Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. From here on we will use the phrase of Electrical Industry to explain the more accurate term of \”Electro-Mechanical Engineering\”. Also, for ease we will concentrate on those principles that sit within the domestic and commercial markets for the UK. 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. 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. We have to reference individuals so we will plainly do so by \’Junior\’ and \’Mature\’ entrants.
Principally, Mature Entrants join the electrical workplace later on, and focus on becoming self employed. This means working on their own and not having to pay salaries to anyone else. 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. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.
These two distinct types of entry have two separate modes of training: It is the involvement with NVQ\’s (or SVQ\’s for Scotland), that differentiate the 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.
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. Having said that, the mature student does aim to gain the necessary skills to do the job, whilst at the same time reducing their training costs at all times. This method allows for a quicker route to the market and does meet the necessary trading elements for the areas concerned despite reducing the overall qualification set.
We should differentiate the prospective earnings into the two categories of employed and self-employed. 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.
Although starting wages for \’Junior Entrants\’ are around 13k p.a. they can rise above 30k p.a. but this does depend on their level of experience. However, with incomes of 70,000 or more a year, a \’Mature Entrants\’ salary can often be more difficult to judge. It should be remembered however that a self employed person must often bear additional costs for items such as vehicles, tools and clothing. They will also have to make allocations for personal or professional insurance and accountancy. With the current skills shortage in the UK, there is a high work load demand available. Therefore, working seven days a week (if a student wanted) is a possibility for most. It should be noted that figures of 70-100k p.a. advertised are not necessarily easy to come by and would require some long working hours to obtain them.
It should be noted that the working week for most electricians differs between the Junior and Mature Entrant markets. For a \’Junior Entrant\’, most work is on a simple working week 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.
Once a career in electrical work has been chosen, a Junior Electrician is often at the mercy of their employer when it comes to learning new skills and expertise. Alternatively, the mature entrant can gain other training outside of their chosen field, such as gas and plumbing work. If they are working mostly in the domestic market, this makes it easier for them to take on larger jobs across a range of disciplines (without having to sub-contract.)
One new, fast growing area – one that invokes a wide array of skills sets and is new to the industry overall – is that of the \’Green Engineer\’. The curiosity of both Junior and Mature Electricians to this new industry is well founded especially when considering the power of the UK and the EEC markets in areas of growth and governmental projects.
Written by Scott Edwards. Visit Electrician Qualifications or www.CareerProgression.co.uk/kcaprog.html.
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