Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. For simplicity\’s sake we will use the phrase Electrical Industry to cover off the more accurate term of \”Electro-Mechanical Engineering\”. Also, due to a wide variety of qualifications and standards throughout the world, we\’ll focus on those that fit the UK domestic and commercial market. 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.

The electrical market has in our opinion two methods of entry. 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. Throughout this document we will simply refer to two types of people the \’Junior\’ and the \’Mature\’ entrants.

People who do not want to pay any extra salaries, but want to enter the industry with the focus of being self employed are who we refer to as Mature Entrants. Whereas the \’Junior Entrants\’ train alongside regular electrical employment to pick up practical work place skills as they gain their qualifications. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.

Clearly these two options have both differing training styles and methods of entry. The Junior Entrants syllabus involves NVQ/SVQ\’s as well as proving working skills. An NVQ qualification would need to be obtained as part of the training program. New employees gain the necessary course work and testing elements through an apprenticeship or some form of suitable work program.

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.

Salaries are often simply broken down to those that relate to self -employed people and those in general 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.

The basic salary for Junior Entrants tends to start around the 12-15k mark, but rises regularly to around 30k with the right level of experience. \’Mature Entrants\’ salaries though are often more difficult to work out, but can rise to 70.000 and above as reported in UK newspapers. 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. Earmarked within this is the need to cover additional expenses such as accountancy or insurance. In the UK there is a lot of work for electrical professions due to a short fall of current skilled people. Without a doubt, the market would allow for some people to work a full seven days a week. It should be understood that the 70-100k figures that we see thrown around in newspapers are not easily achieved, and would either require working long hours or having assistants (or both.)

For the most part there is a strong difference between the Junior and Mature Entrants\’ working week. Monday to Friday 9-5 would be the working week of most \’Junior Entrants\’. But due to the needs of the domestic market the Mature Entrant is often more reliant upon when their client base gets back from work. There are however lots of opportunities for self-employed electricians to do work on small business systems during normal office hours.

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. 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.

A new trade example is that of the \’Green Engineer\’. This new service to the industry could fit into the overall skill-set of an electrician. The opportunity to provide both employment and potential service contracts, especially in the UK and the EEC sectors, mean that this area is of interest to both Junior and Mature electricians.

(C) 2009 – S. Edwards. Navigate to Click HERE or Electricians Courses.

Related posts:

1. Revealing Electrical Certifications – What\’s Required For many people, an interesting and varied choice often means...
2. Networking Training Courses UK Insights If it weren't for a constant influx of knowledgeable network...
3. Simplifying Plumbing Qualifications – The Best Routes The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national...
4. The Right MCSA-MCSE Networking Training – Insights Because you're doing your research on MCSE training programs, the...
5. Programs for Computer Training Examined Congratulations! As you're looking at this it's likely you're thinking...