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. Furthermore, we will focus on the UK market and the domestic and commercial elements rather than those from elsewhere around the world. 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.
Essentially, we see two distinct forms of entry into the electrical market. To being with we have the older apprentice course and then secondly we have the option for those who wish to make a career change to join the industry. 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. By contrast, Junior entrants would seek to work with an established electrical firm and build their skill-sets as they train. During their first years in the working environment, a young apprentice, or junior entrant, will have a host of additional skills to learn.
Clearly these two options have both differing training styles and methods of entry. Junior entrants go through NVQ training in England and Wales, and SVQ training in Scotland. The training itself is similar to non NVQ training, but completion of the full programme means getting the actual qualifications. New employees gain the necessary course work and testing elements through an apprenticeship or some form of suitable work program.
By working independently and without the need for NVQ assessments, many Mature Entrants can concentrate on those areas that provide the biggest profit and offer the largest practical solutions for themselves. In the main the person will aim to gain the best from their investment costs against the return for that training. This method may appear to reduce the levels of knowledge overall, but it does allow for an increase in the speed by which people enter and become more prevalent within the market.
In terms of typical earnings, we have two clear routes – those relating to employment and those for self-employment. The question remains as to how much work per week a self-employed person puts in – for the sake of this review we assume that it is full time. It is recognised that competence and qualifications add to income levels as well as experience and information 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.
In light of the above, it is often understood that there is wild variance between the working expectations of Junior and Mature Entrants. Electricians who are ‘Junior Entrants’ would work a simple 40 hour working week. Whereas the Mature market can be more dependent on the domestic market for some – i.e. weekend and evening work, when their clients are available and back from work. With many self-employed electricians the core of their income comes from items such as business testing and installation and as such operates during the main part of the week.
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.
An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called ‘Green Engineer’. 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.
Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Pop over to CareersOpportunity.co.uk/rcaropp.html or Electrician Courses.
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