It\’s notable that a career within the electrical industry, with its attractive options, remains a choice for lots of people. Whilst the original term is \’Electro-Mechanical Engineering\’ we will simply refer to the subject as the Electrical Industry. Equally we\’ll focus on those credentials that fit the UK domestic and commercial sector rather than those from around the world. Due to the huge list of opportunities available for a career in the electrical industry, we have to begin by focusing on the main areas and look at the \’add-ons\’ later on.
On consideration, we observe two forms of access into the electrical market. Along with apprenticeships for school leavers, students entering the field at a later phase in their life now have an alternative to more traditional amateur routes. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as \’Junior Entrants\’ and the second simply known as \’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. 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. Often a young apprentice will be in their first job since leaving school, and will therefore have a host of ancillary skills to learn during their first few years as a working adult.
The two different ways into the industry have two separate methods of preparation. In essence, the Junior Entrants follow an NVQ syllabus, or SVQ syllabus in Scotland. As part of the training program an NVQ would be a requirement to attain. 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. 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.
Between self-employment and general employment we have two routes to consider in terms of typical income. 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. Income levels are also dictated by experience and knowledge gained – usually proven via an accredited proficiency or certification level.
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. Furthermore, professional items such as accountancy, tax and insurance need to be considered to make the business work properly. However, the driving force remains the UK skills shortage and this means that there\’s a load of work 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.
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. 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. 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.
If a Junior Electrician chooses an electrical career, then the main business actions of their company often dictate the type of expertise that they gain. But by securing work within the fields of gas or plumbing many mature entrants can gain knowledge outside of their chosen path. 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 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.
Copyright 2009 S. Edwards. Pop to 2392 Courses or Electrician Qualifications.
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