Electrician:
An Electrician is a craftsman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings,fixed michenary and related equipment. Electricity is big business. There are around 20,000 electrical contracting companies in the UK employing around 365,000 people and supporting 8,000 apprentices. Add to that the fact there’s a huge deficit of qualified electricians in the UK and it looks like a great choice for a future career.
Types
Electricians can be divided into three:
- Installation electricians who test and install wiring systems (lighting, security, fire) and equipment. They sometimes follow architects drawings and either work in homes or on buildings sites.
- Maintenance electricians who test and maintain electrical equipment and often work in commerce or heavy industry.
- Production electricians who construct complex electrical and electronic appliances from wiring diagrams.
What’s the setup?
Where you work largely depends again on the kind of electrician you are. You could spend your day in a factory, home, building site, hospital, school, oil rig – wherever there’s electricity, there’s a chance you could be there!
Working as an electrician can be physically demanding as you’ll spend long hours in often cramped conditions or on cold, windy building sites.
Qualifications:
Although there are no minimum requirements to train as an electrician, good GCSE (C and above) results in maths, English and preferably physics and ICT (that’s Information Communication and Technology) will give you a great advantage. If you don’t have the above, you will be required to take an aptitude test. Applicants also need to pass a color vision assessment to enroll on the course.
The most common route to electrician training is via an apprenticeship scheme. Aimed at anyone who’s 25 or under, an apprenticeship takes four years to complete and will involve theory-based learning as well as practical demonstrations of your skills.
Currently, training to become a qualified electrician involves taking the City & Guilds 2330 Certificate in electrotechnology and 2356 electrotechnology NVQ.
From January 2011 the above qualifications are due to be replaced by a new hybrid qualification - the 2357 City & Guilds Diploma in electrotechnology.
Over 25s can enroll on training programmes but will not be allowed to take part in the apprenticeship programme.
From January 2011 the above qualifications are due to be replaced by a new hybrid qualification - the 2357 City & Guilds Diploma in electrotechnology.
Over 25s can enroll on training programmes but will not be allowed to take part in the apprenticeship programme.
Career prospects:The greater your specialism, the higher your salary. As the trend for renewable energy sources grows you could look at specializing in green technologies such as wind turbines or photovoltaic systems
Useful sites
Useful sites
www.summitskills.org.uk
www.theiet.org
www.theiet.org