I went to a community college 20+ years ago. I feel it was a very good thing to do. I have an apprentice helper that talked about going to school to learn about this trade back when I hired him 3 years ago but still has not done so. He is a smart person and willing to learn, but is nowhere near the point I was after 3 years in his abilities to do electrical work. Every time we do something new to him or something we have not done for a while he needs to be taught how to do it.
When I was in college we covered basic electricity concepts, both in classroom and in labs - it really helps to do lab exercises to see what is happening instead of just reading - you can make your own analogies in your head to remember things easier when you see it instead of just reading it. We also had a code class, that covered everyting about the code from what is the NFPA, how the code making process works, to the organization of the articles and why they are arranged the way they are, and just reading and discussing each article. A lot of attention is put on certain parts such as 210, 220, 310, 406, 408, 410, 430 and how to use chapter 9. (note some sections were different then but with todays code those sections are what would have gotten more attention)
We also learned many things about motors - differences between shaded pole, capacitor start, PSC, wound rotor, polyphase, etc., motor controls, PLC's, conduit bending - simple stubs, offsets, saddles, multi segment bends, some solid state devices basics, PPE is probably much bigger topic being covered today than it was 20 years ago, we did go over LOTO practices. We also had a blueprint reading class.
We had residential wiring class and lab and commercial wiring class and lab. Those classes with the labs are a must just to learn how to connect a circuit with a single pole switch and a light(s), a set of three way plus four way switches and a light(s) or how to bend a simple stub up of conduit or tubing accurately, or simple offsets and saddles. My helper of three years can still mess these things up on a regular basis, I was reasonably good at them ever since taking classes on the particular task, and only improved the more I did them afterward. I never had trouble with 3 and 4 way switches after the first few weeks of school, yet I see people that have called themselves electricians for years that still have a hard time with 3 and 4 way switches.
I think learning many basic things in the school helps understand the more complicated things in the field when you run across them. Most complicated things are nothing more than multiple simple things combined and if you understand the simple things you can put them together in your head easier to understand the complex item.
Forum very much.Thanks to everyone taking the time to answer my post.Have a Merry Christmas!
