The fact is that a career within the electrical sphere is a frequent alternative for many people. Although often assigned to as ‘Electro-Mechanical Engineering”, we will simply refer to this as the Electrical Industry. In addition, we will stay with the UK market and especially items relating to the domestic and commercial sectors rather than global issues. Because of the vast number of options available for a career within the electrical industry, we’ll start by concentrating on the main topics, and come back to the ‘add-ons’ later.
We consider that there are two ways to enter the electrical market. The primary route is the apprenticeship which is considered the more traditional and then we have the second phase for those who are joining at a later stage. We have to reference individuals so we will plainly do so by ‘Junior’ and ‘Mature’ entrants.
Mature students, or entrants, often train so that they can become self-employed and work on their own projects without having to pay wages to external electricians. However, people who join as junior entrants like the fact that they can join a recognised firm to pick up the bulk of their practical and work based skills. Upon leaving school many apprenticeships provide a fast learning curve for young adults looking to boost their auxiliary skills.
Entry has two separate approaches to teaching. NVQ’s are the key factor for all junior entrants. There is a particular requirement to attain the NVQ qualifications as part of the overall program. This means that work programs or apprenticeships have to be sought in order to arrange the necessary course work and testing phases of work.
Many mature students gain entry into the market without the NVQ element, and simply choose the most commercially practical route to self employed work. Instead most of them aim for the techniques that will get them up and running as quickly as possible and give them the best return against the cost to train in the first place. 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.
With regard to regular earning potential we have two clear paths – one for employees and the other for the self-employed. Whilst we will focus on full time employment, there exists the issue as to whether self-employed people are doing this full time or part time. Skill and knowledge levels can often determine salary levels, although this is equally via a proven ability or certification scheme.
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. However, with incomes of 70,000 or more a year, a ‘Mature Entrants’ salary can often be more difficult to judge. That aside, many added costs need to be remembered by self employed people in order to make their business work. Furthermore, professional items such as accountancy, tax and insurance need to be considered to make the business work properly. Whilst there is lots of available work, a severe skills shortage means electricians are very much in demand. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. Although by working very long hours and having assistants to help, the figures of 70-100 thousand advertised in newspapers might be achieved, it wouldn’t be easy.
To be fair, most Junior and Mature electricians experience very different working hours to each other. For a ‘Junior Entrant’, most work is on a simple working week basis. The Mature market is however often reliant as to when their client base is available, especially in the domestic sector. Again, this varies considerably, and many self-employed electricians make the mainstay of their income from office and small business installation, testing and inspection, which is Mon-Fri 9-5pm.
To be fair it’s often the boss of a company who states the type of specialist knowledge that Junior Entrants gain whilst in their employ. The mature entrant, on the other hand, may seek training outside of their core electrical field, possibly including plumbing and gas work. Certainly if they are employed within the domestic sector this makes it easier to take on work without having to rely upon other people.
One fresh approach is that of the ‘Green Engineer’. With expected growth through new employment contracts and business options, this new entity is extremely attractive to many Junior and Mature Electricians, especially when considering the UK and EEC support overall.
(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Check out 2392 Courses or RetrainingCourses.co.uk/orecourse.html.