by role

What you do in the free week of the 5 electrical roles

Each role is a project at a simulated company. These are the real tickets of days 1 to 5, with the standards each one names.

Maintenance Electrical Engineer

Work orders, safe isolation, fault finding and a root-cause report.

Kelbridge Foods Ltd (simulated company) · free week about 10 hours

Tickets in days 1 to 5 (9)

Day 1: Induction: safe isolation and site electrical rules (50 min)
Day 1: Check a draft isolation certificate (1 h 10 min)
Day 2: Safe isolation of an MCC bucket (1 h 30 min)
Day 3: Thermography: class and action for each point (1 h 10 min)
Day 3: How far over its rating is the mixer motor? (50 min)
Day 4: The isolation boundary is not clear (35 min)
Day 4: Close out work order WO-2026-018342 (1 h)
Day 5: Find the hidden fault and repair it under lock-out (1 h 30 min)
Day 5: Re-order points for the critical spares (1 h)

Standards named: BS 7671; IEC 60364; Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 (safe work practice); HSE guidance HSG85 (electricity at work); PUWER 1998; IEEE 1584 (study method); ISO 55001.

Maintenance Electrical Engineer job simulation Start free

Electrical Design Engineer

Load list, single-line diagram, cable sizing and a late design change.

Halvern Power Design Ltd (simulated company) · free week about 9 hours

Tickets in days 1 to 5 (9)

Day 1: Induction: how we design and what the rules are (35 min)
Day 2: Complete the full-load currents on the load list (1 h 10 min)
Day 2: Maximum demand and transformer loading (55 min)
Day 3: Size five MCC-1 motor cables (1 h 20 min)
Day 4: Voltage drop on the 380 m run to EPS-1 (1 h)
Day 4: A drum of the wrong cable and a crane booked at 07:00 (30 min)
Day 5: Review the cable schedule Rev A (1 h 10 min)
Day 5: Raise the RFI: cable tray against ventilation duct (45 min)
Day 5: Commission a motor starter in the panel lab (1 h 15 min)

Standards named: BS 7671 / IEC 60364; IEC 61439; IEC 60909; IEC 60947-2.

Electrical Design Engineer job simulation Start free

Substation and MCC Engineer

Protection settings, relay tests and an inrush trip on a new feeder.

Hallowmere Power Engineering Ltd (simulated company) · free week about 12 hours

Tickets in days 1 to 5 (10)

Day 1: Induction: high voltage safety and relay testing rules (50 min)
Day 1: Relay function numbers on the single-line diagram (1 h 10 min)
Day 2: Read the single-line diagram in the lab (1 h 15 min)
Day 3: Size the current transformer for relay R2 (1 h 20 min)
Day 3: Check the protection setting schedule Rev A (1 h 20 min)
Day 4: Grade R1 against R2 at the maximum fault current (1 h 30 min)
Day 4: Grade the incomer relay in the lab (1 h 15 min)
Day 5: Complete the MCC-3 bucket schedule (1 h 30 min)
Day 5: Load the file from the USB stick for tomorrow's inspection? (40 min)
Day 5: Cover note for the protection setting schedule (1 h)

Standards named: IEC 60255-151; IEC 61869-2; IEC 61936-1; IEC 61439-1; EN 50110-1 (safe operation).

Substation and MCC Engineer job simulation Start free

Control Panel Design Engineer

GA drawing, schematics, BOM, heat calculation and the routine test.

Calderfield Panel Systems Ltd (simulated company) · free week about 10 hours

Tickets in days 1 to 5 (9)

Day 1: Induction: panel shop safety and the standards we work to (45 min)
Day 1: Complete the cable schedule (1 h 15 min)
Day 2: Wire and commission a motor starter in the panel lab (1 h 30 min)
Day 3: Check the general arrangement drawing Rev C (1 h 20 min)
Day 3: Choose the wire colour for each circuit (1 h)
Day 4: Heat dissipation: does the panel need a fan? (1 h 30 min)
Day 5: The extraction fan does not match the drawing (35 min)
Day 5: Write the request for information to the client (1 h)
Day 5: Check the parts list before the buyer orders (1 h 20 min)

Standards named: IEC 61439-1; IEC 61439-2; IEC 60204-1; IEC TR 60890; IEC 60947-1.

Control Panel Design Engineer job simulation Start free

Solar PV and EV Charging Engineer

Size a PV array, test it to IEC 62446 and fit EV chargers on a limited supply.

Calverdon Energy Installations Ltd (simulated company) · free week about 9 hours

Tickets in days 1 to 5 (9)

Day 1: Induction: safe work on solar and EV sites (35 min)
Day 2: String table: voltages at the coldest and hottest design day (1 h 10 min)
Day 2: Choose the string length and check the inverter inputs (1 h 10 min)
Day 3: String sizing in the lab (1 h 15 min)
Day 4: Check the string sizing calculation Rev A (1 h 10 min)
Day 4: AC cable from the inverter: current or voltage rise? (1 h)
Day 5: Six shaded modules and a roof crew waiting (30 min)
Day 5: Friday status email to the client (50 min)
Day 5: Six chargers on a 100 A supply: what does each one get? (1 h)

Standards named: IEC 62548; IEC 62446-1; IEC 61851-1; BS 7671 sections 712 and 722; G98 and G99.

