For many people, an interesting and varied choice often means a career within the electrical industry. 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. By starting on the main subjects and checking the ‘add-ons’ later on we can review the centre of the electrical industry.
The electrical market has in our opinion two methods of entry. 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. There are two sets of people for consideration firstly the ‘Junior Entrants’ and secondly the ‘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. 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. After they leave school a young apprentice will have many skills to learn during their first few years of working life.
Entry has two separate approaches to teaching. Junior Entrants are heavily linked with NVQ’s (or the Scottish equivalent - SVQ’s.) Whilst the core syllabus is relatively similar to non-NVQ commercial training, there is a particular requirement to attain the actual NVQ qualifications as part of the overall training program. ‘Junior Entrants’ will have to be in an apprenticeship of some sort in order to achieve the testing and course work required.
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. For example by concentrating on those qualifications aimed at giving them the best return from their training costs. 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. 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. Certainly, whilst salary levels can be affected by knowledge and qualifications, they can also be affected by competence and aptitude.
With the right level of experience, ‘Junior Entrants’ salaries can rise considerably from twelve to thirty thousand pounds per annum. On the other hand experienced self-employed electricians have been known to earn around 70 thousand or more within the UK. It should be remembered however that a self employed person must often bear additional costs for items such as vehicles, tools and clothing. Self employed people also have to allow for added expenses. In the UK there is a lot of work for electrical professions due to a short fall of current skilled people. In light of the above, a full seven day week is available to most people should they want it. 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. Most of the work for Junior Entrant electricians will be on a simple 9-5, Monday to Friday basis. 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. 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. 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.)
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 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 Scott Edwards. Visit CLICK HERE or Electrical Training Courses.
categories: computer,education,self improvement,advice,web,career,home,work,money,technology,software,games,hobbies,shop
Tags: advice, career, computer, education, games, hobbies, home, money, self improvement, shop, software, technology, Uncategorized, web, work