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For many people, a career within the electrical industry remains an interesting and varied choice. Often (and more correctly) referred to as ‘Electro-Mechanical Engineering’, we’ll simply refer to it as the Electrical Industry for the sake of simplicity here. Also, for ease we will concentrate on those principles that sit within the domestic and commercial markets for the UK. 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.

We consider that there are two ways to enter the electrical market. Whilst many candidates opt to join later on in their life, there still exists the more traditional route of the apprenticeship. For the sake of clarity throughout, the first will be known as ‘Junior Entrants’ and the second simply known as ‘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. Alternatively, ‘Junior Entrants’ will pick up lots of their work place skills by working with an already reputable electrical company. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.

The two different ways into the industry have two separate methods of preparation. Junior entrants go through NVQ training in England and Wales, and SVQ training in Scotland. An NVQ qualification would need to be obtained as part of the training program. This requires being in a directly-related work program or apprenticeship of some type, so as to meet the testing and course-work requirements.

Many mature students gain entry into the market without the NVQ element, and simply choose the most commercially practical route to self employed work. For example by concentrating on those qualifications aimed at giving them the best return from their training costs. Although this may offer quicker and more commercial options, it does reduce the official requirements set for certain areas of the industry.

Between self-employment and general employment we have two routes to consider in terms of typical income. 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. Certainly, whilst salary levels can be affected by knowledge and qualifications, they can also be affected by competence and aptitude.

‘Junior Entrants’ can expect a basic salary of 12K at the beginning of their training. With application and experience this figure often more than doubles in time. However, with incomes of 70,000 or more a year, a ‘Mature Entrants’ salary can often be more difficult to judge. Irrespective of this salary level many self-employed people also need to manage extra business costs such as tools, clothes and vans. Earmarked within this is the need to cover additional expenses such as accountancy or insurance. However, the driving force remains the UK skills shortage and this means that there’s a load of work available. 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.

To be fair, most Junior and Mature electricians experience very different working hours to each other. Monday to Friday 9-5 would be the working week of most ‘Junior Entrants’. That aside the Mature market is equally affected by when their clients are available – this is especially so within the domestic sector, where evening and weekend work predominates. 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.

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. Whereas the mature entrant can gain knowledge from any trade source – even one outside of the core of electrical work. Without a doubt the extra skills help them in their overall employ whether this is commercial or domestic work.

An up to the minute angle – involving a new level of skills – is that of the so called ‘Green Engineer’. 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.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Look at Careers-Advisor.co.uk/caradvg.html or Electrical Careers.

Due to the exciting choices available, the electrical industry offers jobs that many people choose. 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. By starting on the main subjects and checking the ‘add-ons’ later on we can review the centre of the electrical industry.

On consideration, we observe two forms of access into 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. 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. On the other hand, to gain further credentials and experience ‘Junior Entrants’ tend to work for a recognised electrical firm. Upon leaving school many apprenticeships provide a fast learning curve for young adults looking to boost their auxiliary skills.

These two distinct types of entry have two separate modes of training: Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent – SVQ’s.) 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.

Mature Entrants, with the possible aim of entering the market from a self-employed perspective, seem to focus on attaining the most commercially viable qualifications (without the need for the NVQ element.) 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 system does meet the purposes set out and therefore often provides a faster and more direct route into a trading position.

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.

With the right level of experience, ‘Junior Entrants’ salaries can rise considerably from twelve to thirty thousand pounds per annum. ‘Mature Entrants’ salaries though are often more difficult to work out, but can rise to 70.000 and above as reported in UK newspapers. However, it should be borne in mind that a self-employed person must meet their own costs for tools, clothes and vehicles (including insurance and petrol.) 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. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. To achieve the high salaries of 70+ thousand then you will need to put in very long hours and commit yourself fully.

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. The Mature market is however often reliant as to when their client base is available, especially in the domestic sector. Although by testing and installing various business systems, many self-employed electricians manage to work during a normal working week.

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. This gives them the chance to complete work for domestic clients without having to sub contract jobs out every time.

One fresh approach is that of the ‘Green Engineer’. The chance to win some big employment and business advantages within the governmental as well as the traditional growth sector means that this area could be attractive to both Junior and Mature Entrants alike.

Copyright 2009 Scott Edwards. Navigate to Electrical Training or www.AdultTrainingCourse.co.uk/gadtrc.html.

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The salaries of Plumbers are often highlighted in the national press. It is this need for trained Plumbers that has led to salaries of 30-70k p.a. being advertised. So, are we being told a story or is this the genuine picture? To be certain, for the correctly qualified and experienced plumber, this level of salary is achievable and indeed attainable. So whilst those working in the self-employed role can get incomes of 70-100k p.a., those working in more conventional employment routes often find it hard to achieve this salary.