Solar PV and EV Charging Engineer job simulation Start free

A sample ticket

Safe isolation: prove the tester, test dead, prove again

This is the public text of a real day 2 ticket. The acceptance line is the rule electricians call live, dead, live: you prove the tester on a known source, test the isolated equipment, then prove the tester again. A step in the wrong order is a failure, not a style choice.

KFM-103 A real ticket · about 90 min

Safe isolation of an MCC bucket

Raised by: Senior Maintenance Electrician, Kelbridge Foods Ltd (simulated company), from the Maintenance Electrical Engineer job simulation

The substation and MCC lab has a level where you isolate one motor bucket the safe way: stop, open, withdraw, lock, tag, prove the tester, test dead, prove again, earth and sign the permit. Choose the bucket named on the work order, take each step in the right order and notice what a drive bucket needs that a direct starter does not. A step in the wrong order is a failure, not a style choice. Complete the lab exercise in EDWartens Lab, then upload your FAT sheet.

Acceptance

The level passes all its checks.
The tester is proved before and after the dead test.

Hands-on

The EDWartens Lab tasks behind the tickets

Hands-on tickets are finished in EDWartens Lab and uploaded as a factory acceptance test (FAT) sheet. The labs are free to try without an account.

Control panel build

Wire terminals to a schedule, then check your work
Isolate, lock and tag, then prove dead: live, dead, live
Pass the factory acceptance test (FAT)

Open the control panel build lab

Substation and MCC

Read the single line diagram
Isolate, lock and tag a motor bucket
Prove dead the safe way with a voltage tester

Open the substation and mcc lab

Solar and EV charging

Test a solar string with a PV tester
Isolate the DC side of an array safely
Charge an EV and find a charger fault

Open the solar and ev charging lab

Also free: multimeter simulator and fault finding practice. All nine EDWartens Lab simulators.

UK standards

The standards named in the work

BS 7671 is the UK wiring regulations standard. The electrical roles also name IEC 61439 for assemblies, IEC 62446-1 for testing PV systems, IEC 60255-151 and IEC 61869-2 for protection and current transformers, and the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. They are named so you know them. The tasks use simplified data, so always read the current edition of anything you rely on.

Ireland

The standards named are UK ones, mainly BS 7671. If you work in Ireland, check the national rules that apply to you.

Checked 24 October 2026

How it compares with Forage and Springpod

Forage lists a GE Aerospace simulation called Explore Electrical Engineering, at 3 to 4 hours. Springpod lists four Siemens programmes in its sitemap. Both are free and carry employer names, and both give a free certificate. Neither is hands-on safe isolation, panel wiring or relay practice, as far as we found. Ours is longer, goes deeper on electrical tasks and checks your work; theirs is the better choice for an employer name.

Forage alternatives for engineers · The full comparison table · Springpod

Where it leads

Included with the paid courses, and a route to live jobs

Maintenance Electrical Engineer and Control Panel Design Engineer are included at Premium level with the Professional Module, and Maintenance Electrical Engineer with the Siemens Module. Premium on its own is £53.99 including VAT. When you are ready, look at live UK vacancies. We never promise a job.

Professional Module UK electrical and maintenance jobs UK electrical design jobs UK power and energy jobs

Questions

Quick answers

Can I do this without an electrical qualification?

Yes, to start. Days 1 to 5 are free and nothing asks for a qualification. Electrical Design Engineer is marked as needing no experience; Maintenance Electrical Engineer, Substation and MCC Engineer, Control Panel Design Engineer, Solar PV and EV Charging Engineer are easier with some basics. The simulation does not make you competent or authorised to work on real electrical equipment. That takes training, assessment and your employer's authorisation.

Does it replace an apprenticeship or a placement?

No. It is training at a simulated company. It cannot give you site contact, supervision or a recognised qualification. Use it to learn, to prepare for applications and to have something specific to discuss.

Is safe isolation really taught?

The tickets cover the order of the steps and why: stop, open, withdraw, lock, tag, prove the tester, test dead, prove again, earth and sign the permit. In EDWartens Lab you do it on a virtual MCC bucket and panel, and a step in the wrong order fails the ticket. That teaches the habit. It is not a licence to isolate real equipment.

What laptop and browser do I need?

A current browser on a laptop or desktop. There is nothing to install. Hands-on tasks in EDWartens Lab are easiest on a laptop.

Is it only for the UK?

It is written for UK practice, with BS 7671 and UK regulations named. Irish users can do it, but the standards named are UK ones, so check the Irish rules that apply to you.

Does it count as work experience on a CV?

Not as employment or a placement. List it as a job simulation, with the simulated company named, under projects or training. Your school, college or employer decides what counts as work experience.

Is it free?

Days 1 to 5 of every role are free, with no card. The certificate (£14.99) and Premium (£53.99) are optional, and prices include VAT.

A job simulation is a realistic training project at a simulated company. It is not employment, an internship or a work placement, and it is not a job offer. Hours are active hours the learner logged on EDWartens UK.

Engineers reviewing a laptop beside an automated assembly line

Try an electrical role online

Days 1 to 5 are free. It is training, not a placement.

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