It’s notable that a career within the electrical industry, with its attractive options, remains a choice for lots of people. From here on we will use the phrase of Electrical Industry to explain the more accurate term of “Electro-Mechanical Engineering”. Equally we’ll focus on those credentials that fit the UK domestic and commercial sector rather than those from around the world. By starting on the main subjects and checking the ‘add-ons’ later on we can review the centre of the electrical industry.
Basically there are two clear ways to gain admission into the electrical market. Initially there’s the more traditional apprenticeship approach, but equally there is now an alternative, suited to those who are keen to enter later in their life. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as ‘Junior Entrants’ and the second simply known as ‘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. 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. 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: In essence, the Junior Entrants follow an NVQ syllabus, or SVQ syllabus in Scotland. An NVQ qualification would need to be obtained as part of the training program. ‘Junior Entrants’ will have to be in an apprenticeship of some sort in order to achieve the testing and course work required.
Instead of seeking a work-based training environment, the Mature Entrant often seems to focus on working as a self employed person where different qualifications to NVQ’s are preferred. i.e. Those certifications that will get them up and running with the best financial return from their training investment. This system does meet the purposes set out and therefore often provides a faster and more direct route into a trading position.
Salaries are often simply broken down to those that relate to self -employed people and those in general 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. That said, due to the UK press telling people that electricians can get salaries in excess of 70k p.a., it is more difficult to gauge incomes for ‘Mature Entrants’. Often costs such as tools, clothes and even transport need to be assessed and included in the business mix overall. They will also have to make allocations for personal or professional insurance and accountancy. Aside from that, the current skills shortage within the UK still means that there’s lots of high value work out there. Certainly, working a full week is a realistic possibility for those who want to. Whilst figures of seventy to a hundred thousand are often bandied around in the press, they do not often inform you of the long hours you would need to work to achieve this.
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. To be fair, if the Mature electrician is focused on the domestic market then they often find themselves working out of hours, especially to support their clients when they get home. And yet, a huge number of self-employed electricians operate during the main part of the working week by focusing on office and small business systems.
Any specialist knowledge the Junior Entrant gains whilst in someone’s employ is usually down to the sectors of industry that company works in. Whereas the mature entrant can gain knowledge from any trade source – even one outside of the core of electrical work. Within the domestic market this allows them to work under a range of headings without having to rely upon sub contract suppliers.
‘Green Engineering’ is another area to consider. This requires new skills and working knowledge and is one of the fastest growing areas today. The chance to win some big employment and business advantages within the governmental as well as the traditional growth sector means that this area could be attractive to both Junior and Mature Entrants alike.
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