UK Electrician Qualifications Examined
For many people, a career within the electrical industry remains an interesting and varied choice. Within this document we will not use the full term of Electro-Mechanical Engineering but use the term Electrical Industry instead. In addition, we will stay with the UK market and especially items relating to the domestic and commercial sectors rather than global issues. Since there is such a wide list of choices in the electrical industry, we’ll start by looking at the main themes first and then come back to any ‘add-ons’ later.
Really there are two main ways to enter the electrical market. Along with apprenticeships for school leavers, students entering the field at a later phase in their life now have an alternative to more traditional amateur routes. Throughout this document we will simply refer to two types of people the ‘Junior’ and the ‘Mature’ entrants.
Mature Entrants who join the industry later on do so with the aim of working for themselves, usually as a one person business. Whereas the ‘Junior Entrants’ train alongside regular electrical employment to pick up practical work place skills as they gain their qualifications. To be fair, young apprentices leaving school will have a lot of supplementary skills to learn during their early years as a working adult.
These two distinct types of entry have two separate modes of training: Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent – SVQ’s.) There is a particular requirement to attain the NVQ qualifications as part of the overall program. As a result students often have to find their own work programmes to give them the relevant testing and course work covered by most apprenticeships.
By opting to work on a freelance basis, many Mature Entrants appear to focus on those areas that provide profitable and practical solutions other than NVQ’s. In the main the person will aim to gain the best from their investment costs against the return for that training. Whilst this may seem to reduce the overall qualification set, this meets the trade requirements for the areas involved, and thus provides a quicker and more direct commercial route to the market.
So we have two defined routes laid out – one being for general employment and the other centred on self-employment. Whilst self-employed people can choose the hours that they work, we assume that they are working full time for the purpose of this review. It is recognised that competence and qualifications add to income levels as well as experience and information gained.
Wages for ‘Junior Entrants’ can become as high as 30,000 or more per annum with the right experience, although starting salaries are around 12,000. Mature Entrants are more difficult to assess, and incomes up to and above 70k are regularly reported within the UK Press. Regardless of all that is the need to cover off additional costs such as tools, clothes and even a vehicle and all that goes along with that. Allocations for personal/professional insurance will also have to be catered for. With the current skills shortage in the UK, there is a high work load demand available. Working 7 days a week is totally achievable for most people if they want it. To achieve the high salaries of 70+ thousand then you will need to put in very long hours and commit yourself fully.
It should be noted that the working week for most electricians differs between the Junior and Mature Entrant markets. Electricians who are ‘Junior Entrants’ would work a simple 40 hour working week. The Mature market is however often reliant as to when their client base is available, especially in the domestic sector. There are however lots of opportunities for self-employed electricians to do work on small business systems during normal office hours.
Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. However, many mature entrants gain extra skills by learning those trades such as gas and plumbing work. Without a doubt the extra skills help them in their overall employ whether this is commercial or domestic work.
‘Green Engineering’ is another area to consider. This requires new skills and working knowledge and is one of the fastest growing areas today. Looking together to the UK and the EEC this activity could be of benefit to both Junior and Mature Entrants, providing new growth and opportunities to both disciplines.
Copyright 2009 S. Edwards. Navigate to ChoosingCareer.co.uk/mChoCar.html or Part P Courses.
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