The fact is that a career within the electrical sphere is a frequent alternative for many people. For simplicity’s sake we will use the phrase Electrical Industry to cover off the more accurate term of “Electro-Mechanical Engineering”. As there are a wide variety of global standards, we will focus on those from the UK and in particular those relating to the domestic and commercial markets. As this is such a wide ranging subject matter we’ll begin by sticking to the main area first and come back to the ‘add-ons’ later.
On consideration, we observe two forms of access into the electrical market. The first is for those wishing to train via a more traditional apprenticeship route, and the second is for people who are entering the field at a later stage in life. To clarify, we’ll label each of them as the ‘Mature Entrants’ and the ‘Junior Entrants’.
Many Mature Entrants enter the market so they don’t have to rely on others, especially when they can work on their own building ideas and not have to pay for anyone else to help them. Those who join as Junior Entrants, on the other hand, appear to do so with the aim of joining an established electrical firm – in order to gain further qualifications and experience whilst picking up practical and other work-place skills. Often a young apprentice will be in their first job since leaving school, and will therefore have a host of ancillary skills to learn during their first few years as a working adult.
The different ways into electrical work have two distinct types of training: Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent – SVQ’s.) As part of the training program an NVQ would be a requirement to attain. 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.
Many mature students gain entry into the market without the NVQ element, and simply choose the most commercially practical route to self employed work. Such as obtaining documentation that gives them the best chance to gain from their training endeavours and thereby the best financial rewards. 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.
In terms of typical earnings, we have two clear routes – those relating to employment and those for self-employment. For the sake of this document we will assume that everyone involved in electrical employment is working full-time. The aptitude and talent for getting things done can affect the levels of salary as well as any experience or knowledge gained.
Basic salary for Junior Entrants can start at around 12 thousand per annum, often going above 35 thousand after several years in industry. Mature Entrants are more difficult to assess, and incomes up to and above 70k are regularly reported within the UK Press. However, it should be borne in mind that a self-employed person must meet their own costs for tools, clothes and vehicles (including insurance and petrol.) Allocations for personal/professional insurance will also have to be catered for. However, the driving force remains the UK skills shortage and this means that there’s a load of work available. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should 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.
Firstly, it is worth pointing out that the working week between the Junior and Mature electricians can vary enormously. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. That aside the Mature market is equally affected by when their clients are available – this is especially so within the domestic sector, where evening and weekend work predominates. This alters quite a bit, with lots of self employed electricians gaining much of their income from small office work, which is predominantly Monday to Friday 9am-5pm.
A Junior Entrant that has chosen to adopt a career within the electrical trade is more than likely to gain follow up expertise within the particular field they fall into, often dictated by the main business activities of their employer. Then again, the mature entrant can even go outside of the electrical field to gas work or plumbing work for example. Certainly if they are employed within the domestic sector this makes it easier to take on work without having to rely upon other people.
‘Green Engineering’ is another area to consider. This requires new skills and working knowledge and is one of the fastest growing areas today. This could be an area of interest to both Junior and Mature Entrants, and with the expected growth and governmental (both UK & EEC) support, it could provide some highly lucrative employment and business opportunities.
(C) S. Edwards 2009. Navigate to CLICK HERE or Electrician Courses.
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