If you are working for a traditional company within the UK, then the hours of Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm are normal. Indeed salaries of between 15k and 30k p.a. form part of what is expected from employed status in this area, along with the added reward of holiday pay and sickness allowance. The self-employed person can generally achieve higher incomes than those available from the traditional approach, but would need to consider working ‘out of hours’ – and probably longer than the typical 9am-6pm Mon-Fri model. Without a doubt in the domestic market many clients require evening and weekend visits and self employed plumbers have to meet that need.

Then there is the matter of working for yourself, which agrees with some people more than others. This can include getting to grips with advertising & marketing, getting your own cost-per-hour correct and the need to learn and use good ‘business’ sense. There are additional charges levied to people who work for themselves including legal and accountancy fees as well as those relating to materials and transport. While these costs can mount up, so too do the benefits, however the costs should always remain a smaller part of the income generated. Plus the profits nearly always beat the odds!

Student Entrants are generally looking for regular employment with a particular employer who can cover most of their working needs and teach them from experience. The need to increase their certifications and accreditations regularly affect the Self Employed Entrant. That noted the main drive of self-employed workers is towards the ‘domestic’ market and not that of the commercial sector. (Well the majority do at least)

In terms of plumbing education, there appears to be some similarity between the certification modules required by each path into the industry. It is when the issue of NVQ’s (SVQ’s in Scotland) is considered that a considerable discrepancy becomes clear.

To begin with the NVQ structure appears to be much more important to the Student Entrant than to the Self Employed Entrant. Therefore many Self Employed Entrants will meet their clients’ needs through the use of a wider range of certifications. The self employed person needs to consider the wishes of their household clients and use the relative domestic-centred qualifications to satisfy them. It is within the workplace – where the NVQ element can be appraised that many Student Entrants carry on with their apprenticeship after having covered the key fundamentals through a college scheme. The Student Entrant can also make financial savings at the start, as it is a cheaper form of study overall. But the Self Employed Entrant will gain certifications faster (motivated by a more commercial viewpoint) and will therefore be achieving considerable financial reward long before the Student Entrant.

It is by covering the study needs along with those of a clear careers discussion that meet the financial rewards. It would prove extremely difficult for an adult – requiring 20kp.a and having to look after their family – to go back to college and then spend 3 years in low-paid apprenticeship work. Equally, many self-employed students fund the courses themselves whereas the Student Entrants often have their studies paid for them as part of their overall apprenticeships. It is often the course structure and the level of certification that can run into costs of around 3k-10k+.

For the most part the private colleges are the domain of the Self Employed Entrant whereas the Student Entrant is required to study at recognised further-education colleges. Certain plumbing training companies deliver the accepted skill-sets and qualifications providing the basis for education. This method offers key advantages to Self Employed Students, allowing them to train evenings, part-time or on self-study classes thereby continuing with their existing jobs and maintaining their financial situation. From this it makes sense to gather as much detail as you can especially with so many training options available. Why not book mark this page (CTRL-D) and then you can come back and review your options from the links and adverts we have provided for you.

To increase their ‘marketability’ many plumbing students will go on to utilise extra courses. Courses in areas such as Gas, Electrical and Green Energy can provide added certifications. A popular route for Plumbers involves that of the normal domestic and commercial heating system training program of Gas Training.

Gas Training, with subjects followed by a focus on NVQ’s is recognised as an accurate and exact training program. The opportunity for on-going training is for those who trained first as a plumber and are now seeking to add some extra skills to their repertoire. It is from this position that many believe the mix of Plumbing/Gas Training is more apt to the mature student. Indeed, for the Mature Student, the path appears to be centred on adopting the core subjects and completely dropping the NVQ elements.

The self-employed professional appears to benefit from this distinct training mixture. Without a doubt the appeal is to learn a greater range of skill-sets and at the same time earn money from them. Instead of having to rely upon third parties to complete certain skill-sets, this adds to their commercial viability. Of concern is the reduction in customer’s value as they have to wait for jobs to be completed by others that in turn can lead to a reduction of the earning potential of a job. The more professional a Plumber is within their field the more that they have to offer their relative client base.

In consideration therefore the Self Employed Entrant has the chance to earn considerably more and at a realistically higher pace than the Student Entrants, to do so they do have to develop both the range of certifications that they hold and consider the business elements as well. Note: This relative information is primarily for the UK workplace and policies alone.

Copyright Scott Edwards 2009. Go to Intensive Plumbing Courses or www.CareerChangeOptions.co.uk/fcco.html.